NIPIGON — A new and upcoming provincially-recognized day will help teach more people about a group of celebrated artists who have strong ties to the North Shore.
The province has passed legislation designating every July 7 as Group of Seven Day in honour of the famed early-20th century art collective, who is known for the members' striking paintings of Canadian landscapes — many of which were inspired by their travels around Lake Superior.
“I don't think enough people, younger people and people maybe outside of the art world, know enough about the Group of Seven,” said Suzanne Kukko, the Lake Superior North Shore Tourism Coordinator and mayor of Nipigon. “They are … a hugely important arts collective in the arts and culture world.”
“I think that there should be more information out there about them and I think they should be recognized a little more and a little more well known in the general population.”
Nipigon and Red Rock are the western-most stops on the Group of Seven Touring Route, which is a series of interpretive panels set up in various communities along the North Shore and south east around Lake Superior into Algoma Country, including east of Sault Ste. Marie. Each panel along the designated route has a story about the Group of Seven along with images by a member of the group.
Other communities in the region that host panels include Rossport, Terrace Bay, Marathon and White River.
“It's an interpretive panel … it looks like an easel, which is really cool with a little stool, so you can sit on it as if you're sitting and painting, but you're reading about the Group of Seven,” Kukko said.
She added that members of the group had served during the First World War and that there’s an argument to be made that they came north as a way of dealing with the aftermath.
“It's kind of a nice story as well that they wanted to come here to find the natural beauty and help themselves heal at the same time.”
Kukko said the group’s impact and influence was and is strongly felt, not only in Canada, but abroad.
“It's a world-renowned artist collective, which was very important, not just in the Canadian art scene, but in the international art scene,” she said.
