Whole Heartedly
The artwork at the heart of Open in a Good Way
Whole Heartedly, Christine Mackenzie, Kwakiutl Nation. Used with permission.
Whole Heartedly is about what it means to open something in a good way with our full selves: our hands, our hearts, and our relationships.
When we began imagining Open in a Good Way, we knew it couldn't just be about what appears on a screen. It had to reflect the feeling of showing up for one another, nervous, imperfect, but willing to try. Whole Heartedly is that feeling turned into a single shape.
At the centre of the image is a heart. The title is an instruction as much as a name: arrive with your whole heart, not just your role, your script, or your agenda. Before we speak, we're invited to come back here, to our breath, our responsibilities, and our care for the people and Nations we're in relationship with.
At the bottom, a hand curls in, holding on. These are everyday human hands, hands that shake, hesitate, or worry about getting the words wrong. They stand for the relationships at the centre of every opening: the choice to reach toward each other instead of pulling away. The hand reminds us that opening in a good way isn't abstract; it's something we do with our bodies, our voices, our consent, and our commitments.
Together, the hand and the heart form a single, continuous form: a wholehearted act of connection. This is the teaching at the centre of Open in a Good Way:
We pause and return to the heart.
We remember who we are and who we're accountable to.
Then, whole‑heartedly, we reach out our hand and speak.
This artwork was generously donated by First Nations artist, facilitator, and keynote speaker Christine Mackenzie of the Kwakiutl Nation. She offered Whole Heartedly because she believes in this work and because it reflects how she's led her own facilitations over many years: with intention, relationship, and an open heart. If a simple tool like this app can help bring us a little closer together in a world that can so easily become divisive, that is, in her words, a good thing.
The app doesn't carry ceremony or speak for any Nation. Like Whole Heartedly, it invites us to bring our hearts, our relationships, and our very human hands back into better relationship, one opening at a time.
About the Artist
Christine Mackenzie is a First Nations artist, facilitator, and keynote speaker from the Kwakiutl Nation. She was born in Kelowna, BC, on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan people and grew up in Richmond, BC, on the unceded territories of the Musqueam and Coast Salish peoples.
Her mother, a member of the Eagle Clan who was born in Bella Coola, BC, is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop and MMIW2S. This history shaped Christine's early years and her lifelong journey of cultural reconnection and identity.
Christine's art is guided by the natural world and by the relationships she builds with people who are open to learning and sharing cultural knowledge. She works in both traditional and contemporary styles across multiple mediums. Although she has created art all her life, she has been a professional artist and facilitator since 2009, mentored by Haida artist and facilitator Anastasia Hendry.
Today, Christine dedicates her work to supporting others in their own journeys of self-identity and to teaching about Indigenous culture, art, and protocols. She speaks from lived experience and her teachings to foster empathy and understanding when engaging with Indigenous history and culture.
She has collaborated with school districts, non-profits, and youth and family organizations across British Columbia, the Yukon, and northern communities, and her work has appeared in multiple art shows, books, and commissioned pieces.
For inquiries or commissions
sneakynative@gmail.com