Curatorial Statement
Reflections of Ourselves is a collaborative art project that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Canadians. Over 40 million people live on Turtle Island within the boundaries of Canada. Indigenous peoples (First Nations and Inuit) are the original inhabitants of this land, whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. Some of us are recent arrivals while others trace ancestors who have been here for many generations.
I have chosen a tree as a non-political symbol of our human community where differences in human culture are like the variations of individual leaves on a tree. The tree branches are covered in leaves created by Indigenous, settler and immigrant Canadians in honour of their heritage. My own stitched leaves, representing common threads and the mixing of cultures, intermingle with the cultural leaves. I have provided a leaf template for leaf artists to use, but the design, materials, techniques and story are unique to each artist. Each leaf artist’s statement is displayed with the sculpture.
Through this project, I hope to generate new interest in traditional and contemporary textile arts, enable cultural exchange and increase respect and understanding. I thank the Orillia Museum of Art and History for hosting the inaugural exhibition over the summer of 2022. I hope you will come to see these wonderful expressions of cultural heritage as the exhibition travels. Watch this short video.
The tree continues to grow! Scroll down to see the list of cultural groups currently represented. If you don’t see your cultural group and would like to create a leaf in honour of your heritage, use this contact form to get in touch with me. Read more about what we are looking for here.
Exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
Reflections of Ourselves will be starting a western tour in 2026 with stops in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan!
- Fall 2026: Kootenay Gallery of Art, Castlegar, BC
- Winter 2027: Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, SK
- Fall 2027: Red Deer Museum & Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
- Winter 2028: Estevan Art Gallery & Museum, Estevan, SK
Past Exhibitions:
- King Heritage & Cultural Centre – January 11 – March 1, 2025
- Wellington Heritage Museum – September 16 – December 18, 2023
- Homer Watson House & Gallery – March 3 – June 25, 2023
- Orillia Museum Of Art & History – May 28 – September 3, 2022
If your organization is interested in hosting the exhibition, please get in touch.
Watch the Documentary
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council to create this documentary.
Leaf Artists
- Acadian: Jane Bridgeman
- Afghani: Nooria Ahmadi
- African Nova Scotian: Myla Borden
- American: Joni Alexander
- Anishnabai (Teme-Augama): Victoria Grant
- Argentinian: Patricia Vega
- Armenian: Tamara Harutyunyan
- Assyrian: Nada Benyamin
- Australian: Judith Powell
- Austrian: Helen O’Malley
- Bangladeshi: Pinki Laboni Adolphina Baidya
- Barbadian: Orlena Broomes
- Belarusan: Iryna Varabei
- Bengali: Ayesha Chatterjee
- Blackfoot: William Singer III
- Bosnian: Nadira Derakovic
- Brazilian: Ana Paula Brasil
- Bulgarian: Vania Zahrieva-Alexieva
- Chilean (Mapuche): Gabriela Rosende
- Chinese: Kwan
- Chinese (Hong Kong): Lily Lam
- Colombian: Anonymous
- Cree: Vanessa Genier
- Croatian: Tatjana Hutinec
- Czech: Susan Godwin
- Danish: Kirsten Johnston
- Delaware (Lenape): Christine Tuck
- Dene: Crystal Behn
- Doukhobor: Kathryn Soloveoff – Robbie
- Dutch: Ietje Jackovich
- Ecuadorian: Isabel
- Egyptian: Christy Abraham
- English: Mary Lunney
- Estonian: Pia Kallas-Harvey
- Filipino: Mona & Clara Lavina
- Finnish: Anita Payne De Gaia
- Flemish: Kathleen Mcphie
- Franco-Ontarienne: Nicole Ménard
- French: Kathy Wylie
- French Canadian: Carole Thomas
- German: Regina Marzlin
- Ghanaian: Cecilia Asamoah
- Gitxsan: Arlene Ness
- Goan: Laea Almeida Iserman & Jenny Iserman
- Greek: Kleo Tobias
- Gwichin: Cynthia Pavlovich
- Guernsey: Laine Canivet
- Guyanese: Jennifer Singh
- Hawaiian: Catherine Roland
- Heiltsuk: Mia Hunt
- Hungarian: Ninette Gyorody
- Hutterite: Elaine Kleinsasser
- Icelandic: Janice Lunan
- Indo-Kenyan: Jayshree Khimasia
- Indonesian: Bernarda Antony
- Innu: Sylvie Bouchard
