Team Wreford

Images of the design concept

Team members

Design intent

Our design embodies the strength, activism and hope of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and is a lasting testimony to the courage and humanity of those who were harmed by the Purge, homophobic and transphobic laws and norms, and Canada’s colonial history. A thunderhead expands within a huge column, creating an imprint of a cloud clad in mirrored tile: a gleaming space that becomes the monument. It rises up as our community has risen up to say, “We demand change”. A stage extends from the monument’s base for protests and performances, and its interior can host intimate events. Situated in a verdant park, Thunderhead can be approached from a path that traces the history of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians, or from a healing circle ringed with stones hand-picked by Two-Spirit Elders. Surrounded by native plants, including a medicinal garden and orchard, this monument is a space for expressions of grief, healing, and celebration.

Transcript

Transcript of the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument Team Wreford video

Video length: 1:31 minutes

The visual elements are animated renderings and video images of members of the design team.

The narrators are Liz Wreford, Shawna Dempsey, Albert McLeod.

[Video footage of design team members, Lorri Millan, Shawna Dempsey, Liz Wreford, Peter Sampson, Albert McLeod]

Voice of Shawna Dempsey: “We’re the only all Canadian team, we’re a primarily queer team, we are the Purge generation.”

[Text on screen: Albert McLeod, President of the Two-Spirited People of Manitoba]

[Video footage of Albert McLeod speaking]

Voice of Albert McLeod: “We’ve been purged from Canadian history.”

[Text on screen: Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Performance Artists]

[Video footage of Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, with Shawna speaking]

Voice of Shawna Dempsey: “Our friends, our lovers were hounded out of the military, were subjected to violence on the streets of this country. We have a huge responsibility to honour all of those lives. We need to create a monument to embody the creativity and passion of our communities.”

[Video footage of all team members with a river in the background]

[Renderings of the monument site at night in a more relaxed, contemplative context and of the monument site during the day with active celebrations and a dynamic energy]

[Video footage of Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson]

[Text on screen: Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson, Public City Architecture Inc.]

Voice of Liz Wreford: “We were talking about how a thunderhead brings a sense of awe and it brings a sense of fear, and it can be destructive, but it can also provide growth and it can provide new life. It’s as if we tried to contain a cloud that disappeared. It just left an imprint of itself within the monument and the void becomes the monument. As you enter the site you are confronted by a curving wall that provides the history of the Purge.”

[Animated rendering of the upper pathway of the monument in the rain as it enters the cylinder that contains the thunderhead]

[Animated rendering of a close up view on the interior of the mirror-tiled thunderhead, looking upwards to the night sky]

[Animated rendering of a close up view of the upper terrace of the monument that contains a curved wall that provides thematic interpretation]

[Video footage of Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, with Lorri speaking]

Voice of Lorri Millan: “There are two stages within this monument. One faces inwards. It’s perfect for vigils, small gatherings, individual contemplative moments. The other thrusts outward from the base of the monument itself. You can have larger performances, bands, protests. There is a fire pit around which people can gather as points of remembrance and healing.”

[Animated rendering of a close up ground view the entrance to the cylinder that contains the mirror-tiled thundercloud]

[Animated rendering of thundercloud from further out with artists performing in the space under the thundercloud and an audience enjoying the performance]

[Animated rendering of a contemplative space outside the thundercloud cylinder that shows a fire pit, seating boulders and landscaping]

[Video footage of Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson]

Voice of Liz Wreford: “It needs to be a place for people to be seen and heard and given a voice. It can be a place for big performances or really intimate moments.”

[Animated rendering of pathways surrounding the main monument elements with a lush landscape and seating areas]

[Animated rendering of a close up interior view of upper level of the thunderhead with people looking out onto the monument site]

[Video footage of Albert McLeod speaking]

Voice of Albert McLeod: “There’s always hope, no matter what we are confronted with. This is a physical demonstration of that for our nation.”

[Animated rendering of the monument site showing the cylinder containing the thunderhead, lush landscaping, pathways and seating]

[Animated nighttime rendering of the approach to the monument site, showing the illuminated thunderhead surrounded by a grassy gathering space, with the curved interpretive wall in the foreground]

View the other teams' designs

Click on the images below to view the design concepts of the other teams.

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