Steph Babij
Steph Babij (she/her) is a visual artist of Ojibwe and Ukrainian/mixed-settler heritage. Originally from Sudbury, and a member of Wikwemikong First Nation, she now makes her home on Unceded Algonquin Territory in Ottawa.
Stephanie grew up as an urban Indigenous person, and in adulthood she is making her way back to her community, culture, and identity. Steph’s visual arts practice includes both solo and community-engaged murals, acrylic paintings, wood-burned art, linocut printmaking, and digital illustration. Her self-taught visual storytelling is largely guided by her dreams and environmental influences. In her work you’ll find elements of animals, plants, cycles, and the celebration of bodies.
Through her art, Steph tries to blend her background in environmental science with her deep love of the natural world. The pieces that she creates call people to honour their relationship with the land and welcome dialogues about climate justice and living ethically with creation.
Mural Title
“Held by the Land”
Mural Statement
Held by the Land transforms the building into a portrait of Alberta’s diverse ecological regions. Each panel captures a different landscape while connecting them into a single story of interdependence and continuity. Throughout the design and painting process, Steph integrated ideas and energies from the community.
On Wall 1, a rainbow trout and northern leopard frog emerge from the water, moving toward lilacs and a grizzly bear with her cub. Behind them, the Rocky Mountains rise above turquoise lakes, woodland caribou cross a shoreline, and an eagle soars above. Blue flax blossoms ground the scene in Alberta’s unique plant life.
On Wall 2, the terrain shifts to the Alberta Badlands, where hoodoos frame a plains bison surrounded by prairie grasses and blue asters. In the sky above, a whooping crane glides gracefully.
Across both walls, Alberta’s expansive sky blends day and night. Celestial motifs reference ancestral knowledge and the enduring connection between land and sky. Together, the imagery celebrates Alberta’s natural beauty and the histories and relationships that continue to shape it.