
Title: Kong and Bannatyne
Artist: Jaymez
100 King St
Statement about the artwork: Exploring Winnipeg history and urban legend through a nostalgic 8-bit video game tribute projected on the front of the King and Bannatyne building. Jaymez’s animation reflects upon the underground and counter-cultures that are firmly part of Winnipeg’s history.

Title: The Space Between
Artist: Taylor McArthur
168 Bannatyne Ave
Statement about the artwork: “As I reconnected with emotions, I became aware that one definitive path would keep me in an endless loop of isolation and anxiety. Instead, I chose five reflections, through parallel lives.” – Taylor McArthur

Title: A Place I call Home
Artist: Faisal Anwar
492 Main St
Statement about the artwork: Due to war, societal instabilities and climate change, more and more people around the world and within Canada are being forced to move. Artist Faisal Anwar is inviting people to participate in his new interactive artwork and reflect on what “HOME” means to them. Anyone can post a photo on Instagram and tag it with #APlaceICallhomeProject. The tagged photo will be added to a large-scale installation of photographs in motion projected on a building.

Title: Nature Bots
Artist: Nereo Zorro
492 Main St
Statement about the artwork: The technology revolution has undoubtedly aided humanity in many positive ways, but in contrast it has also brought upon damage to our world through pollution and the depletion of natural resources. The Nature Bot installation highlights the connection between a healthy brain and a healthy heart. The planter head symbolically suggests that we get enough water sun and oxygen if we really care to light the path for future generations to come.

Title: One Night at the Marlborough
Artist: Derek Bassey
275 McDermot Ave
Straddling the line between camp and crime, One Night at the Marlborough seeks to represent the manifestation of ill-gotten desires while offering an air of mystery about what the desire is and by what measure it is deemed ill. It is a conversation between the living and the inanimate. Is what you see before you an act of overzealous passion, or ironclad companionship? Collaboration or competition? One Night at the Marlborough is a visual feast that engages the viewer’s imagination and creativity.

Title: Colonial Cartoons: Nanabush Across Time
Artist: Karrie McEwan
185 Bannatyne Ave
This four panel comic strip in the windows of 185 Bannatyne features the traditional character Nanabush, a mythological trickster spirit at the centre of many Anishinaabe stories. For Karrie, Nanabush represents Indigenous people as a whole, in order to address the commercialization of Indigenous objects and the history of colonialism. Karrie hopes their strip’s fun, rubber-hose cartoon style makes people look twice and engage with it.

Title: Black Forest Entrancement
Artist: Diana Thorneycroft
93 Albert St
Statement about the artwork: Black Forest Entrancement is a stage for an unwritten fairy tale. It depicts the entrance to a magical forest – a fecund and lush garden filled with enigmatic creatures plotting revenge. As a child, Diane Thorneycroft lived on a Canadian military base near Baden-Baden, Germany. The Black Forest, which was also the setting for fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, was her playground and has had a profound influence on her artistic practice.

Title: N/A
Artists: Alexis Aurora + Marie-France Hollier
Artspace Drayway
Statement about the artwork: A hundred years ago, the drayway inside the old Gault building was where people parked their horse-drawn carriages. Now it’s where you can admire Alexis Aurora’s blue and white chevron symbols that recall the movement of water. They’re made using a photographic technique called cyanotype and printed with the use of UV light. Alexis’ photo paintings are paired with Marie-France Hollier’s audio art, Cricket Chorus, which presents a dry soundscape of a prairie summer.

Title: Good Morning, ur face was in my mind!
Artists: Shaneela Boodoo + B. Bhoy Gali
217 McDermot Ave
Statement about the artwork: B. Bhoy Gali recites his charming, personal poetry about heartbreak, friendship and perseverance. Just stand outside on the sidewalk and watch Brenden in the storefront window. He’ll read his poetry into a microphone while you listen through outdoor speakers and admire the set created by Shaneela Boodoo that marries digital and kitsch imagery.

Coming soon
Title: wiigwaas gikendamowin
Artist: KC Adams
Statement about the artwork: My lantern honours the Exchange District as an arts hub and vibrant place to visit, and it recognizes the original peoples of this territory. My designs represent technologies that Indigenous people embraced in the past and present; beading, birchbark biting, and modern information technologies. The imagery contains Indigenous knowledge that vibrates with a wealth of wisdom, balance, hope, and innovation.

Title: Peaceful Protest, the Dividend of True Democracy Lantern
Artist: Yisa Akinbolaji
492 Main St.
Statement about the artwork: The Exchange District was the site of Winnipeg’s General Strike. My lantern celebrates the power of the people and peaceful protest. People’s voices must always be heard, and their human rights must be respected.

