Aboriginal art to be part of Hamilton’s LRT project

Aboriginal art may be front and centre when the city of Hamilton decorates the stops along its future light rail transit line.

A motion approved by the LRT subcommittee, and presented by Ward 1 Councillor Aidan Johnson, will have the city look into commissioning and purchasing Aboriginal art.

His original idea was to display artifacts at the stops, but he’s backed away from that, adding that consultation with the Aboriginal Advisory Committee has generated “ethical and cultural” concerns.

Johnson says the idea was motivated by the knowledge that we have Indigenous artifacts that have been “excavated through archeological digs that don’t have proper homes.”

He adds that their current home is “boxes and garages,” something he insists “isn’t good enough.”

The subcommittee has also requested an estimate of LRT’s maintenance and operating costs, with the construction of the line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square slated to begin in two years.