Co-created Mural Builds Community Connections to Rowntree Mills Park

TORONTO, /CNW/ – A new mural led by artist Lindsey Lickers, Mushkiiki Nibi Kwe (Medicine Water Woman) and facilitated by STEPS Public Art in partnership with Park People was created this summer through intergenerational public programming and hands-on paint days with the local community. Registration is open to celebrate the new public artwork with a park walk, spoken word performance, and free refreshments.

This project was produced as part of STEPS’ From Weeds We Grow program that has strengthened the Rowntree Mills Park community’s connection to nature through Indigenous, multicultural, environmental, and community-based approaches to public space since 2020. The new mural shares Indigenous teachings of the Heart Berry, highlights an important entry point to the Humber River Trail and Rowntree Mills Ravine System, and encourages access to an underused area of the park.

Lindsey shares, “This is my fourth year facilitating From Weeds We Grow and I’m also on the STEPS Indigenous Advisory Committee. I love connecting with people who may not have had the opportunity to sit down with Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and artists to build community.”

The mural connects local residents with Rowntree Mills Park, one of Toronto’s largest greenspaces, through art, wellness, and nature. “We know that STEPS’ and Lindsey’s tireless work in creating reciprocity with the land is critical to the community’s health, happiness, and unity because we have felt it and heard it from the participants themselves,” adds Wesley Reibeling and Sarah Munro of Park People.

“Community is at the forefront of our work. It’s been rewarding to see artists and the Rowntree Mills community co-create public art that reflects the community within. We love seeing familiar faces return year after year who’ve made this program so successful, and we cannot wait to honour the community with this celebration,” says Anjuli Solanki, STEPS’ Program Director.

Great public art can challenge systemic inequities in public space. STEPS fosters inclusive public art practices, supports equity-deserving artists, and demonstrates the power of public art to reimagine equitably designed cities, moving us closer to reconciliation with the land and modern Indigenous communities.

SOURCE STEPS Public Art