Indigenous art to be installed on Cap Diamant
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Work is underway at the scenic Cap Diamant lookout on the Plains of Abraham to prepare the site for the installation of two major works by Indigenous artists.
The National Battlefields Commission (NBC) that manages the sprawling park announced the project in a May 30 news release under the title, “An encounter between Indigenous art from east and west on the Plains of Abraham.”
The project began two years ago with the promise of a gift of West Coast Native art from the philanthropist and art aficionado Michael Audain. The entrepreneur is also one of the major funders of the huge new pavilion project to showcase the works of Jean Paul Riopelle soon to begin construction on the site of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, also on the Plains.
NBC board chair Jean Robert told the QCT he met Audain two years ago at his Vancouver office, shortly after Audain visited Quebec City for the Riopelle announcement in February 2022.
The topic of a possible gift to the Plains came up in the conversation, Robert said, and Audain mentioned he had been working on a commissioned work, called The Three Watchmen, with Haida artist and hereditary chief James Hart.
In Hart’s words, the 20-foot- high bronze statue depicts “three men sitting back to back looking out for danger approaching. If spotted, they then climb down to come and warn you of this.”
Hart’s totems and sculptures “are featured at many locations across North America and into Europe,” according to the release.
Robert said it soon became apparent that the installation of a West Coast Indigenous work of art on the Plains would be problematic for the Huron-Wendat nation, who lay ancestral claim to the Quebec City territory.
Robert said, “We needed to have an agreement with the Huron-Wendats,” so a proposal was negotiated to have a Wendat artist provide “a monument of equal value” to Hart’s work.
The artist selected is Ludovic Boney, whose work titled Remembering Through Beads consists of a series of large rings symbolizing wampum beads. Boney’s large-scale pieces are displayed at many public art spaces, including the Musée National des Beaux-Arts and the Musée de la Civilisation.
Boney said of Remembering Through Beads, “Placed on the lawn, the wampum beads tell us a story – the immense and persistent memory of our ancestors.”
Robert said Hart’s large work is already in storage in the city, delivered in the fall from the New York City foundry where it was cast.
What remains to be done now, Robert said, is to prepare the site on Cap Diamant where the two works will be installed in preparation for an anticipated official inauguration at the end of September.
He said plants of particular significance to Indigenous peoples will be planted on the site for next year.
Robert said Audain and his family plan to attend, as well as Hart and traditional Haida dancers.
The two pieces, he said, are the first major works of art to be installed on the Plains since the 1938 gift of the Jeanne d’Arc statue in the garden of the same name.
As far as the significance of the works of art for the Plains’ relationship with Indigenous peoples, Robert said it’s been overdue for a “recognition that this was their home. There’s been little mention.” He said it’s fitting the art should be installed at “maybe the nicest part of the Plains with the view of the river.”
He estimates the overall cost of the project at more than $2.5 million, including transport of the Hart piece and landscaping the site. He said the NBC has put aside money for major projects, and he is looking for donations and sponsorships to help defray the cost.
Robert said Audain’s gift “may mark the beginning of more effort into philanthropy. We know there are some Quebecers who would be happy to get involved.”