If you were strolling the streets of Kitsilano last weekend, you may have noticed an evocative display of red dresses hanging in the trees in the 1800 block of West 1st Ave.
The display is part of The REDress Project, a nation-wide art installation created by Jaime Black, a Metis artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Each dress is symbolic of the more than 1000 missing or murdered Aboriginal girls and women in Canada.
Florist Hilary Miles displayed the dresses in the tree-lined street of her Kitsilano floral boutique in a show of solidarity for an issue that is personal to her. In a posted statement Miles asks for support from the community.
“I have a sister-in-law, a niece, and many friends of First Nation heritage,” says Miles. “I am participating in this installation to support them and to bring awareness to a situation that our federal government continues to ignore.”
October 4 marked the National Day of Remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and this project serves as a visual reminder of the women who are no longer present.
Last modified: October 9, 2015
