Bison On The Boulevard In Winnipeg

An outdoor art installation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada features colourfully painted concrete bison to raise awareness of child abuse

A new outdoor art installation of brightly painted concrete bison popped up at the end of May 2025 along Roblin Boulevard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Bison on the Boulevard is meant to raise awareness of the issue of child abuse and of Toba Centre for Children & Youth.

Toba Centre provides a safe, child-friendly setting for children impacted by abuse or witness to violence, and their caregivers, to meet with service providers and to be interviewed by highly trained forensic interviewers. It also provides case navigation support services aimed at ensuring the well-being and recovery of children and their families.

The bison are symbols of strength and resilience. They stand together to protect their young.

The installation features 26 concrete bison each weighing 10,000 pounds. They stand 2.5 metres (8 feet) wide and 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall. The bison feature images of flowers, wildlife, and nature scenery painted by Manitoba artists.

There is a great deal of symbolism built into the designs. For example, Soaring Resilience by Brian Hahlweg creates a message of grounded power and limitless potential. The painting merges the strength of the bison with the uplifting symbolism of wings representing resilience, growth, and the ability to rise above life’s challenges. Branches of birch trees intertwine and create a pathway to a heart shape, an emblem of love, unity, and the connection between past, present, and future.

In Nereo Zorro’s Piece Together, located in front of the entrance to Assiniboine Park Zoo, fragmented geometric forms reflect the many facets of personal and collective growth, each shard telling its own story while being part of creating the whole. Perched on the bison’s back is a brown cowbird, a species known for its symbiotic relationship with the bison. 

Colours of Courage is a collaborative piece by Bria Fernandes, Timothy Brown, Jillian Mazur & The Graffiti Gallery stART Program kids from Norquay CC & Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre. The design process explored themes of courage and community care.

Prairie Appa by Aderemilekun ‘Oluuji’ Olusoga places the landscape inside of the bison, reversing the common image of the bison roaming the prairie, as a metaphor for the deep ties between the animal and its environment. It also features crocuses, the Manitoba flower and an emblem of resilience, and the red colour of the Canadian flag.

The piece love + words bison features vibrant, lively, and imperfect colours as well as words to highlight the  importance of children, life, safety, community, protection, and belonging. Artist and activist Kal Barteski is known for her paintings of Arctic wildlife. She turned a back lane into an Arctic wildlife art gallery at Back Alley Arctic.

I’ve shown less than half of the bison in this post. You can find all of them located along both sides of Roblin Boulevard between Shaftesbury Boulevard and Assiniboine Park Drive. Allow about an hour to walk the loop and take in all the pieces. You can read more about each individual piece at the Bison on the Boulevard section of Toba Centre’s website.

Each bison was funded by a donor to help fund its creation and support the Toba Centre. When the display ends in October, donors take possession of the bison.

This exhibit reminded me of a 2005 exhibition Bears on Broadway, in which painted concrete polar bears lined Broadway Avenue as a fundraiser for Manitoba Cancercare. Those bears went to sponsors after the exhibit. Now you’ll find painted polar bears in many different locations including a collection of several of them on the south grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Perhaps, next year you will also find painted bison in many different locations throughout the city.

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