Vancouver seems to be all about the 2010 Olympics in February, either directly or indirectly through special funding. An Aboriginal Pavilion stands prominently in the plaza of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in downtown Vancouver, with displays and retail reflecting First Nations culture, and a varied program of performances. A new book O Siyam, with an introduction by Gerald McMaster, presents the many works commissioned for the Olympic and Paralympic Games from First Nations artists across Canada, a number of which have been mentioned in past issues of The Beat. During the Opening Ceremony, note that the costumes of the Olympic Team of the Netherlands were designed by Tahltan First Nation artist Alano Edzerza.
There are many art exhibitions in February in the Vancouver area. Here are some related to First Nations, followed by the relevant website. Some venues have longer opening hours, or different access, during the Olympics, so you may wish to check before you visit.
The Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria’s exhibition of Coast Salish art, S’abadeb continues until March 8 2010.
Anishnabe Don McIntyre and Nisga’a Michael R. Dangeli’s work is exhibited at the Alma Mater Society Art Gallery at the Student Union Building of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, from February 14 2010. The show is called East Meets West: Throwing Power, Woodland and Northwest Art.
Frank Shebageget: Model Life, and Quilt of Belonging with Coast Salish weaving, at the Surrey Art Gallery, to April 4 2010. http://www.arts.surrey.ca
Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast at the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver until March 28 2010. http://www.billreidgallery.ca
Artist Peter Morin is at Open Space in Victoria, Thursdays and Fridays throughout February and March 2010, for A Memory Talking Stick artist residency and collaborative workshop. The project seeks to create stories and ceremonies to connect Aboriginal experiences with the larger community’s identities. The project organizers can be contacted at 250 383 8833.
Bonny Graham-Krulicki’s Words to the Wyse is at the Chilliwack Museum until March 11 2010. The artist moves to preserve her Coast Salish language through art, with works created to communicate an appreciation of the language’s historical and spiritual significance. For more information, see http://www.chilliwack.museum.bc.ca
Laid Over to Cover: Photography and Weaving in the Salishan Landscape at Presentation House Gallery in North Vancouver until March 14 2010.http://www.presentationhousegall.com
At the Vancouver Art Gallery, Visions of British Columbia: A Landscape Manual, until April 18 2010.
Mask is at the Richmond Art Gallery, photographic portraits of artists by Haisla artist Arthur Renwick, until April 4 2010. http://www.richmondartgallery.org/renwick.php
Arthur Renwick is also exhibiting his work at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. HIDE: Skin as Material and Metaphor is a two-part exhibition: Part I will open March 6 to August 1 2010, Part II will open September 4 to January 16 2011. More at:
An exhibition of drawings, etchings and other small works from 1985 to 2009 by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun will be held March 19 to May 16 2010, at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. See
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas has a new music video Haida Manga Party Mix, based on the manga style drawings of his recent book Red!, created with First Nations cellist Cris Derksen. A sample is at http://myspace.com/crisderksen
More about Mike’s latest projects at http://www.mny.ca
An exhibition mentioned in several earlier issues of The Beat (October 2009 and January 2010) is of great importance, and not to be missed:
Backstory: Nuuchaanulth Ceremonial Curtains and the Work of Ki-ke-in at the Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver runs until March 28 2010. The impressive exhibition of these Thliisapilthim, ceremonial backdrop curtains, shows a large number of powerful paintings representing the family history of the people whose traditional territory lies on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Some curtains are from the nineteenth century, others are newly created for recent events. Preliminary drawings, photographs of vanished works, family members and events connected to the ceremonial backdrops and other community–related matters, are included in the exhibition. The artist Ki-ke-in, Ron Hamilton painted many of the works, and was the dynamic force behind the exhibition. So huge are some of the curtains that one is accommodated in the UBC Chan Centre, another in a nearby campus library. An illustrated 32-page catalogue is available at the Belkin Gallery, and further publications will follow. There may never be another opportunity to view these works together.
The Costume Museum of Canada and the Urban Shaman gallery present Native/American Apparel, an exhibition bringing together artwork by aboriginal artists Lita Fontaine and K.C. Adams and pieces from the collection of the Costume Museum to look at the relationship of fashion, clothing, and textile to the representation of Indigenous identities. The exhibition runs in Winnipeg until April 4 2010. For more information see http://www.costumemuseum.com
Late in January 2010, the Museum of Anthropology at Vancouver’s University of British Columbia celebrated the opening of its renovation and expanded exhibition space. The museum seems transformed, and is now a much warmer, more inviting, more elegant and more informative place.
The former storage collection area is unrecognizable, and has become a beautiful place to view the gallery’s extensive holdings in a more ordered and accessible way.
The opening exhibition of the large new Audain Gallery at MOA is Border Zones: New Art Across Cultures, until September 12 2010.
A number of new art works were commissioned for the museum; these include Musqueam artist Susan Point’s Salish Footprint, a granite mosaic embedded in the concrete at the entrance to MOA.
MOA has somewhat altered its mission at this time, now proclaiming itself “A place of world arts + cultures”. See http://www.moa.ubc.ca
Work is progressing on a pole intended for the campus of Northwest Community College’s Prince Rupert. Tsimshian carvers Henry Green, Gerald Stewart and assistants are past the halfway mark on a pole commissioned from them by the college. NWCC President Stephanie Forsyth has long been a supporter of First Nations cultural projects.
The pole represents the crests of Sim' oogit Saxsaht, chief of the Gitwilgyots[people of the kelp],one of the nine allied tribes of the Tsimshian Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the Prince Rupert area. More information on Green’s work can be found at:
The Beat will report again as the work progresses.
In Ottawa, an important part of the history of the early contact between Canada’s First Nations and European business is displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Profit and Ambition: The Canadian Fur Trade, 1779-1821 runs until September 12 2010. For more information, see http://www.civilization.ca
A more interesting way to travel between Vancouver and Whistler is offered by bus with Talking Totem Tours “Sea to Sky Aboriginal Cultural Journey”. First Nations guides, food and traditional stories will enrich your journey. Special options for groups are available.
For more information, or phone 604 989 2897, or see http://www.talkingtotemtours.com
The ninth annual Talking Stick Festival showcases a diverse and talented community of local, national and international Aboriginal artists. A fusion of music, dance, theatre, multimedia, performance art, visual art and storytelling will be held from February 21 to 28 2010, daily at 7 pm. The Ab-Original Cabaret will enliven the Roundhouse in Vancouver’s Yaletown. For details of performances, and more about Full Circle, see http://www.fullcircleperformance.ca/
Vancouver Community College has opened a new Aboriginal gathering space, a “supportive place that allows students to study, access computers and meet with Aboriginal Elders and staff – designed to help them reach their educational goals.”
Artist Ya ya Charles Heit has brought to our attention a website article with a good description of the role of the potlatch among the First Nations of the Pacific coast.
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Comments, news and new subscribers to this free newsletter are welcomed. Please write to: editor@coastalartbeat.ca
Thank you to David Dumaresq, Henry Green, Michael Dangeli, Rikki Kooy, Martine Reid, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Dorothy Grant, and many others, for your assistance. The Beat is an independent, not-for-profit project written and published in Vancouver Canada by Ann Cameron. Copyright 2010 Ann Cameron.
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