Born in the North

Born In The North is a creative studio owned and operated by twin brothers Chris and Greg Mitchell, based in Toronto. They have advanced their creative capacity with public art projects, fashion, music and unique commissions. Their new mural for the Bonavista Biennale, Provider, is based on the ideas of interconnectedness and working together. It is inspired by combining their lived experience and relationship with and between Mi’kmaq and Woodland place-based cultures and design aesthetics.

Their mural highlights symbolic and sacred relationships integral in the natural world and significant to Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland). Born In The North’s brightly colored larger-than life stylized renderings of a caribou, black bear and loon acknowledges the essential offerings and reciprocity granted between these beings/animals and the people. Provider honours the sustenance, guidance and influence offered by these animals, who have become woven into Mi’kmaq history and representations of the inhabitants on the lands across Newfoundland and much respected by the Qalipu Nation. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Born In The North is a creative studio owned and operated by twin brothers Chris and Greg Mitchell, based in Toronto. Their work is created through their own unique lens and is focused on examining the relationship between humans and nature. Taking into account their own story and lived experiences, inspiration is drawn from their Mi’kmaq heritage, music exploration, and Canadian upbringing. Their recent projects include a commissioned mural for the 2022 Up Here festival in Sudbury; Turtle & The Traveler (2022) a public art installation in Downsview Park, Toronto; and a “flip” of the York United FC logo that honours the history and culture of the Indigenous people of the York Region in Ontario.