- Inuit (Inuvialuit): Cassandra McLaughlin
- Inuit (Nunatsiavut): Erica Jacque
- Iranian: Shahrzad Amin
- Iraqi: Diklat Georgees
- Irish Catholic: Joanne McBay
- Irish Protestant: Heather James
- Ismaili: Shamina Senaratne
- Italian: Lynda Mariani
- Jamaican: Lisbeth Haddad
- Japanese: Yvonne Bando
- Jewish: Karen Chisvin
- Kenyan: Stella Rakwach
- Korean: Kyunghee Maria Heo
- Lakota: Kimi Soo Goodtrack
- Latvian: Loree Ovens
- Lithuanian: Pamela Chasen
- Madeiran: June Horwich
- Malaysian: Jeany Chan
- Malayalee: Viju Menon
- Maliseet: Elizabeth Sappier
- Maltese: Joseph Muscat
- Mennonite Frisian: Renske Helmuth
- Metis (Manitoba): Deborah Malcolm
- Metis (Ontario): Kathy Morgan
- Mexican: Sonya Elliott
- Mi’kmaq: Summer Paul
- Mohawk: Narda Julg
- New Zealand / Polynesian: Greta F. Hildebrand
- Nigerian (Yoruba): Olamide Agboola
- Norwegian: Karen Doak
- Oji-Cree: Tamara Eaker
- Palestinian: Joyce Cybak
- Peruvian (Quechuan): Natty Urquizo
- Polish: Diane Scott
- Portuguese: Caroline Egan
- Romanian: Sylvia Ptak
- Russian: Kate Madeloso
- Scottish: Anne Condie
- Secwepemc: Kelsey Jules
- Serbian: Nadja Marjanovic
- Sinhalese: Chanthi Vijayapala
- Slovak: Teresa Gombita
- Slovenian: Katherine Gruskovnjak
- South Africa: Mical Pearlman
- Squamish: Xwalacktun Harry
- Swedish: Karin Clifford
- Swiss: Joan Hug-Valeriote
- Syrian: Samira Alyousef
- Tahltan: Carmen Dennis
- Telugu: Priyanka Mannava
- Thai: Nithikul Nimkulrat
- Trinidadian: Marilyn Clulow
- Turkish: Dilek Gumus Aytekin
- Ugandan: Fatuma Mulungi
- Ukranian: Tracey Lawko
- Uruguayan: Sylvia Rocchetti
- Venezuelan: Gisela Figueroa
- Vietnamese: Tuong Van (Vivian) Luu
- Welsh: Leslie Whitby
- Wet’suwet’en: Charrine Lace
The tree continues to grow! If you don’t see your cultural group represented and would like to create a leaf in honour of your heritage, apply here.
Call for Participants
We are seeking one representative of each Indigenous, settler and immigrant group in Canada to create a textile leaf in honour of their heritage. Many have already signed up. However, a few are still needed. Check the list below to see if we are looking for someone to represent your culture.
What:
Create a leaf made of your choice of fibre in the shape of a maple leaf template (approximately 7″ wide by 6″ high). It could be a smaller shape of 4″ by 3″ and placed within the central area of a felt leaf, for example. The orientation is important, your leaf will hang with the stem end at the top and points down. Both front and back will be visible. If it suits your design, use typical leaf colours (i.e. green, yellow, orange, red, or brown) though this is not mandatory. Make the leaf durable, so it can travel for exhibition. Finish it in a technique that is appropriate to your design. Affix your label with your name and cultural group on the back. Finally, describe how your design links to your ancestral group in your artist statement.
How:
Create a design that represents your connection to your heritage. It may be your own original design or be based on traditional designs of your cultural heritage. Please avoid commercial patterns, political symbols, and flags. Choose your preferred technique, which could include: quilting, embroidery, lace, beading, printing, stamping, felting, weaving, knitting, crochet, surface design on fabric, or others. Choose materials appropriate to your design and that won’t be too heavy to hang. These might include: fibre, cloth, thread, yarn, paper, beads, sinew, quill, bark, feathers, fur, etc. The important thing is that the leaf represents a personal connection for you to your ancestral/cultural group.
Watch:
short overview video here
Deadline:
New leaves must be received by July 15, 2026.
Acknowledgement:
We will recognize each leaf artist’s contribution through:
- your label with your name and cultural group
- your name in a master list of contributors
- an artist statement of up to 120 words which will be exhibited with the artwork
- an honorarium
Who:
Over 115 participants have already signed up representing French, English, Scots, Irish, etc., etc. cultures. See the list of cultures represented here. We are seeking representatives of the cultural groups listed below. If you don’t see your cultural group on either list, contact us.
