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Calgary Herald

First Nation artist draws inspiration from family for artwork unveiling at BMO Centre

Keegan Starlight has fond memories of the Stampede. Article content Article content His parents were teepee owners, a responsibility passed down from his grandmother, and every year they would set up a teepee in the grounds. 'It's a generational tradition,' he said, which means painting the teepee, getting together the canvas and the poles and sewing it together before setting it up. Article content 'It all has to be done with good intentions,' he said. 'There can't be any anger or any arguments happening. Article content Article content 'It usually is a really good experience,' he added, with his family members laughing and having fun — 'just the way it's supposed to be. Article content Article content 'It's protecting the spirit of the teepee.' Article content It's those memories that the 40-year-old artist from Tsuut'ina First Nation recreated in his panel artwork unveiled at the BMO Centre on Wednesday evening. Article content Extending 12 feet by 18, the painting showcases Starlight's young daughter dressed traditionally, leaning against the family's horse with her cheek pressed gently to the bridge of the horse's nose. Article content The teepee stands in the background, in shades of white and orange, with four big red spots visibly extending down its canvas. Article content Despite being the inspiration and the subject of his painting, Starlight joked that his daughter disliked having to stand for it. 'She hated it,' he said with a chuckle, but said she changed her mind fairly quickly once the painting was done. Article content 'She's actually quite happy with it,' he said, adding that she's asked him if she could be on camera for interviews on the painting. 'That's up to you, if you want to,' he recalled of his response to her. Article content Article content Article content The artwork was almost a year in the making after Starlight received the news in February of last year that he had been commissioned by the Bank of Montreal to add his painting to the building. Article content But the project had been in the works for four years, according to Paul Seipp, regional president for personal and business banking at BMO, as part of the new BMO Centre expansion. Article content 'We saw it as a great opportunity to celebrate our partnership with the communities and celebrate the relationship between the Indigenous communities and the Stampede for many individuals that have the opportunity to see the BMO Centre.' Article content They had already been familiar with Starlight's work, having commissioned a piece from him previously for one of the bank's branches in Buffalo. 'We wanted to make sure that we had an artist from the area, specifically Treaty 7. And we knew Keegan to be a very prominent artist in the area,' Seipp said.