“Our diversity is our medicine”: new murals reflect the rich diversity of the AC community 

Posted on Thursday, August 25th, 2022

Algonquin College’s beautiful homage to indigenization and diversity was unveiled today at the Ottawa, Pembroke, Perth and AC Online campuses. The new cross-campus murals, entitled “Stronger Together,” represent the rich diversity of the AC community and its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion on the path forward. 

To mark the ceremonious occasion, Algonquin College President Claude Brulé, representing the Ottawa campus, was joined virtually by Deans of the other three Algonquin College campuses — Pembroke Acting Dean Sarah Hall, Perth Dean Chris Hahn and AC Online Acting Dean Farbod Karimi. 

President Brulé offered his sincere thanks and gratitude to all those involved in making the murals an outstanding success. 

“I want to offer my thanks to Elder Bailey from the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation who will be performing a smudging ceremony for these beautiful murals that we’ll be celebrating today,” says President Brulé. “I would also like to recognize the Algonquin College Inclusion and Diversity Circle — this dedicated group of employees conceptualized and led the endeavor to add murals to each of our campuses to showcase our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The murals are a creative collaboration between renowned artists Jimmy Baptiste, Kalkidan Assefa and André Allan. The three artists were joined by over 100 students and employees who also shared their thoughts and visions for the project and put paint to wall to help create magnificent works of art. 

The murals consist of four separate art pieces that connect to form one larger mural displayed on the AC Online campus, representing the interconnectedness of the College community. 

Spoken word poet Jamaal Jackson Rogers closed out the event with his poem “Medicine,” a reflection on the power of diversity in the Canadian community. 

Head down to any of the three in-person campuses to view a piece of the mural or take to your search bar to experience the mural in its entirety at the AC Online campus: https://www.algonquincollege.com/online/diversity-inclusion-belonging/. 

You can learn more about the art-mural project here: https://www.algonquincollege.com/diversity/mural/.


Comments

Comments are closed.