let’s heal the divide
Outdoor Sculpture Installation
A neon public artwork has been unveiled in Edmonton by Arts on the Ave, a registered non-profit charitable organization that is dedicated to the community, which it so passionately serves, through the cultivation of positive urban renewal.
Mounted on the east outside wall of the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts (118 Avenue at 92 Street), LET’S HEAL THE DIVIDE by Vancouver-based artist Toni Latour speaks to a multitude of “divides”: political, cultural, socioeconomic, gender, religious, educational, and familial—to name a few.
Christy Morin, Executive Director of Arts on the Ave, and her team have successfully collaborated with numerous community partners to ensure the installation of this public artwork. At the unveiling on August 13, many individuals, seated in a sharing circle, spoke eloquently about their involvement in the neighbourhood and the divides that they encounter on a regular basis.
The gathering reminded us all to keep engaging our neighbours and community members in new conversations and to continue the work that has already been started.
LET’S HEAL THE DIVIDE is one of three artworks on loan from the Vancouver Biennale (another artwork, LOVE YOUR BEAN by Cosimo Cavallaro, is visible in the accompanying photographs) to Arts on the Ave as part of an effort, in collaboration with The Places, to transform the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood into a community arts district. It is through culture-led urban regeneration initiatives and a strong sense of creative spaces and placemaking that these art-infused communities have begun to flourish and provide a safe, nurturing environment in which artists may thrive.
[Edmonton is situated in Treaty 6 Territory, a traditional gathering place, travelling route, and home for many Indigenous Peoples.]
DarcyandChristy Morin, Barrie Mowatt, Rich Francis, Canadian National Railway Company, Edmonton Community Foundation, City of Edmonton - Local Government, Edmonton Arts Council, Park Landscaping, Jess V-burg, Jatec Electrical Ltd., Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton CDC, The Works Art & Design Festival, Cooper Equipment Rentals, Rebel Heart Trucking, Janis Irwin, Edmonton Police Service, John and Ewa Burton, Avatex, Boyd’s xXxcavating
Edmonton Journal, Global Edmonton, CTV Edmonton, CBC Edmonton, Explore Edmonton
About the Artwork
The artwork also resonates beyond its physical surroundings. Globally, we have witnessed institutional and systemic racism and violence, intense political conflict, the rise of the Black Lives Matter and Me Too Movements, the fight to end targeted transgender violence and discrimination, the continued struggle for Indigenous rights and environmental justice, and, of course, a worldwide pandemic.
At one of the most divisive times in recent history, we continue to make demands for a better world. While economies have been radically altered, and public and personal engagement restricted, we have still found ways to connect, learn, protest, preserve traditions, and build community. let’s heal the divide acts as a reminder that we all share the responsibility for inclusion, justice and collective healing.
Greeting from Toni Latour about let’s heal the divide exhibit in Edmonton
About the Artist
Toni Latour is an East Vancouver queer feminist artist. She works in photography, installation, text-based practices, drawing, video, sound, public and performance art. Latour received her BFA from the University of Windsor in 1998 and her MFA from the University of Western Ontario in 2000.
Since 1994 she has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in both solo and group shows and has received numerous grants and awards in support of her practice.
Latour’s work is included in catalogues and publications by The Vancouver Biennale, Artspeak, The Burnaby Art Gallery, PaperWait, Aspect: The Chronicle of New Media Art, MIX Magazine, Border Crossings and more. Her art is held in private and public collections, including The Drag King Project at the National Portrait Gallery of Canada and the Surrey Art Gallery. Latour’s The Femme Project was recently exhibited in conjunction with World Pride Toronto, and is included in a touring educational program. Latour is a two-time Vancouver Biennale participant. Her 2009-11 public art installation can be seen on the Canada Line in Richmond, BC, and she has just completed a new Biennale work that was supported by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and Kwantlen University funding. The piece is a 30-foot wide neon sign that reads: let’s heal the divide. It has received a great amount of press, and can be seen on the facade of the Vancouver Community College until 2016. Latour’s latest collaborative project, Hello There, is a set of 1000 free cards, calling for the use of gender-neutral language in the restaurant industry. The cards were requested across Canada, the U.S. and Asia with great enthusiasm and support.
Toni Latour taught at Capilano University for 11 years before the Studio Art program closed in 2014. She currently teaches at Kwantlen University and the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.