Everyone in Canada is just a stone’s throw away. At least, that’s what the students at Willowdale’s Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts are trying to achieve through their huge art installation project.
The students have put out a call for pebbles and stones from all across Canada, hoping to unify every corner of the country in honour of Canada’s First Nations. Their calling the project “On This Rock” to represent that no matter what your background is or where you live in Canada, we’re all on this rock together.
The installation design will require the students to create a large-scale medicine wheel with a house at the centre. The 6-foot-tall walls of the house will be covered in pebbles and stones from coast-to-coast, each painted in mosaics reflecting indigenous cultures. Some stones may include stories from First Nation communities as well.
“We wanted to get all of Canada to collaborate together in this project to symbolize how all of Canada is coming together as one – unified,” said Janelle Lee, a grade 10 at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts.
Word of this ambitious project reached CityNews. Their news team put out a story asking viewers to send in a quick video message of them holding their rock, and then turn to social media to support the project using the hashtag #OnThisRock. Once the installation is complete, CityNews will unveil the finished product.
The inclusivity, collaboration and sheer imagination of the students of Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts is an inspiration to everyone. The teachers championing this project should be commended for their strength of leadership and vision. They have given their students a tremendous opportunity to learn about the power of unity.
Mail your rock or stone to Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, 36 Greenfield Ave., Willowdale,ON, M2N 3C8.
Be sure to share on social media using #OnThisRock and visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/onthisrock.artistscollaborate/?fref=nf.
