About the project

Business and Arts NL set out to create [object Object] because we believe in the power of art to draw people together, to start conversations, and to attract visitors to the unique landscape and talented artistic voices of our province.

As the database of works to be included began to fill out, we were struck by the proportion of public artworks (which, for now, we are defining as sculpture, murals, and other forms of art created by artists and found outdoors on public property) that come from the perspective of dominant powers. While many of these statues and monuments represent formative events in our history and time-honoured traditions of our province, we should be mindful of how we use words like “tradition” and “history.” Whose tradition, whose history, we might ask? Who is telling the story of this place and who or what have been left out of these “monumental” moments?

Art can be powerful. Public art is uniquely so because it is often commissioned and paid for by those who hold power, available for everyone to see, outsized, and intended as a permanent record. As we move forward together, we hope that many more pieces of public artwork will be created, and that they reflect the values of our society today. Who or what will we mount on pedestals in the future—that is, if we choose to erect pedestals at all? Public art has the power to help amplify voices that have been excluded in the past, create opportunities for participation by equity-seeking groups, elevate important topics of conversation, and improve the equity and social wellbeing of our communities.

As you explore the works here (and many more to come, we hope!), we invite you to appreciate, examine, question, and dream about what artworks might populate our landscapes in the future.

Land Acknowledgement

This app invites you to travel across this land, the island of Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), which is the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq, and Labrador, the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu of Nitassinan, the Inuit of Nunatsiavut, and the Inuit of NunatuKavut.

Business and Arts NL recognizes all First Peoples who were here before us, those who live with us now, and the seven generations to come. We acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures, and the original Peoples in what we now know as Newfoundland and Labrador and fervently believe the arts can contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share. As we open our hearts and minds to the past, we commit ourselves to working in a spirit of truth and reconciliation to make a better future for all.

For more information about this project, please visit the overview page on our website.

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