Katie Wilhelm and Summer Bressette are based in London, Ontario, and have been creative collaborators since 2021. They champion Indigenous knowledge with its deep roots in environmental care. Their new single-channel digital video, called Baapaagimaak, takes its name from the Anishinaabemowin word for the endangered Black Ash tree, a native species which in recent years has been decimated by an invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer.

Working in dialogue with Curator of Art Cassandra Getty, the artists made this project for display in the large windows in Centre at the Forks, overlooking the river. The river water, like the Black Ash, is life and supports life; its flow symbolizes change and renewal over time. Baapaagimaak: Weaving Endurance is the result of an outdoor basket weaving workshop led by Faye George who is an artist from the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, and ongoing land-based research by the artists.