Skip to content

Art Borups Corners

Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario

cropped-1.jpg
Primary Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Art Borups Corners
    • Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario
      • Local Services Board of Melgund
      • Borups Corners, Northwestern Ontario
      • Dyment, Northwestern Ontario
      • Neighbouring Communities
    • Reports
      • 2023-2024 Report
      • 2021-2022 Report
      • Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Tracker
  • News
    • Melgund Township News
    • Events and Activities
      • 2025-2026 Melgund Township Music Series
    • Local Services Board of Melgund Meeting Minutes
    • News Archive
    • Photos and Short Stories
  • Arts and Culture
    • Library
      • Northwestern Ontario Stories
        • Borups Corners Adventures
      • France
        • Fnac
        • Furet du nord
      • Germany and Austria
        • eBook.de
        • Hugendubel
        • Lehmanns Media
        • Morawa
        • Osiander
        • Thalia Books
      • Italy
        • LaFeltrinelli Internet Bookshop
      • Japan
        • 楽天グループ
      • Netherlands
        • Standaard Boekhandel
        • Boekholt Boekhandels
      • Switzerland
        • Ex Libris
        • Orell Füssli
      • USA
        • Barnes and Noble
        • Palace Marketplace
        • Overdrive
    • Melgund Township Spring and Summer Arts Incubator Program
    • Art Borups Corners
    • Artists, Researchers and Collaborators
    • Creative Arts & Community Recreation Programs
    • Living Land Lab
    • Storytelling Club
    • The Arts Incubator
  • Recreation
    • Framework for Recreation in Canada
    • Music and Entertainment
    • Recreation for an Aging Population
    • Youth Engagement
    • Arts and Recreation Facilities
      • Dyment Cookshack
      • Dyment Recreation Hall
      • Melgund Lake Boat Launch
      • Dyment Ice Shack
      • Melgund Lake Conservation Reserve
      • The Pavilion
  • Resources
    • Adaptive Phased Management
    • Melgund Township Oral History Project
    • Funding Programs and Sources
    • Guide for Local Services Boards
    • Northern Services Boards Act
    • Workshops
  • Contact
  • Arts Incubator
  • Home
  • Recreation
  • Plants, People, and the Arts
  • Recreation

Plants, People, and the Arts

This year, as part of our ongoing photography, traditional storytelling, and arts-based learning activities, we’re documenting the life cycles of the plants we’re growing in our garden plots and on the land around us.
Jamie Bell June 5, 2025
The Nodding Trillium was one of the many plants that truly fascinated us this year. We had walked past it countless times, never realizing it was quietly growing all around us—hiding its delicate white bloom beneath its leaves. Once we finally noticed it, we began to understand why so many traditional plants are described as humble teachers.

The Nodding Trillium was one of the many plants that truly fascinated us this year. We had walked past it countless times, never realizing it was quietly growing all around us—hiding its delicate white bloom beneath its leaves. Once we finally noticed it, we began to understand why so many traditional plants are described as humble teachers.

Exploring Traditional Knowledge Through Arts, Photography, and Land-Based Learning

One of this year’s most meaningful Arts Incubator and Land Lab projects actually began during our pilot program back in 2022. At the time, we were still finding our footing—organizing, listening, learning, and shaping our structures. We only got a small glimpse of what was possible.

But now, we’re back—and we’re going deeper. Last year, we learned a tonne about sustainable agriculture as part of our Relationship Development and Engagement activities that were supported by Manitoba Agriculture and their Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture programs. Those experiences really set the tone and it was a lot of fun.

This year, as part of our ongoing photography, storytelling, and arts-based learning activities, we’re documenting the life cycles of the plants we’re growing in our plots. But it doesn’t stop there. We’re also heading into the forests that surround us—listening, walking, and taking note of the many traditional plants growing all around, often overlooked but never forgotten.

