A procession of over one hundred canoes moved in unison across Toronto’s eastern Waterfront, each carrying colour field paintings made with pigments sourced from the lake/shoreline and activated by the wind. A Lake Story articulated Lake Ontario’s colour story across the sky and water, amplifying the lake’s own voices of vibrancy, ecosystem, and community.

A Lake Story, a new commission by artist Melissa McGill, takes the form of a large-scale canoe procession that wrote Lake Ontario’s story through colour, across the sky and water. Featuring 400+ local canoers and paddlers joining us for this memorable performance, participants paddled in a coordinated, slow-moving procession. An epic celebration of Lake Ontario along the Toronto Waterfront, Melissa McGill’s project mapped Toronto’s harbour and waterfront biosphere with the lake’s own vocabulary expressed through its natural colour palette. By giving visual voice to the interconnected relationships above and below the waters, the project invites us to shift our perspective to participate in and learn from nature’s wisdom and creativity.