Kent Monkman - Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience
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Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2
Kent Monkman, "The Daddies," 2016
acrylic on canvas, 60" x 112.5"
Kent Monkman's solo exhibition, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience
The large-scale exhibition of roughly 80 works provides a searing critique of Canada’s colonial policies over the past 150 years, prioritizing First Nations’ perspectives during this pivotal moment in the ongoing global discourse on systemic racism. Monkman is one of the country's best-known contemporary artists, lauded for his fearless commentary on issues related to Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Curated by Monkman — a contemporary Canadian artist of Cree ancestry — the provocative exhibition features roughly 80 pieces, including the artist’s own paintings, drawings, installations, and sculptures, in dialogue with historical artifacts and artworks borrowed from museums and private collections from across Canada. MOA is the final stop on the acclaimed exhibition’s three-year, cross-country tour.
“The last 150 years have been the most devastating for Indigenous peoples in this country,” says Monkman. “And yet I could not think of any historical paintings that conveyed or authorized the Indigenous experience in the art history milieu. Where are the paintings from the 19th century that recounted, with passion and empathy, the dispossession, starvation, incarceration, and genocide of Indigenous peoples? Shame and Prejudice activates a vital dialogue about the impact of European settler cultures on Indigenous peoples and about Indigenous resilience.”
MOA’s curatorial liaison for the exhibition, Dr. Jennifer Kramer says:
“MOA is honoured to present Shame and Prejudice, particularly in these times of protest and resistance against the oppression of marginalized peoples. This exhibition is a ‘restorying’ that transforms the familiar nationalist myth of British-French settlers discovering a new world ripe for possession and resource extraction into a counter-narrative focused on Indigenous strength, healing, and resurgence. Shame and Prejudice is part of a continuum of work at MOA that showcases Indigenous voices through contemporary art and social discourse.”