A downtown Victoria building acquired by the Songhees Nation from the province through treaty agreement has a new tenant, and is celebrating the grand opening with a mural from a Songhees artist.
MokSana Yoga Centre is celebrating its grand opening as the first tenant for the Songhees Nation building at 613 Pandora Ave., which previously housed the Provincial Capital Commission.
"I just knew right away when I found out who owned the building, the Songhees Nation… I had a premonition that this is our home," said Ida Winter, owner of MokSana Yoga.
Ida says she wanted to add a mural in the studio to make the space feel bigger and "like you were outside."
"I wanted to have a Songhees artist do it because of the land that we’re on, and the building that we’re in," she said.
Songhees artist Brianna Dick was chosen to paint the mural in the yoga studio space, and says she was influenced by the traditional territory of the Songhees people on Chatham Island.
Dick says she fell asleep one night, and felt like she was on Chatham Island.
“I woke up surrounded by grass and I walked towards the moonlight,” she said. “I came across a field of beautiful Camass flowers, and the moon shining bright…This is what’s going to go in MokSana Yoga Studio.”
The Songhees Nation is also celebrating the opening of the studio. "It’s very heartwarming to see this come to fruition," said Christina Clarke, executive director for the First Nation.
