Paintings will bring history of Edmonton's diverse communities to LRT stations

A new art project will tell the stories of Edmonton's diverse communities on the walls ofLRTstations.

As one of the city'sCanada 150 legacy projects, the goal of Paint the Rails is to delve into Edmonton's historical milestones, said Maiganvan der Giessenof the John HumphreyCentre for Peace and Human Rights, who is the creative lead.

"Some of them are not pretty stories.Some of them are really uplifting things where we've done really well," said van derGiessen.

"It's sort of weaving all those together and say, 'Let's tell the real story of us, not just the story we'd like everyone to know.' "

The art will appear in sixLRT stations: University, Corona, Churchill, Kingsway, Coliseum and Clareview.

Exploring counternarratives

Established local artists AJA Loudenand Carla Rae Taylor will be doing the painting, with help from some emerging talent. They'll begin with the Churchill and Coliseum stations this fall.

They'll be getting their inspiration from the stories they're hearing in public consultation sessions composed of cross-cultural subsects of the city's population.

A big part of the focus is acknowledging again some of those stories that are often underrepresented.- AJA Louden

"A big part of the focus is acknowledging again some of those stories that are often underrepresented," said Loudenon Monday night during a public consultation session at the ParkdaleCromdale Community League.

"I think one of the challenges for me as an artist is really going to be finding a way to boil it down and see what kind of connects and unites us all."

And he's been exposed to local Indigenous narrativesthat have not always been included in the mainstream version of how the area was settled.

"I think we often celebrate some of the settler stories, and that's a big part of our history," Louden said. "But I think there's a lot of stories that are less told that really form a huge part of our identity as a country."

• Indigenous art on track for new Edmonton LRT transit stop
• Aboriginal art to be displayed on Edmonton's South LRT line

A sense of belonging

Edmonton'sGrandin LRT station has long had a controversial mural that features Vital Grandin, the first Roman Catholic bishop of St. Albert, with a nun who is holding an Indigenous child.

The artist of that mural, SylvieNadeau, said she was unaware of the painful legacy of residential schools at the time.

In2014, she worked with Indigenous artist Aaron Paquette, to bookend her originalinstallation with new paintings featuringstrong, Indigenous youth.

Paquettecontributed murals with images like the white buffalo to symbolize knowledge, peace and hope.

• New murals unveiled at Grandin LRT station

"We are looking to dig into a different narrative and maybe a different way of telling our story," said van der Giessen, noting she's heard a lot about the relationship with the land, which is an important element of Indigenous spirituality.

"We've been hearing a lot about belonging. What does it mean to call this place your home or to feel it's your home? Some people do feel it's their home and some people don't," she said.

"How can we transform LRT stations into places that people feel that they belong?"

The project has two other major components: a documentary film that will be based around the stories coming out in the public consultation sessions and a children's book that will features the artwork.

The project's budget is $200,000, of which $50,000 hasbeenfundraisedso far.

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell