The Project
Guided by the Métis community in Alberta, the Métis Public Art Project aims to celebrate and bring more visibility to Métis culture by sharing important cultural knowledge, histories and the ongoing legacies of the Métis peoples through public art.
To centre Métis voices, histories and ways of knowing, the project team attended Métis events in 2024 and 2025, hosted engagement booths at the Otipemisiwak Métis Government’s Métis Stampede Festival and the Citizens’ Gathering in Smoky Lake, shared an online survey available to all Métis-identifying people across Alberta, and hosted a Métis Public Art Gathering on October 18, 2025.
The Métis Public Art Gathering was held at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland and included a project introduction, presentations and a panel discussion on Métis public art with Métis artists Jason Baerg, Liz Barron, David Garneau and Danielle Piper, moderated by Dawn Saunders Dahl. The event finished with a tour of significant Métis sites in Calgary led by Métis archeologist Dawn Wambold and Métis historian Matt Hiltermann.
This project also aligns with the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, The City of Calgary’s White Goose Flying Report, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and local commitments to acknowledge and honour Indigenous histories.
Engagement
Watch a recap video of the October 18, 2025 Métis Public Art Gathering.
We were honoured to collaborate with the Métis community on a new public art initiative. To begin this work in a good way, we hosted a Métis Public Art Gathering at The Confluence on October 18, 2025.
The event included a project introduction, a panel discussion with Métis artists, a guided workshop and a tour of significant sites led by Dawn Wambold and Matt Hiltermann.
This first step ensured the Métis Project was rooted in Métis voices, history and ways of knowing. The gathering was open exclusively to members of the Métis community.
If you have questions, please contact Tiffany Wollman, Project Lead, at tiffany.wollman@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.264.5330 ext. 106, or Sarah Houle, Project Lead, at sarah.houle@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.264.5330 ext. 136.
What’s Happening Next
We are creating a consulting committee for the Métis Project that will be composed of Métis artists, community leaders, academics and arts professionals. The committee will provide guidance to the project as we work towards developing a public art opportunity for Métis artists.
Download this printable colouring page by Métis artist Presley Mills.
Presley Mills Colouring Page 8.5×11 PDF