Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Welcome Place
Celebrating Welcome Place's 80th Anniversary
Celebrating 80 Years of Welcome and Community
As we mark 80 years of Welcome Place (MIIC), we celebrate the incredible journey that has shaped who we are today. Since 1945, we’ve been honoured to welcome and support refugees and newcomers seeking safety, belonging, and hope in Manitoba.
Over the decades, together we’ve:
- Helped thousands of newcomers build new lives through settlement, sponsorship, and life-skills programs.
- Expanded our reach across Manitoba, fostering inclusion in both urban and rural communities.
- Built partnerships, volunteer networks, and initiatives rooted in compassion, respect, and equity.
This milestone belongs to our community—to every staff member, volunteer, sponsor, partner, and newcomer who has been part of our story. Your kindness, resilience, and commitment have made Welcome Place what it is today.
As we look to the future, our promise remains: to continue creating a province where everyone feels safe, supported, and at home.
Thank you for 80 years of welcome—and for shaping a stronger, more compassionate Manitoba.
Celebrating 80 Years of Welcome and Community
As we mark 80 years of Welcome Place (MIIC), we celebrate the incredible journey that has shaped who we are today. Since 1945, we’ve been honoured to welcome and support refugees and newcomers seeking safety, belonging, and hope in Manitoba.
Over the decades, together we’ve:
- Helped thousands of newcomers build new lives through settlement, sponsorship, and life-skills programs.
- Expanded our reach across Manitoba, fostering inclusion in both urban and rural communities.
- Built partnerships, volunteer networks, and initiatives rooted in compassion, respect, and equity.
This milestone belongs to our community—to every staff member, volunteer, sponsor, partner, and newcomer who has been part of our story. Your kindness, resilience, and commitment have made Welcome Place what it is today.
As we look to the future, our promise remains: to continue creating a province where everyone feels safe, supported, and at home.
Thank you for 80 years of welcome—and for shaping a stronger, more compassionate Manitoba.
Dance Your Way Mural
Dance Your Way is a five-story mural by newcomer artist Bîstyek and Indigenous artist Jeannie White Bird, commissioned by Welcome Place to celebrate its 80th anniversary. The artwork honours eight decades of supporting refugees and newcomers, rooted in the ancestral lands of Treaty 1 Territory.
At its heart, two figures — an Indigenous jingle dress dancer and a Kurdish newcomer — dance together, symbolizing reconciliation, resilience, and shared healing. The exchange of sweetgrass and an olive branch reflects kindness and peace, bridging the experiences of Indigenous and newcomer communities.
Surrounding them are sacred symbols of strength and renewal:
- Thunderbird, protector and watcher over all
- Turtle, spirit of Turtle Island and healing waters
- Four Direction Star, honouring life’s cycles and humanity’s unity
- Grandmother Moon, guiding from above
- Flowing wires, representing movement and empowerment
The word “Welcome” appears in over a dozen languages spoken by newcomer families — celebrating language, identity, and belonging.
With its vibrant colours and powerful imagery, Dance Your Way stands as both a celebration of community and a living act of reconciliation, weaving together stories of displacement, strength, and hope for a more connected future.
Dance Your Way Mural
Dance Your Way is a five-story mural by newcomer artist Bîstyek and Indigenous artist Jeannie White Bird, commissioned by Welcome Place to celebrate its 80th anniversary. The artwork honours eight decades of supporting refugees and newcomers, rooted in the ancestral lands of Treaty 1 Territory.
At its heart, two figures — an Indigenous jingle dress dancer and a Kurdish newcomer — dance together, symbolizing reconciliation, resilience, and shared healing. The exchange of sweetgrass and an olive branch reflects kindness and peace, bridging the experiences of Indigenous and newcomer communities.
Surrounding them are sacred symbols of strength and renewal:
- Thunderbird, protector and watcher over all
- Turtle, spirit of Turtle Island and healing waters
- Four Direction Star, honouring life’s cycles and humanity’s unity
- Grandmother Moon, guiding from above
- Flowing wires, representing movement and empowerment
The word “Welcome” appears in over a dozen languages spoken by newcomer families — celebrating language, identity, and belonging.
With its vibrant colours and powerful imagery, Dance Your Way stands as both a celebration of community and a living act of reconciliation, weaving together stories of displacement, strength, and hope for a more connected future.
