Conference of the Neighbours

Conference of the Neighbours is a bronze monument honouring our local avian and arboreal neighbours designed for the pedestrian walkway to the Ethennonnhawahstihnen’ Community Centre.

Conference of the Neighbours takes the form of a Sweetgum tree planted among 13 other Sweetgums on the inclined walkway between Sheppard Avenue East and the Centre. This particular tree is special because it is a conglomeration of bronze parts – branches, trunks, and “gumballs” cast from Sweetgum trees of different ages and sizes, who are all arboreal citizens of Tkaronto. This bronze tree is a portrait of many trees – their parts duplicated and collaged together to create a playful interpretation of a tree of trees.

In the tree’s branches and surroundings sit thirty birds, also cast in bronze, patinaed and painted in vivid colours: portraits of local avian citizens. These sculptural portraits are interpretations of drawings done by local residents of birds they have seen in their backyards, walkways and local parks. In May of 2019, class field trips were organized for 60 students in grades 4 and 5 from Elkhorn Public School, around the corner from the Community Centre, to attend “Winged Migration” workshops at Tommy Thompson Park.

These workshops gave the students the opportunity to observe and identify the diverse birds who migrate through and reside in the region, and culminated in a drawing exercise wherein they created portraits of the birds they encountered. These drawings were interpreted in three dimensions by the artists, cast in bronze, patinaed and painted, and placed in “conference” in and around the bronze Sweetgum tree.

For years to come, community members will visit the portraits enshrined in the tree at the entryway to their community centre. The monument stands to remind us of our inter-relationship with all our neighbours – both human and otherwise.