Art sprouting at The Forks New sculptures modelled after resilient weed that flourished By: Eva Wasney Posted: 5:04 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 9, 2026

A new piece of public art inspired by a humble weed is set to sprout at The Forks.

The artwork is titled common leaf and features a pair of colourful, seven-metre-tall steel sculptures designed by Winnipeg artists Natalie Baird and Toby Gillies. It will be installed in the plaza of Railside at The Forks, a new residential development under construction at the downtown historic site.

The larger-than-life plants have bright green leaves and tall, heart-shaped seed pods modelled after the broadleaf plantain — an invasive weed that arrived in North America via European settlers and has since become naturalized.

The design idea sprouted while Baird and Gillies were exploring the plant life growing in the cracked concrete of parking lots at The Forks.

With its storied past and adaptability, the prolific broadleaf plantain offered a fitting connection to The Forks and Railside, which will see people living at the historic gathering place for the first time in many years.

“It’s a nice way to ground this new generation of settlement in that idea of how to find a good place here and how to live in relationship with one another,” Baird says.

In their research, the longtime artistic collaborators learned the plantain has many medicinal uses and that it spread throughout North America as a stowaway in rail cars.

“There were lots of ties to this place and that plant,” Gillies says.

“We also think it’s a little funny to find a weed and then make it big and permanent,” he adds with a laugh.

Baird and Gillies have been making multimedia art together for the last decade, including as artists-in-residence at the Misericordia Health Centre.

This is their largest project to date and the first time they have collaborated on a piece of permanent public art.

“To have a three-dimensional sculpture outside that you can sit on and interact with, this is the first and it’s a big explosion to our practice,” says Baird.

Ian August — whose incandescent sculpture The Candle was selected last year as the first piece of public art to be installed at Railside — has been providing valuable mentorship on making art that can withstand the elements and offering recommendations for local manufacturers.

“We’re very grateful,” Gillies says.

The plantlike elements of common leaf will be made of painted and weathered steel set atop large Tyndall stone platforms. The artwork was selected from 60 proposals submitted in an emerging artist competition hosted by The Forks.

“One thing the selection panel looked for was a really explicit understanding of place,” says Sara Stasiuk, president and CEO of The Forks.

“We thought this was a really neat way to continue to tell the story of The Forks and all of its history.”

There are more than 30 public art pieces scattered throughout the greenspaces and buildings at The Forks.

“A place like The Forks, that is intentionally accessible and offers unique experiences for Winnipeggers to explore their home, you need to have art as a part of that conversation,” Stasiuk says.

The first phase of Railside will consist of 350 residential units across 10 buildings being constructed on a 3 1/2-acre plot of former surface parking lots. When finished, the development is expected to include 1,200 units.

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