Onsite Gallery, OCAD University
raise a flag: works from the Indigenous Art Collection (2000–2015)
To mark the ongoing importance of the national Indigenous Art Collection, curator Ryan Rice brings together works from the past 15 years to showcase “a collection that represents a national identity of art from this land and stories that are only surfacing now”: The Indigenous Art Collection (IAC) just celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and continues to do acquisitions. It is the largest selection of contemporary Indigenous artwork in Canada and probably in the world. However, most Canadians don’t know about the IAC and the unique perspective it has on understanding Canadian history. The idea for raise a flag started when I was invited to a meeting in regards to Canada 150 funds (ed. note: this exhibition is not funded by the Canada 150 Fund). The meeting was very celebratory, and I raised my hand and said, “You have to understand that for some people this is not a celebration, there are ramifications and other histories you have to consider.” I began with works from 2000 to 2015 because these recent acquisitions have not received the same exposure as earlier works from 1965 and onwards. I was drawn to the idea of raising the flag. How do these works speak to Indigenous aesthetics? How do they speak specifically to the Inuit worldview? Why is it different? How do the works give us a different perspective? And since the collection represents Inuit, First Nations and Métis artists, I started with a list of about 700 works, which I then narrowed down to 49 works by 33 artists, including 11 Inuit artists. At one point the Inuit works were disbanded and First Nations had to fight to maintain the IAC. In this light, the collection is a significant form of survival that challenges histories that were considered erased or works that were considered craft. We see through the work, the histories that Indigenous peoples have lived that are now coming to the forefront, including in light of residential schools, environmental issues and the disc number identities. For this reason, among others, the IAC continues to be an essential resource.