Photos: Edmonton Arts Council
New temporary public art by local Indigenous artist Ambrose Cardinal is now gracing Edmonton communities along the LRT line.
Ambrose created the new designs as part of the SuperTrain public art initiative led by The Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists (SNAP) in partnership with the Edmonton Arts Council and Pattison Outdoor Advertising. The multidisciplinary artist was commissioned to create new designs over a two-month residency rooted in the theme of “environmental stewardship,” during which he was encouraged to explore the relationship between the natural world and urban spaces.
This is the first of three SuperTrains. Later this year, collaborative designs by Michelle Campos Castillo and Roger Garcia will roll out in August; followed by Helen Gerritzen and Kyla Fischer in November. The three transitory public artworks will each provide a travelling public art exhibit for a span of at least eight months.
Ambrose Cardinal is a multidisciplinary Métis and Cree artist and Oskapewis (ceremony helper), hailing from Amiskwaciwâskahikan. The intersectionality’s between his work as an Oskapewis and as an Indigenous artist revolve around expressions of radical love, resistance and healing. His most recent artistic interests are based around relationality to place, to honor the ones who currently inhabit space while also honoring our ancestors and connection to Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton).
“I want to encapsulate the interconnectivity of all beings that is entrenched within our spiritual laws as Nehiyawak. I want to utilize notions of traditional storytelling into the modern landscape of amiskwacy, to show that we have an active role to play in healing the earth and ultimately healing ourselves.”
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