One of Canada’s greatest waterways
and the longest river in the Atlantic region, the majestic St. John River is the lifeblood of New Brunswick, flowing through the heartland of the province and connecting over one hundred communities. Called Wolastoq (Beautiful River) by the Wolastoqiyik or Maliseet (People of the Beautiful River), the original inhabitants who had camped along its banks for centuries, it was renamed on June 24, 1604, the feast day of St. John the Baptist, when the colonizing expedition of Samuel de Champlain dropped anchor at the mouth of the river on the Bay of Fundy. This bountiful watercourse with its remarkable history of cultural diversity that links Maliseet First Nations, Acadian, English, Scottish, and Irish communities has played a defining role in the development of New Brunswick. Along with serving as a major transportation artery, a conduit for log drives to saw and pulp mills, an important source of hydroelectric power, a popular site for recreational boating and tourism, and a haven for indigenous flora and fauna, it has beckoned the creative imagination of the province’s many visual artists with its inspiring natural beauty.
Wolastoq (Beautiful River) is a large-scale exhibition that explores the multiple aesthetic, geographical, historical, sociological, environmental, and cultural meanings of the St. John River through the lens of contemporary and historic works of art by many of New Brunswick’s outstanding visual artists. In conjunction with this project, the artist team of Lance Belanger and Kitty Mykka will traverse the entire length of the river and construct a series of works at selected outdoor sites along the way that will respond to various ideas, issues, and connections that derive from their experience.
Curated by Terry Graff and organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery with the support of the Province of New Brunswick and Canada Council for the Arts.