{
  "id": 2889884,
  "title": "Sculpture’s designers create celebratory safe space",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/sculptures-designers-create-celebratory-safe-space",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-23T23:05:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/23/sculptures-designers-create-celebratory-safe-space"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Winnipeg-based team responsible for the national monument commemorating the LGBT Purge celebrated the official unveiling of their creation, Thunderhead, on Friday in Ottawa. The monument, located along the Ottawa River near Parliament, was designed by Shawna Dempsey, Lorri Millan, Liz Wreford, Peter Sampson, and knowledge keeper Albert McLeod. The project emerged from a class-action lawsuit won by 719 LGBT Purge survivors in 2018, with $15 million from the settlement allocated for its creation. Thunderhead symbolizes the resilience and strength of the LGBT community in the face of discrimination, with its inverted cloud structure representing the renewal and replenishment that follows adversity. The monument features mirrored panels, a tribute to disco, and a healing circle, and was built using glass fibre-reinforced concrete and glass panels over a span of five years. McLeod emphasized the importance of creating a safe and inclusive space, stating that the monument allows people to feel seen and heard in public. The unveiling attracted Purge survivors, federal dignitaries, and notable figures like former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who apologized for the Purge in 2017.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}