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'The Faceless Doll' Project display inside the Grande Prairie Arts Gallery (Photo Submitted)
The ‘Faceless Doll Project’ began in June 2021 as a collaboration between the Pikiskwetan Mental Health program and the Wahkotowin Seniors program, initiated in response to the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021. This project aimed to foster understanding and healing in the wake of that revelation. Led by residential school survivor Elder Loretta and Lead Facilitator Brittany Wilson, the project unfolded in two stages: first, sharing Loretta’s personal stories of her experiences in residential school and her connection to the Faceless Dolls, followed by a presentation in local high schools.
There, students learned to sew their own Faceless Dolls, which will be on display at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie and the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre. In Indigenous tradition, it is believed that giving a doll a face bestows a spirit upon it. However, doing so may unintentionally cause the doll to resemble someone who has passed, potentially disturbing their spirit.
Lindsy Coney, Pitone Youth Program Coordinator with the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre spoke with CFWE on her excitement on the ‘Faceless Doll Project’ exhibit to be displayed inside the Art Gallery.
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The Faceless Dolls being put on display inside the Grande Prairie Arts Gallery (Photo Submitted)
Coney speaks on the connection that the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre has with the ‘Faceless Doll Project’, with hopes that people will be excited to see the exhibit and the work that the community has put towards the creation of the dolls and the display.
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Coney speaks on the meaning behind ‘The Faceless Dolls’ that Elder Loretta had as a collection from her father, that would later be lost due to a housefire. Along with the meaning it represents Residential School children.
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Jessica Groome, executive director of the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie speaks on the last finishing touches on the exhibit, saying that the display is quite powerful of having an entire gallery filled with the displayed faceless dolls
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‘The Faceless Doll’ Project exhibit being created inside the Grande Prairie Art Gallery (Photo Submitted)
Groome says that there needs to be constant reminders of the horrors of colonialism and the current stance on Truth and Reconciliation, adding that with the powerful ‘Faceless Dolls” Project is a reminder of visitors of the gallery of the history and the steps towards the future.
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For more details on ‘The Faceless Dolls’ Project, click here.
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