The Leaf is thrilled to host Fleurs de Villes VOYAGE in the new year!
This unique exhibition goes beyond traditional floral displays, featuring fresh floral mannequins inspired by Manitoba's diverse multicultural heritage.
In an interview, we chat with the designers crafting the 15th mannequin, which will honour the Indigenous history of Assiniboine Park. Led by a local Indigenous designer, Mamie Griffith, involved in creating the Indigenous Peoples Garden at The Leaf, in collaboration with Carmen Grey an Indigenous member of the Park's Horticulture team.
Amidst The Leaf's frosty gardens, we caught up with Mamie and Carmen to discuss the inspiration behind the mannequin and witnessed their skilled harvest of potential plant material for their mannequin from the past summer season.
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We are so excited about your mannequin, which will honour the Indigenous history of the land we now know as Assiniboine Park. Tell us about where the inspiration for this mannequin came from.
Mamie Griffith: When Gerald Dieleman, the Park's Senior Director of Horticulture, reached out a few weeks ago I was just trying to think of something that was from here, from Manitoba, from our prairie and Canadian shield landscapes.
I was driving back from Kenora, and I went past the Whiteshell and I was like, I think that's it. I wanted to do something that would be within that palette within that material. I had also been thinking about the origin story of Sky Woman and the Whiteshell is where Sky Woman came down.
And then I met up with Carmen, who's been amazing to work with, and she also had a similar idea of Sky Woman. And that just seemed like the right fit for this project. And then we looked to nature and what was available to develop a palette, you know, trying to bring in our medicines as well and whatever we can sort of find in the middle of winter, which is a little bit of a challenge.
You both independently thought of the Sky Woman story as an inspiration. Carmen, can you tell us why that specific story speaks to you and give us a brief overview of the story?
Carmen Grey: Yes, this was my first time meeting Mamie, and it was great from the beginning. I think that we were on the same page right from the start.
Mamie had some ideas that were centered around native plants to the Whiteshell and I was thinking of Sky Woman herself being our mannequin. I thought that it would be great to share that story and have inspiration from Indigenous creation storytelling.
So, Sky Woman falls from the clouds. They part for her and she falls into what is Earth. As she's falling, some of the geese see her. They want her to land softly. So, they open up the backs of their wings for her to land on and gracefully put her on the back of a turtle. And then it's just this wonderful coming-together story that I love.
It embodies a strong sense of community as the animals want Sky Woman to have somewhere where she can live happily, and they put in all their efforts to essentially create Turtle Island for the woman. The Muskrat plays a really big role in that, which is cute. If you're unfamiliar with the story, it's worth looking into.
Both of our minds were in the same place that this is a story that is worthwhile to share and to represent our cultures and to show Manitoba at the Fleurs de Villes show which is showing global perspectives from around the world.
Mamie, as an Indigenous designer what does it mean to you to see that your work is going to be incorporated into a display like this at The Leaf, and what does that representation mean to you personally?
Mamie: It's really exciting. I mean, I'm always up for a challenge. This is way out of my wheelhouse normally. I love working with plants, so it's kind of an easy yes, but also like a little bit scary because it's, you know, I'm not a florist, so I'm not used to sort of these installations using flowers. But I think it's a really fun challenge.
I think it's so important to have that representation here as well, make sure that there's something from this place, from these stories, with local plants, we're going to bring in grasses and birch bark, cedar, sweetgrass, and sage. I think it will be a little bit of a contrast with the other tropical floral arrangements which are going to be stunning as well. But just a different kind of flavour, I think something just something different that Fleurs de Villes has not done before. So we're excited to be a part of it.
Carmen, what is your role in this project and the design?
Carmen: Mamie is taking on a huge part of the design and idea and concept in collaboration with myself, but I play a logistics role as well, so I have the experience here at the park kind of sourcing certain things like material, whether it's fresh cut or being planted into the ground. I work with a lot of different suppliers as the Horticulture Operations Coordinator at Assiniboine Park Conservancy.
We're doing some foraging ourselves as well, including some foliage left over in the gardens from summer. So that and then just bouncing ideas back and forth between myself and Mamie.
Can you tell us about some of the colours, textures, and plants that you are considering in your design planning so far?
Carmen: I love the earthy and natural side of our design. Some plants are sacred within our culture like sage, sweetgrass and cedar that will be incorporated into the design.
We are trying to use colours that you would see in the Whiteshell as our pallet. Soft pinks, earthy greens, vibrant reds from dogwoods, soft violets and blues from the prairie crocus, and blueberries are also significant. Of course, we can’t source a prairie crocus right now but we'll be able to find plant material that's reminiscent of it or influenced by it.
What does it mean to you personally to have Indigenous representation in Fleurs de Villes and The Leaf in general?
Carmen: It is huge for me as an Indigenous horticulturalist here in Winnipeg to see our culture represented and showcased! It is incredible to share our stories and the deeper meaning of the mannequin centred around love and connection.
I am very excited. I'm also extremely nervous. This is probably this is the biggest floral installation that I've participated in. I've worked in different realms of horticulture and dabbled with floristry too. This is a project that is out of my wheelhouse, but it's a challenge that I'm excited to be participating in.
Keep an eye out for upcoming updates as Mamie, Carmen, and the other talented floral teams embark on the creative journey of bringing these extraordinary floral installations to life.
Winnipeg is the first stop on the Fleurs de Villes VOYAGE 2024 global tour, having previously travelled to other cities across the US, Canada, and the UK, such as Chicago, Toronto, Edinburgh, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, and New York City.
Get your tickets now for this celebration of iconic destinations and Manitoba’s floral talent, taking place at The Leaf from January 11-21.
