Artist David Garneau to Install 400 Paintings at Tawatinâ Bridge

Edmonton’s Valley Line Southeast LRT project reaches new milestone

Bridges have been said to symbolize flexibility and change. A freedom to move from one side to another. The new Tawatinâ Bridge, which now spans across the North Saskatchewan River, connecting the north and south banks, is no exception. Nor are the 400 panels of artwork that will be installed on the ceiling of the pedestrian walkway beneath it. The artwork was commissioned through Edmonton’s Percent for Art policy, managed by the Edmonton Arts Council, and is one of fourteen public artworks selected for the Valley Line Southeast LRT project. Artworks were chosen from a total of 260 proposals by a series of selection committees comprising community members, local artist representatives, and project personnel. Internationally celebrated artist David Garneau, whose practice includes painting, curation, and critical writing, was awarded the commission in 2017.

The 400 panels for the project were constructed from a material used for making signs so that the artwork would not corrode. Each piece was trimmed, gessoed three times, and finished with three coats of varnish — a process made easier thanks to many hands. In fact, though Garneau is the designer and architect of the commission, he considers this work a collective project rather than a personal one.

“I love making art as a form of self-expression. This work has some of that, but mostly it is truly a work of public art. Before lifting a brush, I consulted with First Nations and Métis people about what needed to be painted. Then, I worked with more than a dozen artists to complete the panels. While I researched and designed the panels and painted about half of them myself, many hands, minds, and hearts made this collection possible. It is more a collective expression than a personal one.”

Each piece was shaped, painted, and arranged to suggest interconnectedness between people and the other beings in the region. But as Garneau explains, though the arrangement invites narratives, the pictures are not stories — the stories are what people bring to the pictures.

“The paintings are images. They are visual fragments that need Storytellers to bring them to life. Stories are how we make meaning of them. Some will focus on settler readings, some will read for Cree or Métis narratives… there are lots of reading possibilities. Once the works are up, Storytellers, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers will lead a storytelling tour of the paintings. They will tell aspects of the stories needed at that time. Nothing will be written down. Memories of the stories will be shared with others, and Keepers will need to be consulted to revivify the stories from time to time.”

Garneau’s connection to the river valley and the bridge dates back much further than 2017 when he was chosen to complete the commission. His great-great-grandparents, Laurent and Eleanor Garneau, after whom the nearby Garneau district was named, owned the river lot (number 7) neighbouring Tawatinâ Bridge.

“We grew up in Edmonton and knew a little bit about my great-great-grandparents. Their presence made me feel connected to that territory. As kids in the 70s, we spent a lot of time in the river valley. The opportunity to work on the bridge was a way for me to honour that connection.”

As Garneau explains, the bridge and its restoration are also symbolic of relationships past and present.

“This project is a form of reconciliation. In 1885, Laurent Garneau was arrested as an ally of Louis Riel. He was threatened with hanging. He spent six months in jail. Chief Papaschase took care of the family — Eleanor and eleven children — during the imprisonment. Years later, after the Papaschase Band lost their land and the Chief was on the verge of destitution, Laurent built a cabin for his old friend in remembrance of the care Papaschase showed his family. With this project, and others, I have been able to rekindle the friendship between Papaschase Cree, in the form of present Chief, Calvin Bruneau, and Elder Fernie Marty, who I consulted for this work. The paintings also show the entwinement of First Nations and Métis people. There was a good relationship, and now it’s being restored. The bridge is in suspension between the two sides of the city. It was an important crossing place for all kinds of people.”

The finished panels have been sitting in storage in Edmonton for more than two years now, awaiting their installation, set to take place October 7 to 17. It’s an occasion Garneau has been looking forward to and is hopeful to share with generations to come. As he explains, the ways in which to interpret each panel are as multifaceted as the people who will look up at them.

“There are many ways to engage these paintings. There are familiar scenes, plants and animals from the region. There are paintings from historical photographs. Many panels are informed by Métis belongings in the Royal Alberta Museum. There are humorous juxtapositions, and there are even some hidden messages, codes, and references. There are images that lead to secret stories that only Story Keepers can reveal in person and at the right time. And many images are placed next to each other to suggest a particular narrative. I hope to keep people interested for many years to come.

David Garneau’s artwork for the Tawatinâ Bridge was commissioned through Edmonton’s Percent for Art policy, managed by the Edmonton Arts Council. It is one of fourteen public artworks selected for the Valley Line Southeast LRT project. Click here to learn more.

About David Garneau

David Garneau (Métis) is Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina. His practice includes painting, curation, and critical writing. He recently curated Kahwatsiretátie: The Contemporary Native Art Biennial (Montréal) with assistance from Faye Mullen and rudi aker; co-curated, with Kathleen Ash Milby, Transformer: Native Art in Light and Sound, National Museum of the American Indian, New York; With Secrecy and Despatch, with Tess Allas, for the Campbelltown Art Centre, Sydney, Australia; and Moving Forward, Never Forgetting, with Michelle LaVallee, at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina.

Garneau has given keynote talks in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and throughout Canada on issues such as: misappropriation, public art, museum display, and contemporary Indigenous art. His art appears in exhibitions nationally and internationally — including the National Gallery of Canada; Canada House, London; the International Symposium on Electronic Art — and is in numerous public and private collections. He is currently working on a large public art work for the City of Edmonton.