Contours of Connection: An Artist Talk with Lilly Otasevic and Xiaojing Yan

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Discover Brampton’s newest public artwork honouring the life and legacy of the Honourable William “Bill” G. Davis, Ontario’s 18th Premier.

Artists Xiaojing Yan & Lilly Otasevic will share their creative journey behind this meaningful memorial — from concept to design to installation.

Xiaojing Yan is a Chinese-Canadian award-winning artist based in Markham. Her work reflects her journey through these various cultures, arriving at her own personal vocabulary. Her unique point of view unites the past and the present, encompassing culture and nature, art and science. Her work has appeared in solo exhibitions at institutions including the Chinese American Arts Council in NYC, Richmond Art Gallery in Canada, Suzhou Museum in China, Hermes Maison in Shanghai, and Varley Art Gallery in Canada. Her projects have been featured in venues throughout Canada as well as China, France, USA and Greece. Yan has also completed commissions in Canada, China and France including her "Zodiac Sign Project" commission and installation "Cloudscape" at the Royal Ontario Museum, window display "Into the Dreams" and installation "Emergence" by Hermes, Shanghai, China. Yan has received numerous awards and grants including InStyle's Women InCreation Prize in Visual Arts (2021), Project Grants from the Ontario Arts Council, Project Grants from the Canada Council, Chalmers Arts Fellowship from the Ontario Arts Council, Young Alumni Achievement Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Lilly Otasevic is a Serbian-Canadian award-winning Toronto-based visual artist, industrial designer, and curator. After completing her formal art education in Serbia, Lilly left her war-torn country of Yugoslavia and immigrated to Canada in 1994. Since then, she has exhibited in Canada, the USA, Europe, United Arab Emirates and China. Even though a trained painter, Otasevic's main body of work consists of sculptural and photo-based work. Her art is driven by her interests in nature and our place in the higher order of things in the universe. Her growing up in a society with recycling practices in the early '80s, has influenced Lilly's interest in ecology and environment since childhood. Lilly is using various materials and is presently focusing on reclaimed bricks. For the past fifteen years, her focus also includes site-specific sculptural work. Lilly has successfully comple​ted several large-scale public sculptural and industrial design projects in Ontario, Canada. Lilly was part of Canada-China cultural exchange organized and curated by Xiaojing Yan in 2017, where she collaborated with production teams. As a result, Lilly's sculptural work is now also part of a public art collection of the City of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, China.

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City of Brampton

The Cultural Services division at the City of Brampton includes the work of Brampton On Stage, Cultural Planning, Cultural Programming, and Public Art. This division provides strategic leadership and project management for municipal cultural development in Brampton, guided by the Council-endorsed Culture Master Plan.

Key priorities for the division include:

Management of the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame: Celebrati​ng and building connections with Brampton's incredible artistic and creative talent while inspiring the next generation of artists and creators to follow in their footsteps.

Development of Brampton's Non-Profit Sector: Building org​​anizational capacity and administering project grants that support Council Priorities through the Advance Brampton Fund.

Expansion of the Municipal Public Art Portfolio: Contributing to the city's visual legacy and establishing Brampton's identity as a vibrant, creative place for residents, visitors, and investors.