Knowledge Gaps

For many of us, there’s a gap in knowledge. We don’t always know how the native plants in our region were used by our grandparents or great-grandparents when they still lived on the land. That’s what makes this work powerful. The more we learn, the more curious we become—and the more connected we feel.

This season, we’ll be capturing every phase of growth—sprout to bloom to decay—while learning how these plants were used for food, medicine, ceremony, and more. What makes this project even more exciting is that our other hubs across Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut are also joining in. Together, we’ll compare how plants grow across our regions, how they adapt, and how our ancestors worked with them.

Through this shared exploration, we’re not just learning about plants—we’re learning about ourselves, our community stories, and the ecosystems we belong to.

We’ll be showcasing our findings in a special exhibition later this fall as part of our 2025 Fall & Winter program, launching in late October. Expect stories, photographs and reflections gathered from every corner of our growing network.

Stay tuned—and maybe take a walk in the woods. You never know what’s growing beside you.

About the Author

Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell

Administrator

Jamie Bell is a Winnipeg-based interdisciplinary artist and strategist working at the intersection of media arts, community engagement, and public affairs. Among others, his work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program, with a focus on participatory media, strategic communications, and arts-based collaboration across northern and urban contexts.

Author's website Author's posts
Tags: SDG 15 SDG 4

Continue Reading

Previous: The Wild Rose
Next: Cream-colored Vetchling

Related News

Interdisciplinary capacity is the new creative skill—artists learning systems, not just mediums, through hands-on creation.
  • Borups Corners
  • Recreation

The System as Curriculum

Art Borups Corners October 16, 2025
The Sovereign Stack redefines innovation for Northern Ontario’s arts sector—building creative capacity through local ownership and sustainable tools.
  • Borups Corners
  • Recreation

From StartUP to SustainUP

Art Borups Corners October 15, 2025
From analog tapes to cloud data, Northern Ontario’s artists are turning preservation into an act of cultural independence.
  • Borups Corners
  • Recreation

Archival Sovereignty

Art Borups Corners October 14, 2025

Recent Posts

  • The Next Brew
  • Melgund LSB Meeting Highlights
  • Centre of Expertise Plans on Display
  • The Community’s New Stories
  • Stories with Northern Roots
Ontario projects and programming for The Arts Incubator have been made possible with funding and support from the Ontario Arts Council.

You may have missed

Winnipeg teens collaborate on a city-wide arts showcase, fostering community and creative skill development through new storytelling. Written by Tony Eetak and published by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg.
  • Books in our Library
  • Winnipeg

The Next Brew

Art Borups Corners October 23, 2025
nuclear-waste-centre
  • Melgund Township

Melgund LSB Meeting Highlights

Art Borups Corners October 23, 2025
Nuclear Waste Management Organization Centre of Expertise
  • Photos and Short Stories

Centre of Expertise Plans on Display

Art Borups Corners October 23, 2025
A powerful new short story, "The Community's New Stories" by Jamie Bell and published by the Art Borups Corners Storytelling Club, offers a compelling look at resilience and the enduring spirit of community in the face of adversity. The narrative centres on a small, close-knit community in Northwestern Ontario or Manitoba, grappling with the aftermath of a devastating flood that submerges their beloved community hall library. It tells the moving tale of three teenagers who step up to rebuild, not just physical spaces, but the very fabric of their collective memory.
  • Books in our Library

The Community’s New Stories

Art Borups Corners October 21, 2025

NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO ARTS PROGRAMS

This platform, our Northwestern Ontario hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Arts Incubator and Art Borups Corners Collective was seeded with strategic arts innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse and the Local Services Board of Melgund. We thank them for their investment, support and bringing the arts to life.

Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse Logo

SUPPORTING ARTS AND RECREATION

Borups Corners Arts and Recreation supports arts and recreation in Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario as volunteer-driven Arts Collective.

Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program
Copyright © Art Borups Corners in partnership with The Arts Incubator. All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.