Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance

Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance
Thursday, January 12, 2017 - 11:00am

Curator:  Rhéanne Chartrand
McMaster Museum of Art
January 12 – March 25, 2017

A new exhibition at the McMaster Museum of Art presents significant works of art from the 1980s by eleven, foundational contemporary Indigenous artists—Carl Beam, Bob Boyer, Robert Houle, Gerald McMaster, Shelley Niro, Ron Noganosh, Jane Ash Poitras, Edward Poitras, Pierre Sioui, Jeff Thomas and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun—and acknowledges their critical role in paving the way for Indigenous artists and curators today.

Read the Exhibition Guide online.

During the 80s, these artists declared that the lack of Indigenous representation in major arts institutions across Canada was symptomatic of a broader historical and ongoing indifference to Indigenous peoples.

“They—and many others of their generation—were provocateurs,” says exhibition curator, Rhéanne Chartrand. “They weren’t afraid to talk about the issues and realities of life as a contemporary Indigenous person through their art. Despite the fact that they were acutely aware that the lack of inclusion in major institutions was directly tied to entrenched colonial attitudes that the art world held toward Indigenous art, they never wavered in their resolve to incite change on their own terms. They really broke down barriers and challenged the status quo about Indigenous art, and I believe that this artist-activist spirit has carried forward into Indigenous artistic practice today.”

Through powerful and provocative works, often employing humour, irony and satire, these artists achieved their objective. In place of inaccurate and stereotypical images, they asserted Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-representation, self-determination and sovereignty. Their art stands as both evidence of and a means of cultural survival + resistance = survivance.

Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance, includes eighteen works of art, on view in the Museum’s two main-level galleries. They are drawn from the collections of the artists, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, McMaster Museum of Art, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Remai Modern, Saskatchewan Arts Board Collection, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and Private collectors.

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EVENTS

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 12, 6 – 8 pm
Curator’s Tour: Tuesday, January 31 at 12:30
Curator’s Talk: Thursday, February 2 at 7 pm
Panel DiscussionFebruary 9, 7 – 9 pm

All events are free and open to the Public.

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About the Curator

Rhéanne Chartrand (MMSt, Hons. BA) is a Métis curator and creative producer based in Toronto, Ontario. She has spent the past six years creating interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary exhibitions, showcases, and festivals for organizations such as Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, the Aboriginal Pavilion at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, and the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC). Currently, Chartrand serves as the Curator of Indigenous Art at McMaster Museum of Art located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Unapologetic is the first of two interrelated exhibitions of Indigenous art curated by Rhéanne Chartrand. The second exhibition, Coyote School, will be on display from June 09 to August 26, 2017 and will feature works by emerging and mid-career Indigenous artists who cite influence via artistic inspiration, mentorship or familial connection to the eleven artists presented in Unapologetic. The intent of Coyote School is to acknowledge and respect the contributions that senior Indigenous artists have made to personal and collective Indigenous artistic practices.

Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance

Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance
Thursday, January 12, 2017 - 11:00am to Saturday, March 25, 2017 - 5:00pm

Curator:  Rhéanne Chartrand
McMaster Museum of Art
January 12 – March 25, 2017

A new exhibition at the McMaster Museum of Art presents significant works of art from the 1980s by eleven, foundational contemporary Indigenous artists—Carl Beam, Bob Boyer, Robert Houle, Gerald McMaster, Shelley Niro, Ron Noganosh, Jane Ash Poitras, Edward Poitras, Pierre Sioui, Jeff Thomas and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun—and acknowledges their critical role in paving the way for Indigenous artists and curators today.

Read the Exhibition Guide online.

During the 80s, these artists declared that the lack of Indigenous representation in major arts institutions across Canada was symptomatic of a broader historical and ongoing indifference to Indigenous peoples.

“They—and many others of their generation—were provocateurs,” says exhibition curator, Rhéanne Chartrand. “They weren’t afraid to talk about the issues and realities of life as a contemporary Indigenous person through their art. Despite the fact that they were acutely aware that the lack of inclusion in major institutions was directly tied to entrenched colonial attitudes that the art world held toward Indigenous art, they never wavered in their resolve to incite change on their own terms. They really broke down barriers and challenged the status quo about Indigenous art, and I believe that this artist-activist spirit has carried forward into Indigenous artistic practice today.”

Through powerful and provocative works, often employing humour, irony and satire, these artists achieved their objective. In place of inaccurate and stereotypical images, they asserted Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-representation, self-determination and sovereignty. Their art stands as both evidence of and a means of cultural survival + resistance = survivance.

Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance, includes eighteen works of art, on view in the Museum’s two main-level galleries. They are drawn from the collections of the artists, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, McMaster Museum of Art, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Remai Modern, Saskatchewan Arts Board Collection, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and Private collectors.

* * * * * * *

EVENTS

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 12, 6 – 8 pm
Curator’s Tour: Tuesday, January 31 at 12:30
Curator’s Talk: Thursday, February 2 at 7 pm
Panel DiscussionFebruary 9, 7 – 9 pm

All events are free and open to the Public.

