A committee at city hall in Saskatoon will explore options of bringing new Indigenous members to the group that oversees public art.
'I've always said don't just put up a dream catcher.' - Marcel Petit
"It's missing a voice," said Indigenous artists and filmmaker Marcel Petit in an interview with CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.
Call came from the committee itself
The seven people who decide what art pieces get displayed throughout the city want their group to now include two or more Indigenous members, as the group currently has none.
Jeremy Morgan, the chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee, wrote to city hall asking for help in finding new members from the Indigenous community.
"The kind of conversation gets to be different when you have people around the table who have a different perspective or can bring a sensibility that's not what we usually think of when we think of public art," Morgan said.
A muskox sculpture by Floyd Wanner on 20th Street called "Keeping the Wolf at Bay." (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
Mayor supports effort in spirit of reconciliation
The Governance and Priorities Committee received the letter as information Monday. It also referred the matter senior administration, which is currently conducting a review of the City Council Advisory Committee's composition.
Petit suggested it should not be difficult to find Indigenous people who are willing to sit on the Public Art Advisory Committee.
Mayor Charlie Clark has already made his position known. Clark fully endorses the idea in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.
"The more our boards have the right mix of diversity to help inform the decision that they're making and give advice to council, the better," he said.
