THUNDER BAY — It was a busy but rewarding summer for Indigenous artist Kayla Esquega.
The 24-year-old from Thunder Bay, who is a member of Gull Bay First Nation, was contacted by Confederation College to come up with drawings that were themed around the Seven Grandfather Teachings for the school’s new 9-hole disc golf course.
“I whipped the drawings up in about two weeks, so it all happened pretty fast, but it was really fun as well,” Esquega said.
“I looked back on my own understanding of the teachings, as they’ve been there all through my educational journey, but I also wanted to keep the drawings simple for each of the holes.
“With all of the text and information that is on each of the hole signs, I didn’t want everyone to be overwhelmed when they look at that and the illustrations.”
Esquega’s work is now on full display at the course, which was officially opened on Wednesday morning.
“I sell my art on my own, so anytime that somebody buys my work, it’s super jarring, and there’s a feeling of ‘Wow, somebody enjoys it that much,’” Esquega said.
“Now to have my art out in the field where so many people can see it is kind of crazy to think about.”
Esquega said that the whole process of what she had in mind for the drawings came to her fairly quickly, though the biggest challenge was just figuring out the colours that she would use.
“I wanted it to be easy on the eyes,” Esquega added.
“When it comes to formulating my ideas, though, I felt like that came pretty easily and pretty fast once I get those into my head.”
SUCCI president Robin Gathercole said that Esquega’s drawings will help to enhance the quality of the course for years to come.
“The drawings really stand out and for Kayla to be able to connect emotionally and deeply with the project’s theme just brings it even more to life,” Gathercole added.
The disc golf course, located behind the SUCCI Wellness Centre, has been in the works for three years.
“At the time, we were thinking about what we could introduce that’s relatively low cost and easy for anybody to learn and play,” Gathercole said.
“I spend a lot of time running around Boulevard Lake, and I saw that there were a lot of student-age people playing there, and I thought, ‘This might be the sport that we need here.’”
Confederation College president Michelle Salo said that the feedback on the course thus far has been positive.
“We have new students, including our international students, that have had no exposure to the game that have been trying it out,” Salo said.
“That’s kind of the goal here with this course is to provide another activity here at the school that’s in a safe environment.”
