Photo description:

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ENT - statue feature Portrait of Artist Kenneth Lavallee with the stone pedestal that once held the statue of Queen Victoria before it came toppling down on Canada Day. Story: The Metis artist from St. Laurent found inspiration for a replacement for the Victoria statue in a seashell and sweetgrass that was sitting on his desk. After getting to work on his idea he completed a 3D rendering of his proposed sculpture: a metallic shell with a luminescent braid of sweetgrass emerging from it. He'd been thinking about what he would put there instead of Victoria for years. Now he knew it was one step closer to potentially happening. See Ben Waldman's story. July 15, 2021