The protest in Ottawa against pandemic restrictions is seeing continued closures at national museums and other arts organizations. Although police cleared protesters from the parliamentary precinct on the weekend, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Canadian War Museum were yet to post reopening dates as of Monday evening. The Ottawa Art Gallery also remained closed. It posted an open letter, dated Feb. 14, with other Ottawa arts groups, denouncing the truck convoy. "This occupation has made us, the artists and culture community members, and our many, often vulnerable, neighbours feel unsafe and harassed. It has allowed hate-filled and racist sentiments to fill our public spaces, has impacted us financially, and has taken away our freedom and stopped us from serving our community." Museums in Ontario that were forced to close Jan. 5 for public health reasons, were allowed to reopen as of Jan. 31.
The Senate is paying tribute to two Black artists with an exhibit of their work in the Senate of Canada Building. On display is Light Laureate, a mixed-media piece by Tim Whiten, and Wyoming Saddle, an acrylic-on-paper by the late Trinidadian-Canadian painter Denyse Thomasos. The works will be on view in the Senate foyer until July. It's the second edition of a Senate series honouring Black Canadian artists. “The artists both dig deep into their roots, dig deep into the psyche of their communities and reach out across Canadian society to ensure that their histories and the world that defines us is understood,” said Senator Patricia Bovey, a former director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The first installation in the series featured work by mixed-media artist and poet Chantal Gibson, of Vancouver, and Nigerian-born painter Yisa Akinbolaji, of Winnipeg.
The Capture Photography Festival has named the Art Gallery at Evergreen’s group exhibition Inherit as the recipient of its second annual Printing Prize. The $10,000 prize is awarded annually to a participating artist or gallery. "This prize will give us the opportunity to produce additional works – some that have never been exhibited before – as well as the benefit of working with some of the best framers and photo labs in Vancouver," said Kate Henderson, the curator of Inherit, which weaves together works by Joi T. Arcand, Zinnia Naqvi, Birthe Piontek, Carol Sawyer and Vivek Shraya.