Artist Biographies - Dance You Way Mural
Artist Biographies - Dance You Way Mural
Jeannie White Bird
Jeannie White Bird is an Anishinaabe artist and member of Rolling River First Nation. A survivor of the Sixties Scoop, she reconnected with her family, language, and culture later in life, turning her personal healing journey into powerful visual storytelling.
She began her artistic path through the Selkirk Mural and Public Art Project, later coordinating and co-creating Manidoonsag Imaa Mikinaako-Minisiing (Sacred Spirits of Turtle Island), a mural commemorating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. She also co-created Giizaagiigo (You Are Loved), commissioned in 2024 by Minister Nahanni Fontaine to uplift feminine voices.
Jeannie is a member of the Thunderbird Sundance Family and is dedicated to learning and sharing traditional teachings. Her work is grounded in truth-telling, cultural reclamation, and community empowerment. Jeannie is Kookum to granddaughter Cedar Mary (Ozhaawashkwaa Anang / Blue Star) and Casey Jay Jones.
Discover more of Jeannie’s art and story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jnii.whitebird/?hl=en
Jeannie White Bird
Jeannie White Bird is an Anishinaabe artist and member of Rolling River First Nation. A survivor of the Sixties Scoop, she reconnected with her family, language, and culture later in life, turning her personal healing journey into powerful visual storytelling.
She began her artistic path through the Selkirk Mural and Public Art Project, later coordinating and co-creating Manidoonsag Imaa Mikinaako-Minisiing (Sacred Spirits of Turtle Island), a mural commemorating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. She also co-created Giizaagiigo (You Are Loved), commissioned in 2024 by Minister Nahanni Fontaine to uplift feminine voices.
Jeannie is a member of the Thunderbird Sundance Family and is dedicated to learning and sharing traditional teachings. Her work is grounded in truth-telling, cultural reclamation, and community empowerment. Jeannie is Kookum to granddaughter Cedar Mary (Ozhaawashkwaa Anang / Blue Star) and Casey Jay Jones.
Discover more of Jeannie’s art and story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jnii.whitebird/?hl=en
Bîstyek
Born in Syria in 1996 to a Kurdish family, Bîstyek is a self-taught visual artist now based in Winnipeg. His artistic journey began after arriving in Canada as a refugee, when he left his job to pursue painting full-time. In just a few months, he completed over 40 works, driven by a need to express complex emotions of displacement, memory, and survival through art.
His work is known for its vivid colours, emotive intensity, and storytelling rooted in the refugee experience. His paintings often feature raw portraits, symbolic figures, and dramatic visual textures that speak to themes of trauma, resilience, and identity.
Bîstyek has held solo exhibitions across Winnipeg and Toronto, and his work has been featured in major media including CBC, Toronto Star, Free Press, and Galleries West. He was recently the subject of a documentary titled "When I Go Outside", supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, exploring his life as a refugee artist in Canada.
Through his collaboration with Jeannie White Bird on Dance Your Way, Bîstyek brings newcomer perspectives into dialogue with Indigenous teachings, celebrating shared stories of cultural survival, healing, and belonging.
Explore Bîstyek’s creative portfolio and discover more of their work: https://bistyek.ca/
Bîstyek
Born in Syria in 1996 to a Kurdish family, Bîstyek is a self-taught visual artist now based in Winnipeg. His artistic journey began after arriving in Canada as a refugee, when he left his job to pursue painting full-time. In just a few months, he completed over 40 works, driven by a need to express complex emotions of displacement, memory, and survival through art.
His work is known for its vivid colours, emotive intensity, and storytelling rooted in the refugee experience. His paintings often feature raw portraits, symbolic figures, and dramatic visual textures that speak to themes of trauma, resilience, and identity.
Bîstyek has held solo exhibitions across Winnipeg and Toronto, and his work has been featured in major media including CBC, Toronto Star, Free Press, and Galleries West. He was recently the subject of a documentary titled "When I Go Outside", supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, exploring his life as a refugee artist in Canada.
Through his collaboration with Jeannie White Bird on Dance Your Way, Bîstyek brings newcomer perspectives into dialogue with Indigenous teachings, celebrating shared stories of cultural survival, healing, and belonging.
Explore Bîstyek’s creative portfolio and discover more of their work: https://bistyek.ca/
