New art exhibition invites Kamloops to remember, mourn and celebrate the Red Bridge

Nearly a year and a half after Kamloops’ Red Bridge burned over the night of Sept. 19, 2024, many residents are still remembering the connection it brought. 

From jumping off into the waters below to learning how to drive its narrow passage, locals have shared experiences on the Red Bridge, something the new community exhibition DIS//CONNECT: Remembering the Red Bridge in Time hopes to bring to light. 

“This is a celebration of a historic landmark that touched all of us, but it is also an exploration of loss and grief and memory,” Shay Paul, co-curator of the exhibition and project director of the Indigenous Resurgence Project tells The Wren.

How did the exhibition come about?

The DIS//CONNECT: Remembering the Red Bridge in Time started as a collaboration between Teresa Rush and the Indigenous Resurgence Project. 

“[Rush and I] had a few conversations together about it because, of course, so many people in Kamloops were impacted by the loss of the bridge,” Paul says. “She wanted to put something together where people could come together and just share their experiences and their memories.”

As someone directly impacted by this loss, the idea resonated with Paul, who lives on reserve land in Tkʼemlúps and then lost the easier access to the city when the bridge burned down. Using her curatorial expertise to help facilitate Rush’s idea, they sought to invite the entire community. 

Through this process, Paul and Rush collaborated with Kamloops Museum and Archives, the Kamloops Heritage Railway Society and the Kamloops Arts Council. 

To build a community exhibition, Paul had to think about curation a little differently, as not every artist will approach the topic the same way. “We have people who are reminiscing on childhood memories or more mundane sort of events that I think all of us can connect to,” Paul says.

As a result, the work is dependent on the individual and their perspective.

“Art is such a vulnerable thing to create,” Paul adds. “I do really believe that when an artist creates something they’re leaving a piece of themselves in that piece that they created, and to be able to put that on display to the public in any regard is something that takes a lot of bravery and a lot of confidence in an artist.”

All of the artists who participated in the exhibition have different backgrounds and mediums. 

“When you step into this exhibition it will be emotional, especially if you hold that connection to the bridge, because it invites you to not only think back on your own experiences, but to share the experiences of others as well,” Paul says.

A peek inside DIS//CONNECT: Remembering the Red Bridge in Time

Sofia Sirianni is a newly emerging artist, born and raised in Kamloops. She has a long running project that explores grief and its process through art. 

“I want my work to connect with the core of what it means to be human and for viewers of my work to not feel alone when they deal with something internally,” Sirianni tells The Wren. 

This project allowed her to connect and do art work about the bridge. The acrylic painting showcased in the exhibition was inspired from a conversation with a childhood friend.  

“We were talking about the bridge and reminiscing,” Sirianni says. They both grew up near the river so the bridge was a big part of their childhood. 

Although the investigation on what happened to the bridge is still ongoing, her friend made up a story of why it burned down. 

“It was her imagining…that maybe there were two people who were in love and it didn’t work out. For them the bridge was too painful of a memory of that significant other. So then they decided to burn it down,” Sirianni says.

After hearing her friend’s story, Sirianni began working on the painting in February 2025 by doing some digital renditions and the whole painting process was completed by November 2025. 

While Sirianni says art is subjective, hers does have a message. 

“[The painting] represents the loss of a loved connection,” Sirianni says. “For some that might be the actual physical representation of the bridge or for others it could have been a lost connection of a relationship whether that be with a family member, a friend or a loved one.”

Nevertheless, Sirianni says she hopes for each person to take away a different interpretation of her painting with what resonates with them. 

Lindsay Curry, a long-time Kamloopsian and poet, shared Red Bridge, Kamloops BC, 1936 -2024 a poem she wrote about the Red Bridge. This was her first art exhibition. 

“I was struck by how much grief I felt when the bridge burned because I hadn’t really paid all that much attention to it prior to that. I mean, it’s been a fixture my whole life,” Curry says. 

Writing the poem helped her navigate this grief. 

“In the poem I talk about how the bridge was sort of neglected and set aside,” Curry says. “It was taken for granted, sort of like older people are. We take them for granted and we don’t really necessarily appreciate them until they’re gone.”

Curry hopes that once folks read her poem it might inspire reflection and conversation, especially about appreciating the things and people we have among us today.

Artist Colleen Stainton also collaborated and helped by adding the history of the Red Bridges in some posters for the exhibition. 

“[The Red Bridge] was kind of an integral part of my world, and was fascinating to find its history that went back years,” Stainton says. “I’m not an artist, but I’m a writer.” 

Some of the information on the kiosks located where the bridge used to be is also featured on her posters.

“There’s just just an appreciation of what we had, and why it’s so important,” Stainton says. 

The Red Bridge’s historical importance as a connector between Tkʼemlúps and the City of Kamloops cannot be understanded and Stainton says she hopes folks take the time to read the inscriptions and appreciate this history.

Opening the exhibit

Over 125 people attended the grand opening reception hosted Saturday, Jan. 10, a testament to the impact the Red Bridge had on the community. 

“Throughout the opening there were actually quite a lot of tears shed, which wasn’t something that maybe some of us artists were necessarily anticipating,” Paul says. 

DIS//CONNECT: Remembering the Red Bridge in Time recognizes the love the community had for the Red Bridge, with all the memories it was a backdrop to. 

While visiting guests can write a note sharing any experience they had with the bridge, adding to the exhibit and sparking conversation. 

To see the exhibition visit the Alcove and Vault gallery at the Kamloops Arts Council  Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Thursday, Feb. 12.