Coming soon
Title: Light Lantern
Artist: Bîstyek
Statement about the artwork: “Light” in the artist’s two languages, English and Arabic ضوء Daw’, are merged and suggest hope during the darkest times. The lantern is intended to bring brightness, joy, and warmth, and serve as a reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Artist Bio: Bîstyek is a Winnipeg-based, self-taught artist. He was born in Syria from a Kurdish family and arrived in Canada as a refugee in 2017. Bîstyek’s style is dramatic and angular, with flashes of memories captured in unsettling shapes and sometimes saturated colour. His pieces are heavily influenced by his personal life and experiences.

Title: Beacons Lantern
Artist: Anna Binta Diallo
168 Bannatyne Ave.
Statement about the artwork: Silhouetted figures from archival photographs highlight multiple histories and the people who pass through this area over time. What draws people here, and why were some displaced? Skyscrapers, industrious warehouses, and financial institutions were erected, but the land was already inhabited by Indigenous people. Immigrants settled the area. There was a historic strike. Today, it is Winnipeg’s artistic core.

Title: Lii Faam Michif Mashkawishiwak pi Tipeemishowak (Métis women are strong and free/own themselves)
Artist: Claire Johnston
474 Main St.
Statement about the artwork: My lantern shines a light on the story of Annie Bannatyne, a well-educated Métis woman and philanthropist from the 19th century. Annie publicly shamed and whipped an anti-Métis bigot, exclaiming “this is how the women of Red River treat those who insult them”. This lantern is a tribute to the fierce spirit of Métis women past, present, and future, and exemplifies the unique fire within our hearts.

Coming soon
Title: Magic Fish Lantern
Artist: Natalie Mark
Statement about the artwork: Magic Fish is designed to bring light and magic where extra stars are needed. The jackfish, walleye and catfish connect the urban landscape to nature and the nearby Red River, where all these fish can be found.

Coming soon
Title: Indigenous Perspectives on the Exchange
Artist: Justine Proulx
Statement about the artwork: My lantern offers an Indigenous perspective on the history of the Exchange District. The first panel is dedicated to First Nations and the bison who sustained them, especially through the harshest of winters. The second panel represents the Red River Settlement and the dangerous and exhausting work of the Voyageurs. The third panel shows the Exchange District in more modern times, owing much of its growth to Métis and First Nations peoples.

Title: Wiikondiwag : to feast together.
Artist: Destiny Seymour
155 Bannatyne Ave. (parking garage)
Statement about the artwork: My lantern was inspired by patterns on an ancient pot. Southern Manitoba has a rich history of ceramics dating back over 5000 years. These early cooking tools were our first beautifully decorated home goods. Many are currently living in the Manitoba Museum with over 3 million shards catalogued. They are relatively unknown by the general population. It’s time we celebrate these beautiful designs.

Coming soon
Title: The Sun Rises and Sets with You
Artist: Jackie Traverse
Statement about the artwork: The Sun Rises and Sets with You depicts a mother’s unconditional love of her children, the land and waters.

Coming soon
Title: Murmurings
Artist: Paul Robles
Statement about the artwork: The birds and the skyline seen from studio windows make me think of Murmuration. I consider this epic natural phenomenon of large flocks flying together, twisting, and turning, and changing direction to understand the diaspora of the Exchange. The lanterns invite you to connect with its past as a hub of labour and commerce, to think of migrant/immigrant (sewing) factories, and to create your own narratives.

Title: Yagasuri Wheat
Artist: Takashi Iwasaki
280 William Ave.
Statement about the artwork: Yagasuri Wheat reflects on the historical significance of the Exchange District, its modern-day function and iconic existence, and its future as a more culturally diverse and inclusive place. A traditional Japanese textile pattern of repeated arrow fletchers evokes wheat fields here. Between the spikes of wheat are nibs of a fountain pen that could be used by the artists and writers of the Exchange.

Title: PAG-ASA (HOPE)
Artist: Jonato Dalayoan
Statement about the artwork: Unique patterns were created for each side of the lantern to represent the diversity within our community and the integration of different cultures working together. The design is intended to reflect the bustling creative energy of the Exchange today, while finding joy in the chaos.

Title: N/A
Artist: Skye Spence
474 Main St.
Statement about the artwork: Skye’s photography is inspired by the wild concrete village of Winnipeg and his love of texture and light. Light, in all its manifestations, is at the very heart and structure of life and the universe. Understanding how to work with it will always produce the most stunning images, no matter what the message might be.