ONTARIO—4elements Living Arts and their community partners have been recognized for a Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Heritage Award.
Susan Snelling, vice-president of 4elements Living Arts, stated Tuesday, “this is very exciting. This award is really reflective of the power of a team effort. We have had a lot of partner contributions; and is a reflection of the heritage of our community from Indigenous and settlers perspectives.”
As 4elements, “we tried to contribute to that understanding of our shared heritage,” said Ms. Snelling.
4elements Living Arts and their community partners are being recognized for excellence in conservation for their ‘Billings Connections Trail: Nature. Art. Heritage.’ program.
Each year, the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards celebrate individuals, groups and communities for exceptional contributions to cultural and natural heritage conservation, environmentally sustainability and biodiversity, a release notes.
4elements Living Arts and community partners-the Township of Billings, the Old Mill Heritage Centre and Kagawong Recreation Committee-collaborated on the Billings Connections Trail: Nature. Art. Heritage. The walking, cycling and touring trail integrates local heritage and the history of the Anishinaabeg. Artists were invited to create a series of interpretive plaques and outdoor public art sculptures to respond to the relationship between land, the environment and colonization. The trail includes 32 historical interpretive plaques and 10 public sculptures. The public works and plaques have facilitated a deeper conversation and understanding about the complexities of Truth and Reconciliation.
The award will be presented by the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell and the Ontario Heritage Trust Friday, February 23, 2018 in the Legislative building in Queen’s Park in Toronto.
