Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology

 January-2012  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 
Bill Reid Raven Bracelet 1955 Friedman Collection, Museum of Anthropology, UBC Photo: Bill McLennan

Bill Reid Raven Bracelet 1955 Friedman Collection, Museum of Anthropology, UBC Photo: Bill McLennan

The Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver has received a gift from Dr. Sydney Friedman and his late wife Constance, of their collection of twelve artworks by Haida artist Bill Reid. The work illustrated above, an complex hinged gold bracelet in the form of a raven, with curving outlines of feathered wings, dates from 1955.

The newly acquired works will be displayed in MOA’s Bill Reid Rotunda in early spring.

Events in the new year at MOA include a retrospective exhibition of the work of Kwakwaka’wakw artist Doug Cranmer in March, with an accompanying book by Jennifer Kramer. A lecture series by artists influenced by Cranmer will be held in April and May.

The wonderful 2012 Coastal First Nations Dance Festival is March 8 to 11. See http://www.moa.ubc.ca

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

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Jan 092012
 
Chris Paul Conservation, 2004 From Victoria Collects: The Salish Weave Collection Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Chris Paul Conservation, 2004 From Victoria Collects: The Salish Weave Collection Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Victoria Collects: A View into Private Art Collections from the Region is a series of shows at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, showing art by major artists, from Piet Mondrian to Andy Warhol to E. J. Hughes.

A section of the project, Victoria Collects: The Salish Weave Collection focuses on works by contemporary Coast Salish artists, including Susan Point, lessLIE and Luke Marston, from the collection of George and Christiane Smyth. The Salish Weave Collection is at the AGGV until May 6 2012.

On March 15 2012 at 7 pm, collector George Smyth will speak to the public on “The 100-Mile Collection: Contemporary Coast Salish Art” at the AGGV.

Sonny Assu is one of five artists participating in the exhibition Throw Down: Sonny Assu, Gregory Ball, Megan Dickie, Tyler Hodgins Alison MacTaggart, from January 27 to May 6 2012.

For more information see http://aggv.ca

Project: (official denial) trade value in progress

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Jan 092012
 
Official denial workshop at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver Photo: Ann Cameron

Official denial workshop at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver Photo: Ann Cameron

In September 2009 Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that Canada had no history of Colonialism. The (official denial) trade value in progress project, curated by Jaimie Isaac and initiated by artist Leah Decter, challenges that statement with responses from First Nations people, sewn onto Hudson’s Bay blankets at sites across Canada.

(See The Beat November 2011)

On January 11 the project visits the Manitoba Crafts Museum, and on January 18, the Union Gallery at Queens University in Kingston Ontario. For more information, see

http://www.leahdecter.com/official_denial/home.html

Curator of Native American Art

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Jan 092012
 
Deanna Dartt-Newton Photo: Virgil Newton

Deanna Dartt-Newton Photo: Virgil Newton

The Portland Art Museum in Oregon has appointed Deana Dartt-Newton (Chumash) Curator of Native American Art. She is on leave from her curatorial position at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture for at least a year. Dr. Dartt-Newton began her work at PAM on January 2, 2012; she plans to focus first on the Museum’s NAGPRA repatriation claims and on the development of a Native American Advisory Board.

Haida Weaver Lisa Hageman Yahgulanaas Receives Canada Council Award

 January-2012  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 
Haida weaver Lisa Hageman Yahgulanaas describes Raven's Tail Weaving

Haida weaver Lisa Hageman Yahgulanaas describes Raven's Tail Weaving

The Canada Council for the Arts has awarded Haida weaver Lisa Hageman Yahgulanaas an artist residency at the International Residencies Program in the Visual Arts. The residency, located at La Cite Internationale des Arts in the heart of Paris France, began this January and runs until April 2012. Ms Hageman Yahgulanaas was awarded the residency to begin weaving a Raven’s Tail Chief’s Robe. The robe will be influenced by the patterns of Paris and interwoven with ancestral patterns, she said.

