The local artists’ centre was asking for submissions for emblemata for a public project they’re doing. They asked artists to make emblems or symbols to represent the Niagara region, St. Catharines in particular. Here’s my write-up:

It’s only really a name that bonds us together: a name not decided by the people here and now, but by a man we don’t know who died centuries ago. In an age where many subcultures exist, we as a city (and country) lack a solid cultural identity. There’s not much bringing us together. TV and Internet helps us communicate quicker, but nothing of value is really being said. Disagreement lies everywhere—politics, religion, art: you can’t solidify St. Catharines into one main argument. Now, you could make a stereotype if you wanted to (white, middle class, uninvolved), but no one likes those, now do they? In a postmodern society, people don’t want to be put into a definition—so we let only the name of our city hold us together.