A picture of the wall sculpture above the main room at the KPL branch. Light fixtures block some of the sculpture which features pictograph style people, animals, and spirits, many with Isaac Murdoch's signature "red heart" embedded in them. A maple leaf sits in the middle of the sculpture and has stars gold acrylic stars adorning it. At the top of the images is a row of windows, and below the sculpture are library shelves with books.

CKMS News -2025-05-01- Indigenous artwork at new library branch focuses on interconnectedness and storytelling

CKMS News -2025-05-01- Indigenous artwork at new library branch focuses on interconnectedness and storytelling.

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON –
While the neighbourhood surrounding Kitchener’s newest library branch in still under construction, inside the building, a 15m long wall sculpture has been installed and unveiled, which according to a city press release “explores and honours connection to the earth and to each other, but also the traditional sharing of knowledge within Indigenous communities.”

The artwork, a collaboration with Anishinaabe Indigenous artists Isaac Murdoch and Nyle Johnston is named Wintertime Stories and is a sprawling mixed medium sculpture made with acrylic and wood and features pictographs and iconography. The press release notes the sculpture is “rooted in the Anishinabek storytelling tradition, intersecting cultures and life in the northern woodlands”.

This show features interviews with Wintertime Stories co-creator Nyle Johnston and Eric Rumble, the Coordinator, or Arts and Creative Industries at City of Kitchener, who helped facilitate the selection process for the artwork.

Watch a short film on the artwork here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiputhmpSH4

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