The #hopeandhealingcanada project, created by Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers, consists of a series of site-specific art installations across Canada. Each installation is temporary and meticulously created by Chambers using red yarn that is crochet, knit, and tied. While the yarn symbolically reconnects a fractured society, the red represents blood, passion, anger, courage, and love. This ongoing body of work is used to illustrate connections between Indigenous, Inuit, and Métis peoples with Canadians, while also broaching the subject of decolonization. The installation invites us to engage with the idea of connection, and how communities can move forward to heal and support one another through traumatic and life-altering events.
Once dismantled, the work is returned to the artist and will be reworked and repurposed at another site somewhere else in the country. The stories gathered from each participating venue will culminate in a book and traveling exhibition.
The Lacombe Museum is committed to actions of reconcillation and decolonization in efforts to become Good Relations. In practice, this means working together with Indigenous Community members to share their stories – past, present, and future; to showcase the ongoing strength of their artistic accomplishments and cultural traditions; and to spark discussions about the issues that matter most to their communities.
