April 2022, Mixed Media

Kurtis Johnson, Olivia Colombo, Cara MacGregor, Lilli Cederlund-Thomas, Daniella De Vera, Raimi Houston, Mikayla Luchinski, Sogwon Chang, Lena Sigrist, Sofya Lee, Sofia Ahmedov, Reanne Buchart, Kirsten Nettles, Mackenzie Butler, Shaden Navidi, Lily Sawchuk, Ola Gorczycka, Emily Rosh, Paige McRae, Harry Lee, Jada Betts, Ava Willis, Jazmine Dibblee, Angelina Sharma, Lauryn Cacic, Abigail Del Pio, George Plesu, Megan Ayotte, Jake Nadalin, Angela Cheng, Rayne Pope, Carissa Wong, Lauren Schubak, Cam Drysdale and AJ Vittie.

River of Reconciliation is a collaborative artwork that addresses many aspects of Reconciliation. From acknowledging the land, learning history, considering calls to action, and making personal action plans, to synthesizing one’s own perspective and ideas while honoring another’s; This work exemplifies the power of art, and the agency that individual students have in addressing Reconciliation personally.

At Riverside Secondary School, we acknowledge that we are teaching and learning on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, within the shared Traditional Territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Musqueam, Squamish and Sto’:lo Nations. In the Art department we wanted to honor this land with a large mural of the Coquitlam River.

With an awareness of space and place, we thought to create this image of the land by enacting collaboration and reciprocity. To begin, we applied for, and were granted, funds by the City of Port Coquitlam’s Theatre Society Legacy Fund. This enabled Riverside Secondary School’s Art department to commission a work from Indigenous artist Kurtis Johnson, for the purpose of having students create a mosaic-like work.

We surveyed our students, asking if they had a “personal action plan for Reconciliation?”. 97% of students said “No.” One of the goals of this project is to change that. We also asked if students felt comfortable with talking about Reconciliation with people outside of school. Most said no. The topic of Reconciliation can be intimidating and misunderstood.

So, in the Art Department, we learned about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and students were asked to collaboratively present on one call to action, and to come up with one way that they, as high-school students, could rise to said action. The presentations were thoughtful and informative.

Once Johnson completed his digital artwork, we asked students to recreate a section of it, while infusing within it their new understanding of Reconciliation. This way each individual perspective of the land, and Reconciliation, is depicted while still honoring the original. This joining of perspectives, and sharing it within the community, allows students to enact many of the First Peoples Principles of Learning.

After the opening night of this show, we intend to re-survey our students, asking them the very same questions we did before this project began: “Do you have a personal action plan for Reconciliation? Do you feel comfortable talking about Reconciliation with people outside of school?”  So, if you come across one of the artists of the work, ask them about Reconciliation. Let’s make one artwork fuel a discussion that will change our world.  To find out more about the meaning behind each tile, read the individual statements at the top right of this page.