Colour and culture: UTM student designs library mural reflecting Indigenous learning

A small start has evolved into a big idea for the library at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Spanning six floor-to-ceiling panes of glass at the library entrance, a vibrant new mural created by undergrad MJ Singleton began welcoming students into the multistorey space in recent weeks.

The large-scale work – seven metres wide and 3.6 metres tall – 
reflects Indigenous ways of learning and is the product of a years-long effort to bring more Indigenous elements into the library.

“When you think of libraries, you think of a place to share and learn,” said Singleton, a two-spirit Anishinaabe student who will be graduating this spring.

“I wanted to highlight the importance of Indigenous ways of knowing, through stories, ceremony, oral traditions and observing the land.”

The library originally commissioned Singleton to create Indigenous-language welcome signage in 2023. It was a notable step for Singleton but “it felt a little bit underwhelming, as it was hardly visible,” they said.

The library agreed and in fall 2024 approached Singleton and the UTM Office of Indigenous Initiatives, as well as a special advisor on public art, to expand those original signs to something much larger.

Singleton then spent six months designing the mural, visiting and sketching locations around campus and the nearby Credit River, or Missinnihe, meaning Trusting Creek or Trusting Water.

The final design ended up incorporating elements such as the annual salmon run, the UTM teaching lodge, Anishinaabe florals and the birch trees seen towards Principal’s Road on campus.

“It highlights the stories shared in the world around us that we often overlook,” Singleton said. “From the reciprocal duties we share amongst our animal and plant kin, to protecting our water and mother Earth, to explaining the importance of the seven grandfather teachings in order to live by the good life.”

UTM student MJ Singleton spent months designing the mural that was recently installed at the library. 

The translucent mural faces a high-traffic hallway outside the library – a daily visual reminder to embrace Indigenous teachings in everyday life and pass the knowledge to future generations, Singleton said.

“It affirms that Indigenous ways of knowing have equal value to Western knowledge systems – opening discussion to challenge colonial ways of thinking in regards to what we think is ‘academic.’”

The art piece answers a call to action in a U of T report responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that urged the creation of more Indigenous public art at the university.

The mural is also the latest artistic venture Singleton has been a part of while studying at UTM – they created a previous mural in the Maanjiwe nendamowinan Building and designed official U of T Orange Shirt Day T-shirts that can be found in the campus bookstore, among other projects.  

Singleton credits UTM’s Indigenous community programming with helping them find a sense of belonging after moving to the university from a small town four hours west of Thunder Bay.

“I want to say a chi-miigwech (big thank you) for the thoughtfulness and support they have provided me throughout my time not just as an artist, but also as a student,” they said.

Singleton now hopes to share what they’ve learned by working with an Indigenous-led organization after graduation, providing accessible teaching of Indigenous forms of art.

“It’ll allow me to teach the skills and Indigenous forms of art that I know to the community,” Singleton said. “It is important that we continue to take into consideration these teachings in our everyday life."