New mural will depict community’s history
The last few years have been rough in the northern community of La Loche, but the Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange is hoping to give the community a new positive memory.
“Each time we have these good events, these good projects that have come to our community, we’re grateful for them because it makes our community stronger and above all it brings us back to normalcy at times,” said Leonard Montgrand, executive director of the La Loche Friendship Centre.
As part of the Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange’s outreach program, the organization has hired Regina artist Josh Goff to paint a mural in the community.
“I have worked on so many of these projects,” Goff said. “I approach them all in kind of the same way ... especially when I’m not from that community, I just kind of view myself as the tool to be their voice.”
Goff arrived in La Loche on Thursday and set to work right away, planning out the mural by sitting down with members of the community at the Friendship Centre.
In the end it was decided the mural will tell the history of the community. It’ll include the church the community was built around and the old Hudson Bay trading post, along with teepees. The name of the high school, Dene, where on Jan. 22, 2016 two people were shot and killed after two others had been shot and killed at a home in the community, will also be included.
“These little things that shape us today, people have to understand where we came from before,” Montgrand said.
The mural is being painted on the side of the Friendship Centre. The centre is the only communitybased organization in the area and therefore gets a lot of traffic.
On Friday, Goff began sketching the outlines of the mural on the wall. If the weather co-operates he plans to have it completed by July 20.
Goff won’t be working on the mural by himself; youth from the community will help him to paint it. For Montgrand this is an important aspect of the project, as it will help to teach the youth respect.
“We have a lot of buildings that at times are being sprayed with graffiti and it’s not good,” he said. “And I think this sends out something to people, a message that this belongs to the community itself.”
Youth won’t be the only ones involved in the project, as elders and other artists from the community will also help Goff. Since Goff began work on the mural he has had artists in the community approach him to show him their work.
“(Art is) here and I think that’s very positive for someone like myself from a bigger centre where you see more art, to be coming here and kind of connecting with those people,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange is also planning a drummaking and performance workshop for the community in the coming months.