Miguel Joyal is a Canadian-born

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

artist and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Louis Riel statue at the Manitoba Legislative Grounds

Joyal created the Louis Riel sculpture located at the

Manitoba Legislative Building The Manitoba Legislative Building (french: Palais législatif du Manitoba), originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, located in central Winnipeg, as well as being the twelfth pr ...

. Completed in 1996, the sculpture was commissioned by the

Manitoba Metis Federation The Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) a federally recognized Métis organization provincially incorporated in Manitoba, Canada, on 28 December 1967. Its current president is David Chartrand. In September of 2021, the MMF withdrew from the Métis Natio ...

, and replaced an existing statue of Riel from 1971, which had garnered controversy. Joyal was commissioned to contribute a sculpture to the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

as a scholar learning the "laws of the land". In January 2018, Joyal completed a statue of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

activist Georges Forest for placement in Winnipeg's Provencher Park. The statue was initially rejected by the committee overseeing the project. The bronze bust will stand just under high, weigh approximately , and rest on a granite base atop a concrete platform. The entire structure will be just over tall. Joyal has also created sculptures from

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

and

styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

for Winnipeg's annual winter

Festival du Voyageur The Festival du Voyageur is an annual 10-day winter festival that takes place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The event is held during each February in Winnipeg's French quarter, Saint-Boniface, and is western Canada's largest winter festival. It ...

, as well as wood chieftains and Madonnas, stone figurines and eagle heads, and a nearly life-size airplane.

References

Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Artists from Winnipeg {{Canada-sculptor-stub