* * * * * * *

About the Curator

Rhéanne Chartrand (MMSt, Hons. BA) is a Métis curator and creative producer based in Toronto, Ontario. She has spent the past six years creating interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary exhibitions, showcases, and festivals for organizations such as Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, the Aboriginal Pavilion at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, and the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC). Currently, Chartrand serves as the Curator of Indigenous Art at McMaster Museum of Art located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Unapologetic is the first of two interrelated exhibitions of Indigenous art curated by Rhéanne Chartrand. The second exhibition, Coyote School, will be on display from June 09 to August 26, 2017 and will feature works by emerging and mid-career Indigenous artists who cite influence via artistic inspiration, mentorship or familial connection to the eleven artists presented in Unapologetic. The intent of Coyote School is to acknowledge and respect the contributions that senior Indigenous artists have made to personal and collective Indigenous artistic practices.

Venue & Address: 
McMaster Museum of Art
Website: 
https://museum.mcmaster.ca/about/news/mma-presents-contemporary-indigenous-art-new-exhibition/
Cost: 
Voluntary Admission $2

COYOTE SCHOOL

Coyote School Exhibition
Thursday, June 8, 2017 - 11:00am to Saturday, August 19, 2017 - 5:00pm

COYOTE SCHOOL
June 8 – August 19, 2017

Curator:
Rhéanne Chartrand, Aboriginal Curatorial Resident, McMaster Museum of Art

Artists
Joi Arcand, Sonny Assu, Jason Baerg, Jordan Bennett, Christian Chapman, Amy Malbeuf, Meryl McMaster, and Bear Witness aka Ehren Thomas

Coyote School presents contemporary works by eight mid-career Indigenous artists who acknowledge the influence of senior Indigenous artists on the development of their own artistic practice. Through their visual and verbal stories, we learn that influence comes in many forms; through familial and kinship bonds, through formal and informal mentorships, and through artistic inspiration. Whether literal and visible or conceptual and covert, the influence of senior Indigenous artists on current and future generations of Indigenous artists is not taken for granted, but rather, held up, acknowledged, and honoured.

As Tricksters in training, this exhibition asserts that these eight artists continue to push the boundaries of the institutional spaces carved out for them by senior Indigenous artists by committing their own acts of survivance in ways that further disrupt and subvert colonial narratives. These artists continue to claim space(s) to negotiate Indigenous futurities by (re-)presenting Indigenous identity and (re-)imagining Indigenous creative potentialities in new and provocative ways.

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Opening Reception: Thursday, June 8, 6 – 8 pm
6:30 pm Opening Remarks by Elders and the exhibition Curator
7 pm Musical Performance by Jeremy Dutcher, an operatic tenor and composer who blends his Wolastoq First Nation roots into his music

Admission is Free. Light Refreshments will be served.

Coyote School is on view June 8 – August 19, 2017.

Coyote School is the second curatorial project of Rhéanne Chartrand, Aboriginal Curatorial Resident, to be presented at McMaster Museum of Art.  The first, Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance, presented earlier this year, included works from the 1980s by eleven foundational contemporary Indigenous artists. Together, Coyote School and Unapologetic: Acts of Survivance foreground continuity in Indigenous art and honour the interpersonal relationships that buttress the Indigenous art community.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

About the Curator

Rhéanne Chartrand (MMSt, Hons. BA) is a Métis curator and creative producer based in Toronto, Ontario. She has spent the past six years creating interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary exhibitions, showcases, and festivals for organizations such as Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, the Aboriginal Pavilion at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, and the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC). Currently, Chartrand serves as the Curator of Indigenous Art at McMaster Museum of Art located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Unapologetic is the first of two interrelated exhibitions of Indigenous art curated by Rhéanne Chartrand. The second exhibition, Coyote School, will be on display from June 09 to August 26, 2017 and will feature works by emerging and mid-career Indigenous artists who cite influence via artistic inspiration, mentorship or familial connection to the eleven artists presented in Unapologetic. The intent of Coyote School is to acknowledge and respect the contributions that senior Indigenous artists have made to personal and collective Indigenous artistic practices.

Venue & Address: 
MCMASTER MUSEUM OF ART; Alvin A. Lee Building; McMaster University
Website: 
https://museum.mcmaster.ca/about/news/coyote-school-exhibition-highlights-8-contemporary-indigenous-artists/
Cost: 
Free

Reception for Daphne Odjig

Friday, October 17, 2008 - 2:30pm

Please join us in celebrating Daphne Odjig, recipient of a 2008 Honorary Doctorate degree from OCAD.

A painter, activist and educator, Daphne Odjig was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 1986. Her work, which fuses indigenous and Western art histories into a unique vision that bridges Native and non-Native cultures with elegant narratives, has been exhibited around the world. Over the course of her career, Odjig, who is of Potawatomi, Odawa, and English descent, has developed a distinct style based on the abstracted human form. The visual motif central to her work is the circle, which to the Ojibwa signifies completion and perfection, and is symbolic of women. Now a resident of British Columbia, she continues to revolutionize painting and creative practice through her commitment to exploring and communicating the continuity between tradition and contemporary practice.

Venue & Address: 
Rm 187 100 McCaul St., Toronto, Ontario
Email: 
rdickenson@ocad.ca