Sleeping giant, Thunder Bay © Calypso Orchid
Thunder Bay, ON, Nov. 15 2021 – Ontario Nature is hosting an interactive art walk, Talking Trees, in Thunder Bay on Saturday, November 20, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Guided by artist Betty Carpick, the walk will be over moderate terrain along McVicar Creek beginning at Margaret Street. Parking is available at Brent Park on Balsam Street. Participants are asked to wear sturdy footwear and dress for the weather. Everyone is welcome to this free event! To register, please visit Ontario Nature at ontarionature.org/events.
The art walk will be a guided sensory experience to invite participants of all ages to feel the spirit of the forest as we explore how trees communicate. Using a collaborative weaving made with collected natural materials as a metaphor, participants will consider, how – much like humans – trees depend on an interwoven web of kinships, alliances, and relationships. By collectively creating a transportable sculpture that can be erased by nature, conversations about the fragility, strengths, and transitory state of our lives and surroundings are tangible.
“As an artist and a steward, I use my upbringing and my skills to create possibilities that inspire deeper reflection about caring for the biological diversity of the planet,” said Carpick, “The guided art walk is one way to explore how everything is grounded in relationships and reciprocity.”
Betty Carpick an interdisciplinary land-based artist and educator. Her work looks at social, cultural, and environmental issues in both serious and playful ways by creating art that exists in the space between process and performance as well as the missing portions between the real and the imagined. She also engages in creativity with all ages, abilities, and backgrounds through community-invigorated arts. Betty is Cree and European from Northern Manitoba. She lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Thanks to the generous funding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Ontario Nature has been able to host this event and several others in the Thunder Bay area this autumn.
For more information or media inquiries, contact:
John Hassell, Ontario Nature | Director of Communications and Engagement
johnh@ontarionature.org | 416-786-2171
Ontario Nature protects wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. A charitable organization, Ontario Nature represents more than 30,000 members and supporters, and 160 member groups across Ontario.