Musicians and artists bring the lyrics of The Tragically Hip to life in Echoes of the Flame

A new series of original artwork directly inspired by and featuring the lyrics of the Tragically Hip continues to advance Gord Downie’s legacy of working towards reconciliation with First Nations peoples across Canada.

A new exhibit, titled Echoes of Flame, is on view at Bracebridge Hall in Muskoka, Ontario through August 28 and can be viewed online. All 18 pieces are original works, created by artists from Canada, the United States and Europe, which feature or are inspired by Hip lyrics. Most importantly, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the 18 pieces will be donated to the Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawen:na Language and Culture Center, located on a Mohawk reserve in Tyendinaga, Ontario.

The funds will be used to build a school there to help students learn their Indigenous language, a practice denied and banned during the horrors of the residential school era.

The exhibition is in partnership with the Los Angeles-based Song-Word Art House and the Hip and includes paintings, sculptures and multimedia pieces, and the artists involved are remarkable in themselves: among others, Daniel Lanois contributed a piece inspired by “Not Necessary” and Tom Wilson contributed a piece inspired by “Now The Struggle Has a Name”.

“The works of art selected for Echoes of the Flame have an epic feel, incorporating selected lyrics from The Tragically Hip’s extensive catalog into the actual pieces, marrying the power of the written word with the beauty of the image,” according to a press release for the exhibit. “The 17-time JUNO Award-winning band and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees oversaw the artist selection process for the exhibit, ensuring that Canadian artists made up 75% of the roster, including the representation of Aboriginal creators and French Canadians.

Not only are the original coins available for purchase, but there are 150 prints of each coin available for collectors.

The full list of artists and songs that inspired their track includes:

Simon Andre – bobcaygeon

Michael Barber – The green of the violinist

Jeff Bartels– thanks too

Brayden Bugazzi– Drip

Rob Croxford– New Orleans sinks

Guillaume DeBilzan – A century ahead

Sandrine Dickel – Boots or hearts

Filippo Fiumani – Completely Completely

Nikki Hare- Blow high dough

Pierre Horvath- Looking for a place to perform

Daniel Hughes – wheat kings

Brigitta Kocsis – Ouch

Daniel Lanois – Not necessary

Kai McCall – A Century Ahead

Eric Nado – Poets

Dina Roudman – Tired as fuck

Sylvain Tremblay – Small bones

Tom Wilson – Now the fight has a name

More information can be found here.