Arts and Culture

The City of Elliot Lake hosted a public contest to help give the space a landmark name which matches the creativity of the Centre’s tenants, celebrates the heritage and distinguishing characteristics of our community, and promotes a sense of place and belonging in all visitors.

As a result of this contest, the arts centre has officially been renamed the Elliot Lake Arts & Heritage Centre.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our naming contest and very special thanks to Cheryl C. for her winning name submission.

Cheryl (and her dog Frodo) have been part of the Elliot Lake community for just under three years now, drawn by our beautiful nature and extensive trail systems for hiking, cross country skiing, and camping.

Cheryl’s goal with her name submission was to give the facility a name that was accessible and covered the broad range of arts activities which will take place inside. Just as Elliot Lake is a “jewel in the wilderness,” Cheryl hopes that the Elliot Lake Arts & Heritage Centre will become the gemstone of the city.

Contest Shortlist

We received just over 100 unique proposals to name the Downtown Arts Centre. This shortlist of ten (10) names has been determined by a panel of judges:

• Arts in the Wilderness Centre (A.W.C.)
  This name is a play on the former Elliot Lake slogan: “Jewel in the Wilderness.”
• Berghammer Memorial Arts Centre (B.M.A.C.)
  This name honours Richard Berghammer's contributions to the community. Berghammer was not only an artist, but also opened his home to the needy for Christmas dinner—truly exemplifying the spirit of Elliot Lake.
• Creative Mine Centre (C.M.C.)
  This name honours Elliot Lake's heritage as a mining town and emphasizes the creative process artists go through to make their art. Artists often have to explore and work hard to unearth their most valuable ideas, which is not unlike mining.
• Elliot Lake Arts & Heritage Centre (E.L.A.H.C.)
• Elliot Lake Creative Hub (E.L.C.H.)
• The Finn Arts Centre (F.A.C.)
  This name honours Linda and Murray Finn’s tireless and exhaustive contributions to the local arts community. It is also a play on words for Fine Arts.
• The Heritage, Arts, Recreation, and Performance Centre (H.A.R.P.)
  This name incorporates any elective usage of the space under the catchy nickname: the HARP.
• Lake Arts Centre (L.A.C.)
  This name pays homage to the original name of the building: The Lake Theater. Our area is known for its many lakes and lakes symbolize the "Source of Life." A potential tagline is "Make it at the Lake." The abbreviated title is the French word for Lake.
• Maamawi Centre for the Arts (M.C.A.)
  Maamawi is the Ojibwe word for “gather and assemble all together.” Given the richness of indigenous culture in the area, this name would be a beautiful acknowledgement of historical significance.
• New Leaf Arts Centre (N.L.A.C.)
  This name acknowledges that we are taking steps to renew our programming and infrastructures one leaf at a time.

Located on the shores of Spruce Beach, the Elliot Lake Letter Sign offers the perfect photo opportunity, showing off your civic pride and capturing the picturesque backdrop of Elliot Lake and its symbolic rock.

This monument was an initiative of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, designed by its chair Linda Finn, and was funded by Arlene Bujold in dedication of her late husband, Jerry Bujold.

in 2016. Jerry loved to be behind a lens, capturing the beauty of the city and those who lived in it.

In high school, Jerry took photographs for the ELSS Urcapel (yearbook) and as an adult, he worked full-time for Denison Mines as a photographer, and opened his own studio, The FrameMaker, in 1984. Jerry enjoyed sharing his appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds Elliot Lake, often photographing its namesake.

Arlene knew immediately that she wanted to help sponsor this project in memory of Jerry to honour both his love of photography and Elliot Lake.

It is Arlene's hope that the Elliot Lake letter sign will allow others to see through Jerry's lens, witnessing the beauty of nature and our community.

Even in death, Jerry's legacy will continue, and through this monument, he will be the source of many more photographs and civic appreciation to come.

The community Banner Project is a series of banners which are displayed from the lampposts in the downtown area of Elliot Lake through the summer and fall seasons. The banners were designed by and for the citizens of Elliot Lake to showcase our local heritage and visual art talents.

Visit the "Our Town" Banner page to view the banner art and learn more about the artists.

The Photo Op Cutout Project, an initiative of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, is a series of interactive face-in-hole panels installed around Elliot Lake to create unique photo opportunities.

Visit the Photo Op Cutout Contest page to view the art and locations of these interactive pieces.

The striking stainless steel representation of an uranium atom that greets tourists and locals as they drive into the city of Elliot Lake, was the work of dedicated individuals: Ed McAfee, Robert Renault, Robert Blewett, Frank Merhar, Ed Laflamme, and Grenville Pierce among others.

The monument was officially unveiled June 28th of 1975, during the annual Uranium Heritage Festival.

The Miners Monument was officially opened on April 28, 2007 to honour the community's mining legacy.

Created by Laura Brown Breetvelt, a former Elliot Lake resident, this monument was built to honour the hard working miners who risked their lives each day, and the community and families that supported them.

Visit the Miner's Memorial park page to learn more.

The "Story in Stone" mural was created by artist Linda Finn.

The rocks around Elliot Lake offer clues about the processes that shaped the Earth. Formed more than 2.5 billion years ago by volcanic activity, this very ancient land surface was shaped by massive earthquakes, periods of glaciation, plus extreme weathering, making this area famous the world over for the variety of rocks found here. Millions of years after these cataclysmic events, vegetation and animals appeared. In more recent times, pictographs discovered on rock faces have indicated that human beings were present in this area several hundred years ago, perhaps even longer.

Finn researched the geological history of this area, getting advice from Rob Henderson, a former geologist with Rio Algom. She also referenced an excellent guidebook, "Geology and Scenery, North Shore and Region," written by Robertson & Card and published by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Mural Breakdown

• The top of the mural represents the Archean era , more than 2500 million years ago, when volcanic activity formed ancient volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Examples of Archean (known as Algoman granitic) rocks can be seen on the west side of Highway #108 along the power line after exiting Highway # 17.
• The next level depicts sedimentary rocks from 2200 to 2500 million years ago, known as the Keewatin banded iron formation (found very close to the airport, on the east side of Highway #108.
• The dark band of rocks is an intrusion of the Nippissing Diabase, formed about 2160 million years ago by further earthquake activity. These intrusions can be seen in many rock faces along Highway #108.
• A glacier formation, in the next band on the mural, represents several glacial periods in this region when rocks were moved and shaped by the force of the ice. Rivers deposited silt and sediment in other locations.
• The area below the glacier is the Mississagi Formation, which is the large rock face that can be seen across Horne Lake.
• From the Paleozoic Era (400-600 million years ago) there is a narrow band of rock containing fossils. Some evidence of fossils has been found around the Boland River area.
• Below the band of fossils, the Gowanda conglomerate is depicted. This type of rock was mined for Uranium.
• As vegetation followed the formation of the rocks, Birch trees are part of the strata. Birch trees are one of the oldest species of trees found world-wide.
• In the water below the trees are found representatives of Amphibians, Reptiles and Fish which first evolved in the water.
• Brick-red rocks, found just north of Elliot Lake (the Oompa Lake fault), serve as the backdrop for some of the animals & insects that have evolved in this area.
• The pictographs on the rock face at the bottom centre are from the Gowganda Formation, and are similar to some of the vestiges of ancient rock art found on Rooster Rock on Quirke Lake. According to the “Geology and Scenery of the North Shore”, human inhabitants were present in this region at least 9000 years ago.

Background

This mural was created by Linda Duke in 2013. The painting and poetry express the artist's love of the North.

Poem

White Pine tree

Paper Birch

Maple's scarlet glow

Black Spruce in Mist marshes

Where cattails grow

Where beavers build, and

Loon's staccato call

Echoes across crystal lakes.

Here ravens sweep and soar

In sweet, clear Northern skies

While rocks of ancient origin

Reveal Earth's history

This wild, this half tamed land,

This North is Home to me.

The "Back-Door Staking Bee" mural was created in 2014 by Susan Krupp, a creative artist and illustrator living in Elliot Lake.

Background

To learn more about this event in Elliot Lake's origin story, visit the Museum's page.

The "Founding Fathers" Mural was created by Susan Krupp in 2013, a creative artist and illustrator living in Elliot Lake.

Depicting three influential men who were important to the establishment and development of Elliot Lake in the 1950’s, Susan has painted strong portraits of these determined men in the world of mining.

Joseph H. Hirshhorn

Joseph H. Hirshhorn, born in Latvia in 1900 came to the United States when he was seven. He was raised in Brooklyn NY. And at age fifteen left school and began his successful journey up the financial ladder starting as a messenger boy on Wall Street. He was a millionaire before turning thirty thanks to shrewd speculations cashing in before the stock market collapse of 1929. He became interested in Canadian mining after the gold price rose to US$35 an ounce in 1932.

In the 50’s, he and geologist Franc Joubin were primarily responsible for the big “Z” uranium discovery in northeastern Ontario and the subsequent founding of our city of Elliot Lake. Hirshhorn Avenue is named for him. Hirshhorn’s primary role was to provide funding for the drilling and development of the initial mines.

When he began making money, he began buying art! He amassed a collection of paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries. He tried to create an art museum in Algoma Mill but met with much resistance. All of his collection is now on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.

Franc R. Joubin

Franc R. Joubin was a committed prospector. A chemistry and geology graduate of the University of British Columbia, he began his mining career in the gold business with BC’s Pioneer Gold Mines. In 1948 the Canadian government legalized prospecting for Uranium, so a young Joubin went searching for it with his $120.00 Geiger counter. When he learned that pitchblende had been discovered near Sault Ste. Marie he was one of the first on the scene. When he discovered rich deposits of uranium ore in 1953, he organized a highly secretive operation known as the “Backdoor Staking Bee”. More than 1400 claims were staked encompassing some 56,000 acres. His perseverance resulted in the creation of 9 separate mines and became one of the biggest mining booms this country has ever seen. Joubin’s passion for prospecting, his skill and determination led to the success and growth of Elliot Lake. He was inducted in to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 1989.

Steven B. Roman

Steven B. Roman was a Slovakian immigrant who began working in Canada as a tomato picker. He started farming with his brother but was unsuccessful. After serving in the Canadian armed forces in WW2 he began toying with penny mining stocks.

His first success came in 1953 when he sold a $10,000 investment in the Concord Mining Syndicate for $2 million, following the Syndicates discovery of oil in Leduc, Alberta. Roman went on to buy a stake in North Denison Mines at just over 8 cents a share and by 1954 controlled the company, renaming it Consolidated Denison Mines. When he purchased 83 mining claims in Elliot Lake for some $30,000 cash along with 500,000 shares of Consolidated Denison, Roman was launched into the league of major players in the world’s mining industry. These claims contained what was then the world’s largest deposit of Uranium.

Roman was a passionate entrepreneur. He built wealth for his shareholders and jobs for Canada by funding, exploring and developing this resource. Roman admits that he was a dreamer and a risk taker.