The Southern Alberta Art Gallery explores the history of First Nations cultural performances during the colonial era in the new travelling exhibit “Sovereign Acts,” which runs May 1 to June 15.
“The artists looked at turn of the century First Nations cultural performances and how they were able to benefit from it,” said curator Wanda Nanibush who designed the exhibit as part of her MA in visual art at the University of Toronto.
The traveling exhibit has been on display in Toronto and Regina and ends its tour in Lethbridge. Nanibush has been working on this exhibit since 2012.
The cornerstone of the exhibit on the west wall of the upper Gallery at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery is a multi-media piece by Vancouver based Anishinabe artist Rebecca Belmore, who reenacted the capture of a Mi’kMaw man who was captured in the eighteenth century and forced to regularly kill and skin a deer in a pristine Victorian Garden for its owners’ amusement.
“ He ended up defecating in it and that is considered to be the first performance art piece,” Nanibush said.
“First Nations people have always used a the arts as a form of rebellion,” she said adding she doesn’t want those first artists to be seen as victims.
The other pieces are photographs examining some of the approaches First Nations people took towards promoting their culture for tourists. The complete exhibit also includes paintings, though the Lethbridge version just includes the photographs and the multi-media presentation.
There are 10 pieces in the exhibit created by seven different artists including several from Southern Alberta including Cree/Saulteaux/ Metis artist Lori Blondeau from Saskatoon, Adrian Stimson, Manitoba born, Toronto based artist Robert Houle, Manitoba born, Calgary based artist Terrance Voule. The other artists are Six Nations Reserve, Mohawk,Turtle Clan born, Brantford based artist Shelley Niro, Buffalo born, Ottawa based Jeff Thomas, Onondaga artist and curator of the Six Nations Confederacy.
“ The artists benefited from it too. They got paid for their work and they got to travel the world. And they ended up preserving our culture when the government was doing everything they could to eradicate it,” Nanibush continued.
She noted the exhibition was well received in Toronto and Regina.
“It’s going good. People are really reacting quite strongly to it,” she said.
“ I want people to see our arts and culture are alive and well in Canada,” Nanibush said.
“Sovereign Acts” runs May 1 - June 15 at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. The opening reception was May 1 at 5 p.m.