Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
6 November 2018 Vol 3 No 23 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2018
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
This issue of Galleries West is unusual in that it has three stories about Indigenous art.
We look at Dana Claxton’s impressive career survey in Vancouver and a Saskatchewan exhibition that considers the legacy of Sarain Stump, as well as a nationally touring show of drawings made by Inuit on Baffin Island more than 50 years ago.
Although I believe it's important to include regular stories about Indigenous artists, I didn’t really plan it this way. Those stories just fell into place as I looked for interesting shows to feature.
I think it's because galleries in Western Canada are getting into the spirit of reconciliation and organizing more shows around Indigenous themes.
There's a growing recognition that art is a pathway to conversations that broaden understandings of histories and cultures, something urgently needed around the sorry legacies of Canada’s colonial experience. We need, individually and collectively, to talk about the past in order to move forward with inclusive models of nationhood.
While I can’t offer any statistics to back up my impression that there are more Indigenous shows, I did count how many stories published so far this year in Galleries West had an Indigenous theme or featured a solo show by an Indigenous artist. It turned out to be 20 stories, or about about 14 per cent of the 138 stories in 23 biweekly issues.
We have rounded out this issue with other coverage, including a review of Sarah Stevenson’s sculptures and drawings at the Esker Foundation in Calgary. We also have two stories about shows at commercial galleries. One previews work by Katherine and Robert Bruce at the Soul Gallery in Winnipeg, while the other focuses on Peter Shostak at the West End Gallery in Edmonton.
For our next issue, expect a story about a show by contemporary women artists from Aboriginal Australia at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. We also check in with the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa, which is sending some positive signals for artists.
And there's another story with an Indigenous theme – Tamara Lee Anne Cardinal’s exploration of the pow wow jingle dress dance and its regalia at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
I hope you enjoy this issue and, please do feel free to add a comment. We enjoy hearing from readers.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Lissa Robinson, Steven Ross Smith