Jasper Citizens Rise Up to Tell Their Stories of Resilience: Marking the First Anniversary of Tragedy with Art, Reflection, and Hope

JASPER, AB, April 22, 2025 /CNW/ - In the wake of the devastating wildfire that swept through Jasper in July 2024, which reshaped both the landscape and the lives of residents, the community of Jasper is coming together in a remarkable expression of healing, reflection, and renewal. Stories of Resilience – Voices from Jasper, a powerful community-driven initiative, will culminate in an immersive exhibition featuring participants' personal reflections shared through writing, visual art, and photography. An opening reception will be held on July 24, 2025, marking one year since the wildfire reached Jasper. The exhibition will remain open until August 16, 2025, a date that commemorates the community's return after evacuation.

This ink painting was created by Greg Deagle, a Jasper-based artist and Stories of Resilience – Voices from Jasper participant. (CNW Group/The Resilience Institute)

Since February 2025, a group of ten diverse Jasper residents – including local painters, writers, Indigenous community members, and long-standing locals – have participated in reflective workshops exploring the recovery of self, community, and the land. Through storytelling, artistic expression, and thoughtful dialogue, these residents have explored their experiences of the July 2024 wildfire, capturing their journeys through their own moving narratives, art, and photography.

"What does resilience even mean? For me, it's about being able to sit with loss and still find hope."
- Paulette Blanchette-Dubé, Stories of Resilience – Voices of Jasper participant 

The participants' reflections have yielded insights that are relevant not only to Jasper but also to any community navigating similar challenges due to climate change. By engaging in open dialogue about their experiences, participants have crafted written stories and visual artworks that communicate the nuances and complexities of resilience, healing, and transformation. As participant Katie Potter writes in her story, "On these fire-ravaged canvases I painted fireweed... These paintings symbolized that there is beauty in resilience, that even a burnt crisp canvas could be brought back to life and be beautiful again."

Stories of Resilience – Voices from Jasper underscores the power of community, openness, and creativity in healing. It highlights Jasper's strength in responding to trauma, demonstrating that resilience is not simply about enduring hardship, but about actively choosing hope, connection, and renewal.

The Stories of Resilience program is a signature program of The Resilience Institute that engages citizens in thematic learning and creative expression to explore themes of healing, change, and resilience in the context of climate change. To explore the journeys of other Stories of Resilience communities, click here.

Exhibition Details
Stories of Resilience – Voices from Jasper
Date: July 24, 2025
Location: Jasper Art Gallery (Lower Gallery)
Admission: Free, with interactive elements

The Resilience Institute is a national charitable organization based in Canada. Through our programming, we aim to minimize suffering caused by climate impacts by strengthening the resilience of people, communities, and systems. Our approach to programming involves fostering transdisciplinary collaborations, applied research, and delivering participatory informed education – knowledge that is co-created and is most relevant to the people and communities we serve. For more information about The Resilience Institute visit TRI's website. 

SOURCE The Resilience Institute

Media Contact: Meaghan Nikolic: [email protected], [phone]