LGBT Purge Fund and Canadian Heritage have unveiled the design of LGBTQ2+ National Monumen, which will be built in Ottawa by 2025 to acknowledge historic discrimination experienced by LGBTQ2+ communities and the abuse perpetrated by the Canadian government.
Canadian Heritage
Thunderhead, the winning design was conceived by a Winnipeg-based team led by Liz Wreford, Peter Sampson and Taylor LaRocque of Public City, with artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, and Albert McLeod, Indigenous and Two-Spirited People subject-matter expert and advisor.
The design for the monument which will be located at the northeast side of the intersection of Wellington Street and Portage Bridge next to the Ottawa River draws on the symbolism of a thunderhead cloud, which, according to the news release, embodies the strength, activism and hope of LGBTQ2+ communities.
Canadian Heritage
The design elements include a sculpture that creates the imprint of a thunderhead cloud in mirrored tile, a pathway through a landscaped park that traces the history of LGBTQ2+ people in Canada and a healing circle ringed with stones hand-picked by Two-Spirit Elders.
The $8-million LGBTQ2+ National Monument will be funded by the LGBT Purge Fund which was established to manage $145 million settlement from the nationwide class-action lawsuit against the Canadian government for LGBT Purge – systematic discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian federal public service.