Conversations with Jipijka’m is an immersive installation accompanying the exhibition Conversation Threads located in Gallery 1.
Enter a sea of floating jipijka’m—a world created by artist and educator, Diane Langevin. In this space, Langevin’s soft sculptures take the form of children’s toys and explore the power of collective storytelling through decoration and education through play.
Submerge yourself in hands-on educational activities to connect with jipijka’m.
Image: Diane Langevin, Jipijka’m (Great Horned Serpent), 2025, Collection of the Artist.
About the Artist
Diane Langevin is a Mi’kmaw and settler artist and member of Millbrook First Nation. Raised in Spryfield, Nova Scotia, her work explores Mi’kmaw cultural resurgence, identity, and the recovery of knowledge that was disrupted through colonialism and intergenerational trauma.
Working across textiles, soft sculpture, and art education, Langevin creates culturally grounded objects that invite connection, learning, and remembrance.
Her current project focuses on the jipijka’m, the great horned serpent from Mi’kmaw oral stories and ancestral petroglyphs. Through the creation of a Mi’kmaw cultural toy for children, she examines how play, story, and art making can serve as tools for healing and cultural revitalization.
This work reflects both personal reconnection and a commitment to supporting the next generation’s access to their heritage. Langevin’s practice is rooted in community, memory, and the belief that art can help carry stories forward.
Curated By: Fabiyino Germain-Bajowa, TD Curatorial Fellow
