A Fort Nelson artist is empowering young members of the northern BC Indigenous community through the Mural Mentorship program.
The young artists will work on a wall at the Northwestel offices in Fort Nelson to create a mural incorporating themes of reconciliation and technology.
Francine Freeman is the executive director of the Northern Rockies Arts Council (NRAC) and has had a career that spanned the globe.
Freeman started out in eastern Canada, ventured to Australia, and eventually to northeastern BC, where she works as an art teacher.
“I started in hyper-realism,” Freeman explained to Energeticcity.ca, “which is creating really realistic paintings. Then I just wanted to go big. I wanted to start doing really massive murals and really big walls.”
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Freeman’s first mural with her students was along a shipping container during the 2024 evacuation of Fort Nelson, outside the North Peace Arena in Fort St John.
An instructor at the Chalo School, Freeman applied for grant funding to put together the project.
“I wanted to do something that represented truth and reconciliation,” said Freeman. “It is a really important aspect, especially in our community with a wide range of Indigenous community members.
“My goal was to hire Indigenous youth to create an Indigenous design. So the goal, I guess, in supporting reconciliation was, in turn, that Indigenous artists were represented.”
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A design reveal and a meet and greet were held via Zoom on August 29, with a statement that the mural “gives the opportunity to give space for sharing and storytelling through public art, which then supports reconciliation.”
Sponsorship for the mural came from Fort Nelson First Nation, Northern Development Initiative Trust, Northwestel, the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and the BC Arts Council.
The four main artists hail from Fort Nelson but have Indigenous roots not only in BC but also in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
Two are Freeman’s students, while the other two are community members. They are Amber Michel, Danielle Callbreath, Maggie Lamouche-Twin and Stevie Nande.
The design itself will celebrate themes of people, land and the Fort Nelson community, combining connection, healing, resilience and moving forward.
A Fancy Shawl Dancer will be the centrepiece, with the mural touching on themes such as technology, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Every Child Matters, as well as connections to the land, animals, teamwork and community.
Freeman expects the work to last about two weeks, with a grand unveiling to happen at the end of September.
More information about the NRAC is available on its website.
