Conference at the Council House
Bronze, steel, powder-coated aluminum
Tower: 250cm tall, Birds: variable, 25cm - 60cm in length
To be installed in the fall of 2017
City of Mississauga, Celebration Square

Commissioned by the City of Mississauga, Conference at the Council House stands at the entry to the Mississauga Public Library and Celebration Square as a monument to remind the local community of the rich history and diversity of the region. Thirty birds confer on and around a replica of the tower from the Council House built on the New Credit reserve in Hagersville 132 years ago – the land the Mississauga people moved to in 1847 from their ancestral home on the Credit River, in what is today the city of Mississauga. What if the Mississaugas had not left their home by the Credit River, and instead built their Council House in 1882 on the land where Celebration Square now sits? The tower will stand at Celebration Square as a reminder that we are standing on the Traditional Land of the Mississaugas of the Credit. The replica will be created in consultation with the New Credit Council members.

The community of birds flocked around the Council House tower represents the diverse community that populates this land today. Outreach forms one portion of the work for Conference at the Council House. 30 bird sculptures will be created using drawings from people in the local community. Fieldtrips for children are organized to the Riverwood Conservancy where the young people engage in bird watching activities and learn about their bird neighbours, both local and migratory. The students are then invited to draw portraits of the birds they see or even birds from their own imaginations. In addition to these fieldtrips, calls for submission for bird portraits are posted in local libraries, community centres, and on the New Credit reserve. The process of gathering and interpreting these portraits involves the active engagement of the community through an outreach program in consultation with an aboriginal Elder, fostering a sense of responsibility and care for the environment and all beings with whom we share the land.