The Voyage of Finn, the Fishboy is a touching collaborative story created by Stephen Lytton and artist Deirdre Keohane. A story of resilience and living with a disability, it weaves parallels between Irish folklore (specifically the legend of the Salmon of Knowledge) and Indigenous oral traditions of the Salish Nations.
Credits
Narrator: Stephen Lytton
Collaborators: Stephen Lytton and Deirdre Keohane
Paintings: Deirdre Keohane
Editor: Sebnem Ozpeta
Workshop Mentors: Lorna Boschman and Sebnem Ozpeta
Artist-Led Research: Yvonne Marcus, Carnegie Learning Centre
Bios and Artists’ Statement
Stephen Lytton and Deirdre Keohane are an Indigenous–Irish artistic partnership whose work brings together storytelling, visual art, lived experience, and community engagement.
Stephen Lytton is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, a survivor of St. George’s Indian Residential School, and an accomplished actor, writer, presenter, and storyteller. Living with cerebral palsy, he has been a tireless advocate for Indigenous people and people with disabilities throughout his life. He has lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside since 1992 and serves as President of the BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society. In recognition of his extraordinary service, he received the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in 2016. Stephen has also been a longtime performer with Vancouver’s Heart of the City Festival.
Deirdre Keohane is an award-winning Irish-Canadian artist, storyteller, and qualified art teacher. Her work has been exhibited in Ireland and Canada and collected by notable figures, including Irish singer Mary Black. In 2013, one of her artworks was presented to President Michael D. Higgins during his visit to Cork. She founded the Clonakilty Community Arts Centre and has led community arts projects in Ireland, Canada, and Belarus, using art to build connection, confidence, and inclusion.
Together, Stephen and Deirdre have collaborated for many years, combining Stephen’s lived experience and storytelling with Deirdre’s visual art and animation to create works that celebrate resilience, friendship, and hope. Their latest collaboration, Finn the Fishboy, is inspired by Stephen’s life and explores themes of identity, belonging, disability, and the lasting impact of Canada’s Residential School system. Through film, storytelling, and art, they seek to encourage understanding, compassion, and meaningful dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
