April 9, 2019

The Sea Captain, at Surrey Central Station

Kudos to TransLink, for making some space for Indigenous art that doesn’t shy away from engaging people on social and even political themes.

Marianne Nicolson is a member of the Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nations, an artist, and the creator of “The Sea Captain”, the new public installation at the recently upgraded Surrey Central Skytrain.

As she explains in the following short video, she’s interested in interactions between peoples, particularly related to colonial encounters, and bringing something different to the public realm.

In other many major cities around the globe, our transit stations would subject users to poster-sized ads (often in constant motion).

Instead, the 12,000 daily visitors to this major urban transportation hub get something to ponder. Some, over time, may build a story in their heads of what it means. It could even inspire dialogue.

What happens when two peoples come together, and choose to live on the land differently? Are we different peoples, or one people with different cultures? How do we talk to each other today about hard issues, specially about the past?

Photos, and inspiration to share this installation, courtesy of Surrey resident and community advocateSukh Johal, our guest on Price Talks episode 32.

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