Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture (NPRC) launched Lighting a Path, a month-long First Nations public art installation February 16th until March 16th at Sway-a-Lana (Maffeo Sutton Park).
Lighting a Path features many First Nations artists including:
- Dr. William and Joel Good (represented by their family design house, Ay Lelum)
- Kwulasultun/Eliot White-Hill
- Kwasilwit/Chenoa Point, traditional Snuneymuxw master weaver
- Noel Brown
- Ryan Hughes, master Coast Salish carver
- Yutustana:t/Gena Seward-Wilson.
The installation features six works of art projected onto the ground with visitors encouraged to walk through the park to view each one. The designs projected include the Spindle Whorls by the late Dr. William and Joel Good, xwulmuxw (as in people and language rooted in place) by Elliot White-Hill, and four untitled pieces.
Spindle Whorl by the Late Dr. William and Joel Good are said to symbolize spinning tools traditionally used to spin wool into yarn.
Kwasilwit’s (Chenoa Point) inspiration originates from her familial ties and the Snuneymuxw Longhouse in Cedar, which reminds her “that weaving is a living teaching rooted in community, culture, and care.” (source).
Gena Seward-Wilson says that for her, weaving is a “lifelong journey of learning, growing, and deepening my connection to the ancient textile practices of our Coast Salish people. Weaving is my connection to who we were, who we are, and who we will become.”
Jaime-Brett Sine, the Culture Coordinator of NPRC is the Artistic Director and coordinated with Snuneymuxw First Nation for this installation. Sine said this installation is best viewed after dark and showcases light as a storytelling medium in public space to transform familiar landscapes into spaces of reflection and connection.
Sine said art is a bright spot in dark times to light the path forward for the community and offer hope. “We developed processes together, including the initial communication with artists, invitations to participate, the messaging and communication around the project, and opportunities for community engagement.”
Sine said working collaboratively with Snuneymuxw First Nation is part of Nanaimo’s City Plan (“Nanaimo Reimagined”) and Lighting a Path reflects that emphasis on reconciliation, relationship-building, and respectful collaboration.
Sine said they “recognized the importance of creating accessible opportunities for local Indigenous artists” who chose to honour the Land, Sway-a-Lana, and the “importance of place and history.”
Sine hopes that visitors will leave with a “better understanding of Indigenous art as a living and evolving artform,” as well as a “deeper understanding of the practice and traditions of local Snuneymuxw artists […and] feel a connection with the land they are walking on.”
Future park events and public art projects will include a continuation of 2025’s Luminous Paths planned for mid-February until mid-March 2027, as well as other opportunities for Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation and Culture department to involve Indigenous artists through the Urban Design Roster Program.