Indigenous:
Abenaki, Algonquin, Assiniboine, Atikamekw, Cayuga, Coast Salish, Cowichan, Dakelh, Dakota, Denesuline, Dunne-za, Haida, Haisla, Huron-Wendat, Kaska, Katzie, Ktunaxa, Kwakw’ala, Kwantlen, Musqueam, Nakoda, Nisga’a, Nlaka’pamux, Nuu-cha-nulth, Nuxalk, Odawa, Ojibway, Okanagan, Oneida, Plains Cree, Potawatomi, Saulteaux, Semiahmoo, St’at’imc, Sto:lo, Swampy Cree, Tlicho, Tlingit, Tse’khene, Tsilhqot’in, Tutchone, Woodland Cree
North American:
Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch, United Empire Loyalist
Caribbean, Central American, South American:
Costa Rican, Cuban, Bolivian, Dominican, Grenadian, Guatemalan, Haitian, Honduran, Indo-Caribbean, Mayan, Nicaraguan, Paraguayan, Salvadorean, Vincentian
European:
Albanian, Azerbaijani, Azorean, Basque, Cypriot, Kazak, Luxembourger, Macedonian, Moldovan, Roma, Sami, Spaniard, Tajik, Uzbek
Asia Pacific:
Burmese, Cambodian/Khmer, Fijian, Gujarati, Indo-Fijian, Jatt, Kashmiri, Laotian, Maharashtrian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pakistani, Rajasthani, Sikh, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Tamil, Tibetan
Middle East, African:
Algerian, Bantu, Beninese, Berber, Burundian, Cameroonian, Cape Verdean, Congolese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Guinean, Igbo, Israeli, Ivorian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Libyan, Malian, Mauritian, Moroccan, Oromo, Rwandan, Senegalese, Somali, Sudanese, Togolese, Tigrinya, Tunisian, Yemeni, Zimbabwean
Questions?
Use this contact form to get in touch with me if you have any questions.
Interested?
Is your heritage one of these groups? If so, I’d be delighted to have your participation. Tell me your ancestral/cultural group on this registration form and if it is not already represented, I will send you the maple leaf template.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about creating and submitting a leaf. If you have additional questions, please feel free to get in touch.
Your leaf should follow the maple leaf template that will be sent to you. The template measures 7 3/4″ wide by 6 5/8″ high. If it does not print at that size, please check the advanced settings in your print function. Your finished leaf does not need to be exact, but it should be reasonably close in size and shape.
The content and technique are up to you. Your leaf should represent your connection to your heritage. You may create an original design or base it on traditional designs from your cultural heritage that you have the moral authority to use. Please avoid commercial patterns, political symbols, and flags.
Your leaf must be received by July 15, 2026 in order to be incorporated into the tree for the next exhibition.
No. Quilting is only one possible textile technique. You may choose any fibre-based approach appropriate to your design, including embroidery, felting, weaving, knitting, crochet, lace, beading, printing or stamping, or other surface design techniques.
Please choose materials that suit your design and will not be too heavy to hang. Possible materials include fibre, cloth, hide, thread, yarn, paper, beads, sinew, quill, bark, feathers, and fur. Your leaf should also be durable, as it will need to travel for exhibition and be packed and shipped as part of the sculpture.
Yes. The leaf will be visible from both sides, so it needs to be finished on the front and back. Please incorporate a label on the back with your name and cultural group. Do not use paper, cardboard, or pins.
Yes. The correct orientation is with the stem at the top and the long point at the bottom, like a leaf hanging from a tree branch.
Using typical leaf colours such as green, yellow, orange, red, or brown is preferred, but it is not mandatory.
The finishing method will depend on the technique you use. For example, a quilted leaf might have a raw-edge or zig-zag finish, while an embroidered leaf might use a buttonhole or blanket stitch. Choose a finish that is appropriate to your design. The important thing is that your leaf is secure and durable.
Leaves are attached with Perle cotton. In most cases, a single stitch will be enough to create the “stem” for hanging. If this method will not work with your design or materials, please let me know.
Your label should include:
Your name
The cultural group you are representing
For example: Tracey Lawko, Ukrainian
The label must be an integral part of your leaf. Please do not use paper, cardboard, or pins.
In 120 words or less, tell the story of your leaf. You may wish to include how your design connects to your cultural heritage and whether the materials or techniques you chose have special significance. Please provide your statement in English, and if possible, also in the language of your cultural heritage.
The submission form is where you provide information about your leaf, including the materials and techniques you used, your artist statement, and your permission to exhibit your leaf. This information will be exhibited alongside the sculpture and may also be included in an exhibition catalogue, if funding is received.
The submission form asks you to agree to four statements relating to copyright, exhibition, use of images and artist statement, and the honorarium. These permissions are necessary for your leaf to be included in the artwork and exhibited. If you have any questions, please contact me.
The inaugural exhibition took place from May 28 to September 10, 2022 at the Orillia Museum of Art & History in Orillia, Ontario.
Since then, the work has also been shown at Homer Watson House & Gallery (Kitchener), Wellington Heritage Museum (Prince Edward County), and King Heritage & Cultural Centre (King City). We are gearing up for a tour to Western Canada starting in Fall 2026. Additional venues will be announced as they are confirmed.
Each participating artist will receive an honorarium of $100.00. Payment will be made after your leaf and submission form have been received. The honorarium is an artist fee. You retain ownership of your leaf.
Your leaf must remain with the exhibition for the duration of the touring period. If Reflections of Ourselves becomes part of a permanent collection, your leaf will not be returned. If that has not happened within two years of the completion of the touring exhibition, you may request that your leaf be returned.
We gratefully acknowledge support from:
