06/19/2026
June's featured Art of the City is Welh Aynexw Nseyxnitm (The Guardian Spirits) by Jody Broomfield. These two house posts stand at the Galleria entrance to the Civic Centre (south doors).
The design features both female and male welcome figures. The female sculpture represents the status of the life givers. It pays homage to the mothers and grandmothers – the caretakers, in our traditional matriarchal family system. The women were the ones who prepared the food, gathered the water and fruits, and made the woven blankets, clothing and hats for the family. The male sculpture represents the guardian – the one who watches over the family. He is also the provider and the builder of canoes, homes and shelters. The men also gathered food, providing fish or game for the family.
The top section of each house post depicts the scenic, majestic coastal mountains, the great hunting grounds for food and the beautiful place we call home. The base of each house post depicts the movement of water, thus representing the streams, rivers and ocean, which provide nourishing drinking water and food from the sea.
For more information on public art, check out https://portmoody.ca/publicart
