Updates
From small contemporary beads, mighty Indigenous art grows
When Indigenous people on this continent wove and worked beads together — in wampum belts, on mocassins, in necklaces and a multitude of other objects and symbols of cultural significance — they were doing more than craft. They were stitching themselves together in a manner of speaking, one generation with the next, one shared value to another, and after colonization they were doing it as others were trying to tear them apart; tear them apart, not just one from another, parent from child, but apart from their own customs, languages, history, from their own beadwork.
Indigenous Student Art Program created
UMSU is calling on Indigenous students from the U of M to create and submit artworks for its new Indigenous Student Art Program (ISAP). The goal of the project is to create paintings or print artworks that represent the history and repercussions of Canada’s relationship with Indigenous people as a way to work toward reconciliation. The program will choose five paintings or print artworks submitted by Indigenous students to be displayed in UMSU businesses and possibly in University Centre. After a year of being on display, the works can be auctioned off, at which time the money will go toward a charity that the artists, Indigenous students’ representative and the UMSU executive will work together to select.
Indigenous stories celebrated with new Halifax art mural installation
A new set of murals, full of colour and teachings by local Indigenous artists, are now on display on Barrington Street behind Scotia Square in downtown Halifax. Each of the 19 murals was created by a local Indigenous artist. “Indigenous art is being showcased all across Canada,” said Frances Palliser-Nicholas, manager of the Atelihai Inuit program. “It’s amazing to see Halifax finally giving our local Indigenous people that same opportunity to see a representation of themselves.”
B.C.’s Indigenous art missing global opportunities
The global arts market is ripe with demand for Indigenous creations, said University of British Columbia (UBC) professor Christopher Gaston. The province should focus on helping First Nations communities reach that market, estimated at $2 billion globally, given the recent focus on economic reconciliation between Canada and Indigenous Peoples.
Vancouver Island artists call for more protections for Indigenous art
Indigenous artists on Vancouver Island are calling on the federal government to crack down on copies of their work. They say the fakes exploit Indigenous cultures and the artists who draw on generations of tradition. Local artist Richard Hunt, who’s a member of the Kwagiulth First Nation on northern Vancouver Island, spends weeks crafting each Sun Mask that he makes.
City of Toronto marks National Indigenous Peoples Month with Indigenous Arts Festival
The Indigenous Arts Festival brings to the forefront the historic and ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples to Canada. I encourage all residents to join the celebrations at Fort York National Historic Site.
Lunar New Year lanterns with Indigenous art celebrate two cultures at Ontario gallery
An art installation in the Greater Toronto Area is celebrating the Year of the Tiger while bridging cultural divides. Six lanterns with designs from Indigenous artists are on display outside the Varley Art Gallery in Markham, Ont., marking Lunar New Year with an Indigenous touch.
Christmas market showcasing artisans from across Canada
Though it was probably an unpopular – and unwanted – weather front, it was perhaps fitting that the snow was falling outside the Lethbridge Exhibition Friday.
That’s because inside The Fall Into Christmas Market was in full swing after a little time away due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How Indigenous artisans are using traditional crafts to reclaim their culture
Indigenous people who relearn traditional crafts, like beadwork or making mitts and moccasins, are sewing pieces of their culture back together, one stitch, one bead and one quill at a time.
Indigenous Canadian artists pressure government to curtail sales of counterfeit First Nations art
An unchecked market of counterfeits of First Nations art and artefacts is fueling calls for the Canadian government to ramp up regulation. According to a report by CBC, artists are pressuring officials to clamp down on imported knockoffs, many from eastern Europe and Asia, arguing that Indigenous artists have lost millions of dollars from sales that also take advantage of unsuspecting buyers.