New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, NWT
2018 – 2022

A collaborative project with Quiver Artist Collective*, Rebel Sister Productions and Shortworks Productions

A companion piece to feature documentary project 500 Days in the Wild, a 5-year ecological and reconciliation pilgrimage of filmmaker Dianne Whelan as she travels the 24,000 km trail that links Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans. She is traveling the old way – hiking, biking, paddling, shoe shoeing, skiing. Along the way there are beacons that guide her – wisdom from those that live close to the land. She is learning the old way is not just how she travels but what she carries in her heart.

The Beacon Project is a series of short videos centered in Indigenous communities with artists, Elders & Grandmothers, Dianne meets along her journey – each one a beacon on the journey. Each one an invitation to others to engage in a creative process, collaboratively, to explore signals, warnings and celebrations as we continue our journey into the future.

*Quiver Artist Collective consists of sound artist Lindsay Dobbin, filmmaker Ann Verrall and filmmaker Dianne Whelan.

This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Ce projet est l’un des 200 projets exceptionnels soutenus par l’initiative Nouveau chapitre du Conseil des arts du Canada. Avec cette initiative 35 M$, le Conseil des arts appuie la création et le partage des arts au cœur de nos vies et dans l’ensemble du Canada.