By Alex Nino Gheciu Kent Monkman’s first-ever public art installation is dam good. The celebrated Cree artist’s new permanent sculpture, dubbed “The Colony,” debuts Wednesday in Toronto’s east end. The 15-foot-high bronze structure features beavers dancing, feasting and celebrating, evoking Indigenous ceremonies. It highlights the vital role of beavers in the natural, Indigenous and colonial histories of Turtle Island, says a release. The public artwork is located in Toronto’s Biidsaasige Park along the Lassonde Art Trail, an ambitious open-air museum. Monkman says its site, where the Don River meets Lake Ontario, is especially meaningful, as it’s been an important waterway for several First Nations for thousands of years. “I can’t think of a better place for these beavers, inspired by the fanciful beavers of Veremondo Rossi’s 18th-century engraving, to gather…
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