Beginning on June 12, 2023 in River Mill Park, seven artists will join muralist Gerry Lantaigne to create original murals inspired by and celebrating the work of Tom Thomson.
The murals will be painted en plein air in Downtown Huntsville’s River Mill Park. Each one will be painted on the underside of a canoe and will incorporate and take inspiration from a painting by Tom Thomson.
The canoes will then be exhibited for free in the park until the fall of 2023 and will be included in the ECLIPSE Light Walk at Muskoka Heritage Place throughout the winter. After their exhibition, they will be included in the 2024 Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Auction which raises thousands of dollars for Ontario arts & culture organizations. Through these activities, the murals will be seen by tens of thousands, and will raise funds for Ontario’s art & cultural community.
This year’s participating artists are:
1. Samantha Collett
2. Leonardo Guilherme
3. Steph Schofield
4. Joyce Jonathan Crone
5. Kali Stadtke
6. Taylor Ray Luecke
7. Melissa Pole
Artists will be working in River Mill Park June 12 to June 17, between 10 am-6 pm.
The Group of Seven Canoe Mural Project began in 2020 as a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Group of Seven’s first show. Huntsville artist Gerry Lantaigne, known for his work on the Group of 7 Outdoor Gallery, was commissioned to create 7 murals, each one celebrating one of the members of the Group of Seven Artists. The original canoes were included in the 2021 Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Auction helping to raise over $25,000 for a number of local Arts & Cultural Organizations.
This project is sponsored by Algonquin Outfitters and made possible through the generous support of the Downtown Huntsville BIA. It is one of the many different projects and events that mark the Huntsville Festival of the Arts’ 2023 Summer Season.
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I have appreciated the beautiful art that has been created on the canoes in the past few years and look forward to observing the artists this year as they create their renderings. It is wonderful how the Huntsville community provides this exposure for artists to display their talent in a unique way1 Leanne Witt, North Bay