Jordan Bennett, left, with a project assistant, on site at his new OCAD mural, which will be unveiled June 15.

Halifax-based artist Jordan Bennett unveils new mural in Toronto

Titled pi'tawita'iek: we go up river, the 145-by-48 foot work is on view at OCAD University.

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Halifax-based artist Jordan Bennett’s Air Miles card must never be in his wallet: The mixed-media, archival-revival installation artist—whose resume includes two years in a row on the Sobey Art Award long list, winning the 2020 Masterworks Art Award and co-designing the new Art Gallery of Nova Scotia design—has been to the likes of New York, Paris and Venice to show his works.

Jordan Bennett goes outside the boxes: The Sobey Art Award shortlister’s expansive, immersive Ketu’ elmita’jik breaks down gallery lines with colour and Mi’kmaq quillwork.

His latest sojourn sees Bennett—an artist of Mi’kmaq descent—in Toronto, where today, June 15, he’ll be unveiling a mural commissioned by OCAD University. Titled pi'tawita'iek: we go up river, the 145-by-48 foot work “activates public space and in its multiple connections (to the land, between the artist and his ancestors and with our communities) widens our perception of Indigenous creativity,” as the university states in a release.

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia chooses its winning design: The design by Jordan Bennett and Lorraine Whitman's team will be built over what's now a parking lot on Salter Street.

Bennett’s work is beloved for its strong use of colour, which calls the Abstract Expressionist movement to mind—but it’s his blending of oversized, saturated mural work with reclaimed pieces of historical Mi’kmaq and Beothuk art and iconography that fans can’t get enough of. (Bennett’s 2019 AGNS show Ketu' elmita'jik saw him placing pieces of Mi’kmaq quillwork from the gallery archives in the centre of geometric murals.)

Alongside the mural, Bennett will also be mounting a solo exhibition at OCAD’s onsite gallery, called Souvenir. Both will be on view for the public until December 10.

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Morgan Mullin

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Morgan was the Arts & Entertainment Editor at The Coast, where she wrote about everything from what to see and do around Halifax to profiles of the city’s creative class to larger cultural pieces. She started with The Coast in 2016.