Thirty members of the canoeing team rehearse on Toronto鈥檚 waterfront, joined by artist Melissa McGill (in blue hat), as they prepare to bring A Lake Story to life 鈥 a large-scale public artwork featuring silk banners dyed with pigments made from natural materials collected around the city.
Hand-dyeing silks with pigments foraged from the 海角社区官网waterfront 鈥 including water from the Don River, acorns from local Oak savannahs, and iron-rich water from Leslie Street Spit.
Artist Melissa McGill shares a light moment with collaborator Jason Logan during a break in a silk-dyeing session. Together, they transformed foraged natural materials from Toronto鈥檚 shoreline into 120 unique pigments for the community-driven waterfront performance, A Lake Story.
Thirty members of the canoeing team rehearse on Toronto鈥檚 waterfront, joined by artist Melissa McGill (in blue hat), as they prepare to bring A Lake Story to life 鈥 a large-scale public artwork featuring silk banners dyed with pigments made from natural materials collected around the city.
At the end of the month, a fleet of 120 canoes will take to Lake Ontario in a choreographed performance meant to reconnect 海角社区官网with its shoreline. In each boat, a volunteer will wave a silk banner dyed with pigments foraged from the waterfront 鈥 part of A Lake Story, a large-scale public artwork commissioned by The Bentway and led by New York-based artist Melissa McGill, who calls herself a 鈥渨ater storyteller.鈥澛
Biidaasige Park in the Port Lands opens this weekend to the public, part of the multibillion-dollar project to rehabilitate the Don River’s
Before turning to public art, McGill spent more than 20 years exhibiting her drawings and sculptures in international galleries. Now, she hopes to inspire action outside traditional spaces. 鈥淭here’s a lot of fatigue around climate change discussion right now, and people don’t know what to do,鈥 McGill says. 鈥淚f you bring people in close contact with water in sustainable ways, hopefully, they’ll care more about our shared water.鈥
She worked on the project with her longtime friend Jason Logan, a 海角社区官网artist known for foraging natural colours from the environment and turning them into ink. Together, they gathered natural sources from Lake Ontario 鈥 including crab apple and vinegar from Leslie Spit, roasted chicory root from Garrison Creek, and water from the Don River, among others 鈥 and created the chemical reactions needed to turn them into 120 unique ink colours. Along with students from OCAD University, they then painted these onto regeneratively farm-sourced silk flags. 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to scale up my small-scale, often intimate practice of unearthing pigments in a way that allows the materials to sing themselves to the whole city,鈥 Logan told The Star.
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Artist Melissa McGill shares a light moment with collaborator Jason Logan during a break in a silk-dyeing session. Together, they transformed foraged natural materials from Toronto鈥檚 shoreline into 120 unique pigments for the community-driven waterfront performance, A Lake Story.
Andrew Williamson
鈥 at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. 鈥 on Sept. 27 and 28, along the waterfront. The performance can be viewed from Biidaasige Park and is free to the public.
Ilana Altman, co-executive director of The Bentway, says she brought McGill in for the project because of her large-scale, water-based practice and commitment to co-creation. 鈥淲ith our Great Lake shared by New York and Ontario, McGill鈥檚 cross-border perspective makes the collaboration especially meaningful,鈥 Altman says.
Cabana Pool Bar recently received the OK to play amplified music outdoors, a decision the city is appealing 鈥 and that alarms 海角社区官网Island
The project began when a group of waterfront organizations approached The Bentway with a simple ask: help bring Torontonians back to the lake. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a demonstration of the power of public art to connect partners, places, and priorities 鈥 and to help us see our city anew,鈥 Altman says. Funded through philanthropy, grants, sponsorships, and community donations, the project brings together major waterfront stakeholders working collaboratively for the first time.
Hand-dyeing silks with pigments foraged from the 海角社区官网waterfront 鈥 including water from the Don River, acorns from local Oak savannahs, and iron-rich water from Leslie Street Spit.
Andrew Williamson
One of the key partners is Waterfront Toronto. President and CEO George Zegarac says A Lake Story aligns with the organization鈥檚 broader efforts to support public art and placemaking. 鈥淎 Lake Story brings together art, nature, and community in a vibrant celebration of our waterfront,鈥 Zegarac told The Star. 鈥淭his project invites discovery, adventure, and a renewed connection to the water.鈥 Other groups involved include the Waterfront BIA, PortsToronto, Nieuport, Billy Bishop 海角社区官网City Airport, and Redpath Sugar.
While A Lake Story celebrates the beauty and wonder of Lake Ontario, the performance also comes at a time when the lake faces ongoing environmental challenges. Urban runoff, shoreline development, and the impact of climate change have raised growing concerns among conservation groups. For artists like McGill, the goal is not only to inspire awe, but to foster deeper awareness and stewardship.
A walkable route through Toronto鈥檚 first named neighbourhood, from the Berczy Park dog fountain to Moss Park鈥檚 tucked-away espresso bar.
McGill has been particularly inspired by the collaboration and commitment she鈥檚 seen from local water-focused organizations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something you see every day as someone who works in public spaces,鈥 she says. 鈥淭oronto鈥檚 relationship to the lake is amazing. There’s a lot to do environmentally, but there’s a lot already being done in the right direction.鈥
For McGill, the performance is a kind of conversation. 鈥淗undreds of people coming together on the water invites a shift of perspective as we learn from nature鈥檚 creativity and vitality,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the lake鈥檚 expression and speaking the lake鈥檚 language. What if we listen to the lake’s wisdom, and the life the lake supports?鈥
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