Renfrew County Inquest Public Art Response

The Renfrew County Inquest Public Art Response honours and commemorates all who have been impacted by intimate partner violence and all who advocate for change.  

We remember Anastasia Kuzyk.

We remember Carol Culleton.

We remember Nathalie Warmerdam. 

This public art project offered Renfrew County community members opportunities to make meaning of, and respond to, the triple femicide that occurred on Sept. 22, 2015; providing pathways for community arts engagement responding to the 2022 Chief Coroner of Ontario’s Inquest that investigated how and where systemic change could prevent such gender-based violence and femicide in the future. 

The Renfrew County Inquest Public Art Response is produced and devised by ReDefine Arts in partnership with local civic, community, and cultural partners: the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County (WSAC), Ending Violence Against Women - Renfrew County, the Township of Madawaska Valley, Community Resource Centre (Killaloe) and the Survivor Advocacy & Support Initiative (SASI), Ottawa Valley Community Arts (OV-CAOS), and Victim Services of Renfrew County (VSRC). 

The Renfrew County Inquest Public Art Response culminated in a public unveiling event in Water Tower Park in Barry’s Bay on September 22, 2022 and features an 8-foot pebble mosaic commission by artist Anna Camilleri, which included a collaborative design process with community members. 150 small community-generated mosaics were also made in conjunction with a community arts and pebble mosaic training program for local artists. This monument lives in this public space to invite vital, but often private, conversations to be more public, so that communities can gain insight, heal from trauma, and support ongoing local and wider collective efforts toward a world free from gender-based violence.  

The work of realizing the 86 recommendations for change from the Renfrew County Inquest is ongoing. The Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury and all 86 recommendations can be found here:

https://lukesplace.ca/86-recommendations-for-change-from-the-renfrew-county-inquest/  

Credits
Anna Camilleri, Lead Artist & Pebble Mosaic Design (ReDefine Arts)
Tristan R. Whiston, Lead Artist & Mentorship (ReDefine Arts)
Andy Trull, Community Artist & Mentorship (OVCAOS)
Roberta Della-Picca, Elder & Community Artist
Wy Joung Kou, Associate Artist & Graphic Design (ReDefine Arts)
Megan Wilk, Program & Access Coordination (ReDefine Arts)
Katie Yealland, Production (ReDefine Arts)
Anna MacDonald, Outreach & Coordination (SASI / CRC)
Caitlin MacDonald, Outreach & Coordination (SASI / CRC)
JoAnne Brooks, Advisor/Support (WSAC / EVA)
Jancy Brown, Support (WSAC / EVA)
Bev Ritza, Support (WSAC / EVA)
Hannah Gutoskie, Community Development Coordinator (TMV)
Maureen MacMillan, Still Photography
Tariq Sami, Graphic Design
Sam Burgess, Community Artist Intern
Kayla Dombroskie, Community Artist Intern
Sigrid Geddes, Community Artist Intern
Rowan Lalonde, Community Artist Intern
EmmaRose MacDonald, Community Artist Intern
Angelica Louise Mann, Community Artist Intern
Miles Thibault, Community Artist Intern
Marie-Pier Trudel, Community Artist Intern
Tammy Reimer, Community Artist Intern
Jasmine Rouleau, Community Artist Intern
Megan Spencer, Community Artist Intern 

Water Tower Park, Barry’s Bay, the location of the Renfrew County Inquest Public Art Response monument, is situated on unceded traditional Omàmìwininì (Algonquin) territory. We acknowledge our shared obligation to respect, honour, and sustain these lands and the natural resources within it. 

We acknowledge support for this project provided by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and the Canadian Women's Foundation, as well as sponsorship from Zuracon Inc., without which this work would not be possible.