For a quick explanation of her weaving filmed in August in Santa Fe, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnUmnMCe_Ig

For more about Canada Council grants for aboriginal artists, see http://canadacouncil.ca/aboriginal/

Salish Bounty: Traditional Native American Foods of Puget Sound

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Jan 092012
 
Salish Bounty at the Burke Museum

Salish Bounty at the Burke Museum

A companion feature to the larger exhibition Hungry Planet at the Burke Museum in Seattle is opening on January 28 to June 10 2012. The new display, Salish Bounty: Traditional Native American Foods of Puget Sound, is co-curated by Burke Museum archaeologists and members of the Coast Salish community.

The museum states: “Knowledge of Coast Salish cuisine has been passed down from the elders and supplemented by archaeological and historical research. More than 280 kinds of plants and animals have been identified as ingredients in this cuisine.”

There will be a series of events encouraging members of the Coast Salish community and the general public to gather and participate in native food revitalization efforts. On March 31, 10 am – 4 pm, the Burke will host a special Traditional Northwest Native Foods and Diets event. See http://www.burkemuseum.org/

Totem Pole Commissioned for Museum of the American Indian

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Jan 092012
 
Boxley The Eagle and the Chief at NMAI Photo: Katherine Fogden

Boxley The Eagle and the Chief at NMAI Photo: Katherine Fogden

The Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC has commissioned Tsimshian carver David Boxley and his son David Boxley Jr. to create a 22.5 ft totem pole for the museum’s Potomac Atrium. The Boxleys are currently completing and painting the pole in the museum atrium. The pole depicts the story of a young man who rescued an eagle entangled in a fishing net. The young man eventually became a chief. During a famine in the young man’s village, the grateful eagle brought food to his starving people. The young chief holding a fish stands at the base of the pole, the eagle stands above him.

Led by David Boxley the dance troup Git-Hoan, People of the Salmon, will perform on January 13 and 14 as part of the celebrations around the pole’s installation. David Boxley Sr. tells more about the pole at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lj3SuE9hr0

Also at the Museum of the American Indian until May 9 2012 is the exhibition Behind the Scenes: The Real Story of the Quileute Wolves, which explores the contemporary culture and heritage of the Quileute people of Washington state as a counterpoint to the supernatural storyline of the popular Twilight series. This well-attended exhibition originated at the Seattle Art Museum; see The Beat September 2010. To celebrate the opening, Quileute elder Chris Morganroth will tell traditional stories of his tribe. Some background to the political situation among the Quileute, and to the fictional Twilight series is at

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/real-world-quileutes-lobby-for-their-land/

‘Court’ Donated to National Gallery of Canada

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Jan 092012
 
Brian Jungen, Court. 2004

Brian Jungen, Court. 2004

Vancouver businessman and art collector Bob Rennie has donated a recent work by artist Brian Jungen to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa; Court is currently on view in the NGC contemporary galleries, and will remain there for at least a year.

The Rennie Collection describes Court as “an important work that deals with the themes of cultural identity and social injustice.” Jungen sees his work as a reference to “the tensions between Harlem’s history as a pre-globalization locale of sweatshop labour and the sweatshop-driven industry of basketball today.” See http://www.gallery.ca/blog/2011/12/16/brian-jungens-socially-conscious-court-and-how-it-got-to-the-national-gallery/

A video on YouTube shows the daunting problems of installing Jungen’s very large work:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rElZ-Eh1ct8&

YVR Art Foundation Scholarships, Deadline for Applications

 January-2012  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 
2011 YVRAF Scholarship Recipients (L-R) J. Hjalmer Wenstob, James Harry, Bryan Joe, Cherish Alexander, Cody Lecoy

2011 YVRAF Scholarship Recipients (L-R) J. Hjalmer Wenstob, James Harry, Bryan Joe, Cherish Alexander, Cody Lecoy

The YVR Art Foundation annually awards five scholarships to young First Nations artists. It has announced its January 31 2012 deadline for applications. Among past winners were Todd Stephens, Cherish Alexander, Gwaliga Hart, Bryan Joe and Latham Mack.

For scholarship information and application forms, contact the program coordinator Rita Beiks at yvraf@shaw.ca or 604 873 4891. The website is http://www.yvraf.com