A northwestern Ontario arts and speaker series event focused on grief, memory, and healing, featuring artist Leanne Nicholson. This session explores how loss reshapes the body, work, and identity, and how art becomes a practice of holding experience that cannot be fully expressed in language.
June Artist Speaker Series Explores Grief, Memory and Healing Through Art
This June, the Artist Speaker Series in Melgund Township will welcome local artist and social worker Leanne Nicholson for a deeply personal discussion exploring grief, healing, memory, and the role of art in navigating loss.
Taking place on Sunday, June 7, 2026, the session will reflect on how grief can reshape everyday life, creativity, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Rather than viewing grief as something with a clear ending, Nicholson’s talk explores it as an ongoing and evolving lived experience that can surface in unexpected ways over time.
Drawing from her own lived experience, Nicholson will discuss different forms of grief, including sudden loss, anticipatory grief, collective grief, and prolonged mourning. The presentation will examine how loss can affect identity, routine, and creative expression, while also creating space for reflection, resilience, and connection.
Throughout the session, art will be explored as a tool for healing and emotional expression. Creative practice can provide ways to process difficult experiences, preserve memory, and communicate emotions that are often difficult to fully express through words alone.
Participants will also be invited into a respectful and supportive environment for quiet reflection and optional shared storytelling. The event aims to foster conversation and understanding around grief, mental wellness, healing, and the importance of creative spaces within rural and northern communities.
Born in Red Lake and deeply connected to northwestern Ontario, Nicholson’s artistic practice is shaped by the forests and landscapes of the region. Working across visual and mixed-media forms, she creates wildlife imagery and pieces incorporating natural materials such as antlers, bones, and skulls. Her work reflects themes of continuity, resilience, and respect for the stories carried within the land and its animals.
Nicholson also brings creativity into her work as a social worker, where artistic practice continues to support reflection, connection, and healing in the communities she serves.
Event Information
Artist Speaker Series: Grief, Memory and Healing Through Art
Sunday, June 7, 2026
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dyment Recreation Hall
Lower Level Art Space
Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario
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