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Calgary Herald

Calgary Public Library receives $300,000 from TD to support Indigenous artists

The Calgary Public Library has received a $300,000 donation from TD Bank Group to support its Indigenous newcomer artist-in-residence and elder-in-residence programs. Article content Article content The funding, announced on Tuesday, will support the programs through the next three years, according to Tracy Johnson, CEO of the Calgary Public Library Foundation. Article content The programs will offer paid opportunities for artists to 'engage with community through art, storytelling and mentorship,' she said, by leading programs, hosting workshops and engaging with library visitors in one-on-one meets. Article content Article content 'These residencies play a vital role in fostering cross-cultural understanding and amplifying diverse perspectives across the city,' Johnson added. Article content Article content The residencies, according to Johnson, have been ongoing for a number of years, although in different iterations. This one, she said, will support burgeoning artists and offer workshops to the public on the teachings of the medicine wheel, residential school legacies, smudge training and the difference between appreciation and appropriation. Article content Calgary Public Library CEO Sarah Meilleur said that with the help of TD, the library can create 'opportunities and give voices to historically underrepresented communities.' Article content One of the newcomer artists-in-residence for this year is Morgan Black, a member of Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation, who since March has already offered a number of public workshops and one-on-one meets. Article content Her work 'incorporates scenes of reconnecting to traditional storytelling practices colonization and decolonization and taking a critical look at truth and reconciliation,' said Meilleur, inspired by her own childhood memories of living on her ancestral land before moving away to Treaty Seven. Article content Robert Ghazal, senior vice-president and Alberta region head for TD Bank Group, said the donation comes as a result of a longtime relationship with the library foundation and is part of the bank's commitment to their corporate citizen platform, which will see the bank donating up to one billion to 'support change, nurture progress and contribute to making the world a better place.'