News from Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay, Ont., has recently completed the installation ofEsox (Ginoozheg)by Halifax-based artist Simon Lacey in the Mall Street Plaza as part of theNorth Core Streetscape Initiative.
The public artwork, which translates to 'pike' (esox in Latin and ginoozheg in Ojibway), is locatedbetween Red River Road and Park Avenue. “It was a big initiative in the end. But I mean, I thought it turned out awesome.
So I’m pretty excited about how it looks,” remarked Lacey, who also runs Ballast Design Studios. “I’m sad to leave it in the Lakehead, [but] when I was there, I tried walking past it as much as I could because it’s the first time I’d seen the full thing in a row and sort of laid out like that.” While installing the artwork’s sculptures was a straightforward process, it took several months for Lacey to develop the proposal, prepare production and cut files, linear-weldthem using almost 200 pounds of wire and finally transport them to Thunder Bay in box trucks. From concrete to canvas: Thunder Bay set to unveil new art installations downtown “The pavers are supposed to sort of look like a sweeping river… I wanted to incorporate that motion of the river, sort of the style of the river,” Lacey advised, adding that the street was an interesting space, as it was long and fairly narrow. “The concept of the sculpture — sort of the design of it — was just designed after the pike in the river,” Lacey shared.
That was a piece by artist Scott Eunson and Shelby Gagnon,” confirmed Laurie Abthorpe, the city’s supervisor of cultural evolution, citizens programming and events.
If people go walking through rivers or fishing, fish are often sort of dark and obscured as they’re swimming underwater, Lacey explained, noting how he liked that ambiguous motion of the fish. When a fish turns side up to the river, it’ll also flash in the sunlight, Lacey continued. “It’s all these baffles in the steel sculptures… they’ll sort of move independently and look a little ambiguous, but then when you look at the side profile, I’ve incorporated the strip along that to reflect that turning into the sun,” Lacey shared. Ultimately, he confirmed, he wanted his art to be “awesome” and for people to go downtown and see these sculptures, then get excited about art and nature. Two other proposals were also selected for Thunder Bay's north core streetscape by a jury composed of Public Art Committee members, the area representatives and arts professionals following a nationalOpen Call to Artistsin 2024. “Thunder Bay Particles – Medicine Wheelwas actually installed before the winter last year. That was a piece by artist Scott Eunson and Shelby Gagnon,” confirmed Laurie Abthorpe, the city’s supervisor of cultural evolution, citizens programming and events. “The third and final installation is titledAll Togetherby boyRoland and we expect that to be installed later this year — and that is up by the Court Street Plaza area,” she indicated. $500,000 was allocated for the public art installations, with resources support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Investment program Corporation’s The area Enhancement Program. “Artworks like these preserve and showcase culture and heritage identity for our local residents. They foster social connectivity and public art is accessible,” Abthorpe noted. “Everyone has access … encouraging inclusion and there’s also some great economic impact. They do attract visitors to our areas and public art transforms spaces into a destination for citizens members and visitors to our the Lakehead.” Abthorpe indicated city-wide beautification, north core revitalization and recreation and tourism attractions are also key points of the city’sSmart Growth Action Plan. “[These pieces] do have great results for creating citizens and a feeling of inclusion,” Abthorpe declared. “Taking this piece in the scope and space that it’s in is really something to behold and I think they’re really quite wonderful,” Abthorpe advised. Nicky Shaw is a reporter for CBC Thunder Bay. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Environmental and Climate Humanities from Carleton University. Aligning with her passion for covering global environmental and humanitarian issues, she has worked to develop in-depth multimedia content that shares the diverse experiences of people in Northwestern Ontario. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ July 27, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
