Sudbury sisters are highlighting northern Ont. female history through art
For Caitlin and Cassidy McAuliffe, two sisters from Sudbury, Ont., it all started with a picture.
"The first one we came across was Carolyn Mayben Flowers," said Caitlin. "So she was kind of what sparked everything actually. We just saw her photo and her photo was really cool."
Cassidy added, "She was by her canoe and her canoe had a little inscription that said ‘Lady Prospector’ and she’s just standing there next to her canoe, there’s kind of some men in the background. It’s a black and white photo because it’s the 1900s and she’s got this gun-slinging on her hip and she’s got her paddle."
That picture was the start of something bigger. A project highlighting women’s lives from the 19th and 20th centuries in northern Ontario.
"We just thought ‘who is this lady?’ and that’s when we followed her story," they both said.
The pair, known as the Woodland Sisters, used Mayben Flowers' history for inspiration, launching their latest art and storytelling project, Women Who Break Trail.
"The art portion of the project is a print-making portrait series, so we hand-carve linoleum and roll it with ink and stamp it," explained Cassidy. "So it’s a portrait of each woman that we highlight and then the storytelling side is where we tell a story of the woman’s experience or time in northern Ontario through text, maps, photos, videos, archival materials – so like letters or news clippings from the past and we put that all together on an online platform called a story map."
Art created by Woodland Sisters of Timmins lady prospector Caroline Maben Flower (Supplied)
The McAuliffes started this project back in 2018 with the goal to highlight 10 different women. So far three stories are completed.
"It’s funny because when we were thinking about the project we were thinking about like ‘maybe we should mention the first woman lawyer’ or that sort of thing," said Caitlin. "But we were really interested in ‘how do people live in the bush?’ Like that remote interacting with nature and even sort of rural communities, that really interests us and I think it’s because that’s how we grew up."
Recently the pair received a $15,000 grant from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) to help finish three more.
Officials with the OAC said the project is being funded through its Northern Arts Program, which is specifically designed to highlight and help artists from northern Ontario.
The sisters said the money will go towards data collection, research, collaborative partners and helping to pay people who are working on the project, including themselves.
"We want to make sure that it’s done right and have the right people to look at it. So we’re going to hire those people," said Caitlin.
Overall they said the goal is to highlight women’s history in northern Ontario and make sure that people hear about their stories.
"We want to bring new perspectives about women’s history in northern Ontario to the fore," said Cassidy. "There’re so many rich and diverse stories of women here or have spent time here, but often they go unnoticed or undocumented or their accounts are fragmented. So we really want to collect these stories and curate them in a way that’s both engaging for readers but is also accessible online."
Caitlin added, "Basically everything is about place and how place shapes you or how it shaped these women -- even if they weren’t here for a long time -- or how you shape a place. I think that was one of the main things is were really interested in the (geographical) area of northern Ontario and mapping these stories."
Right now, the focus is on highlighting more women in northern Ontario and completing the Women Who Break Trail Project, however, there could be some big plans once the project wraps up.
"We don’t know for the future, but maybe we’ll have a little gallery opening or something like that and we can have them somewhere in Sudbury," said Caitlin.
Cassidy echoed those dreams, "I think it would be really incredible to have each of these portraits hung on the wall together in an exhibition with their story beside it."
Woodland Sisters was first created back in 2015 and the pair started with sustainable projects. Both their work and the Women Who Break Trail project can be found on their social media pages.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.