Read Stephanie’s Artist Statement

Spring Paddler was commissioned by STO Union for River Spring in 2022.

In 2023, the work was selected for the City of Ottawa’s permanent art collection.

River Spring is one part of River, STO Union’s community arts project inspired by the Gatineau River / Tenagàdino Zìbi and by the changing seasons.

The project began in 2020–21 and invites artists and community members to respond creatively to the river through drawing, storytelling, video, workshops and other forms of participation.

For River Spring, artist Stephanie Hill created Spring Paddler, a drawing filled with some of the living beings that emerge and become active along the riverside in spring.

Spring brings a rising river, opening seeds, moving animals and a return toward the sun. The drawing invited community members to reflect on the question:

What is becoming possible for you?

About River

During 2020–21, at the height of the pandemic and repeated lockdowns, STO Union transformed the advertising insert of the regional newspaper The Low Down to Hull and Back into a community art project.

Each season, the public received a drawing depicting the Gatineau River / Tenagàdino Zìbi at that time of year, along with prompts inviting people to colour, respond and tell stories connected to the river, the season and their own experience.

Since then, River has continued to evolve through exhibitions, workshops, public engagement and community partnerships.

THE RIVER SPRING VIDEO

         video and music by Nadia Ross

More on the River project:

Learn more about River.

Learn more about River Summer.
Learn more about River Fall.
Learn more about River Winter.

Selected presentation history

2020–21 — Biblio Wakefield Library, Wakefield, Quebec
2022 — Place des Artistes de Farrellton, Farrellton, Quebec
2023 — Fairbairn House Heritage Centre, Wakefield, Quebec
2023 — Ottawa Riverkeeper
2024 — Khewa, Wakefield, Quebec
2024 — Tenagàdino Zìbi Alliance presentation at COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan

Drawings from the project have also continued to circulate as public-engagement tools, including with Friends of the Gatineau River, local schools and community centres.

River project partners are:

F.O.G. (Friends of the Gatineau River) https://www.fog-arg.org/
Biblio Wakefield Library http://bibliowakefieldlibrary.ca/

STO Union gratefully acknowledges the Canada Council for the Arts for its ongoing support.