myWAG Spring 2023

SPRING 2023

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300 Memorial Boulevard

Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 1V1

Hours of operation subject to change. For current hours visit wag.ca

Tues–Sun 11am-5pm, Fri 11am–9pm, Closed Mon

Front Desk 204.786.6641

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Admission

Member FREE • Under 18 FREE* • Adult $18

• 65+ $15 • Indigenous Peoples FREE**

Membership See our membership levels at wag.ca/member. For more information, call 204.789.1764

Parking Parkade across from the Gallery, meters on surrounding streets. Wheelchair accessible.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery and Qaumajuq are located on the territory of the Nehiyawak, Anishinaabeg, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, Anishininiwak and Dene Nations.

WAG-Qaumajuq is located on the national homeland of the Red River Métis.

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Opening of Robert Houle photo: David Lipnowski

WAG@The Park The Pavilion Art Galleries in Assiniboine Park

See a rotating series of exhibitions curated by WAG-Qaumajuq, featuring art from the APC collection. Entry is FREE. Don’t miss the curated collection of Inuit carvings featured in the ZOO’s Gateway to the Arctic. Hours of operation: assiniboinepark.ca/park.

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Happy spring! As we celebrate the turn of the seasons, I hope you have come through the winter with joy and clarity.

As Director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our new Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art: Marie-Anne Redhead. Her work has already helped us on our path toward decolonization – you can read about the Artworks Renaming Initiative on page 3 – and we are looking forward to seeing more of her work to come.

I also want to celebrate the heart and generosity of our community coming together to open the new Through the Eyes of a Child gallery space, dedicated to the young artists and curators of WAG-Qaumajuq's studio programs. Your support is fostering the next generation of incredible Manitoban artists, and we could not be more thrilled to have a beautiful space to present their work. We are so deeply thankful for your enthusiastic response as we strive to build the future of the arts here in Winnipeg.

I’m pleased to present the exhibitions and programming we have coming up at WAG-Qaumajuq. Qaumajuq’s second show – a stunning look at Inuit art tradition and history across the circumpolar North – just opened, and it takes over the whole building. With nearly 400 works, Inuit Sanaugangit: Art Across Time will immerse you in an incredible survey of artistic expression from the North. This is an exhibition that has been years in the making, and a collaboration from two curators who have had a profound affect on WAG-Qaumajuq – Dr. Darlene Coward Wight and Jocelyn Piirainen.

The Art of Faye HeavyShield is an exhibition rooted in story and community, and is the culmination of over 40 years of artistic production by senior Blackfoot (Blood) artist Faye HeavyShield. Her work is an inspiration to many, and you’re sure to find thought-provoking connections as you explore the work of this multi-faceted artist.

On a personal note, I had a chance to dive into what I love about curation through my show, Various Metals and Stones, which is grounded by two recent sculpture acquisitions: Black Seeds by John Greer and Black Shield by Vanessa Paschakarnis. The exhibition emphasizes a certain kind of materiality and is a wonderful way to experience some of the unique works from our permanent collection. You can read about the exhibition in a piece written by Head Curator Riva Symko on page 4.

Finally, I’m excited to tell you all that we’ve expanded our partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation’s Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award to support up-and-coming Inuit artists in very big ways. For the first time ever this spring, visitors will see the 2023 KAMA Award Shortlist in exhibition here at WAG-Qaumajuq, which will be followed this fall by an unmissable show from 2021 KAMA recipient and WAG-Qaumajuq resident artist Tarralik Duffy.

It’s been a wonderful winter preparing for the bustling energy of spring, and now that it’s here, we can’t wait to show you everything we’ve been working on. This place and everything we present here is for you. I look forward to seeing you in the galleries!

Dr. Stephen Borys, Director & CEO

above: Qaumajuq.

photo: Jessica Losorata; Stephen Borys. photo: Ruth Bonneville, Winnipeg Free Press.

WAG-QAUMAJUQ NEWS

HOULE OPENING

HEADLINES OPENING

Conceived as part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Winnipeg Free Press, Headlines: The Art of the News Cycle opened in style this past November. This critical exhibition combines archival material with thought-provoking artwork that engages and disrupts our shared public forum, including a specially commissioned work from local printmaker and artist Miriam Rudolph that re-stories the history of Winnipeg through a careful study of the WFP archives. Headlines is on view until October 1, 2023.

On October 7, WAG-Qaumajuq welcomed Robert Houle: Red is Beautiful to the Gallery, marking the first time in over 20 years that Houle has had a solo show at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. This major retrospective, titled for the first painting Houle ever sold, covered the artist's prolific career over more than 50 years and highlights the major themes explored by this influential Saulteaux artist. WAG-Qaumajuq welcomed Houle and his family in an incredibly special and packed opening night. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special opening weekend. Red is Beautiful closed on April 2, 2023.

REDHEAD TAKES ON INDIGENOUS ART

A CRAFTED RUNWAY

The 8th annual CRAFTED: Show + Sale launched its first ever fashion runway featuring over 200 looks and 25 collections from fashion designers based in Manitoba, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Nunatsiavut. A portion of the proceeds from the fashion show were donated to Tunngasugit, a non-profit dedicated to supporting Inuit living in urban centres in Manitoba. Check out the fits and fashion at wag.ca/ fashion! Look out for an upcoming announcement about the next installment!

A hearty welcome to our new Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art, MarieAnne Redhead Marie-Anne is descended from the Ininiwak–mahkêsiw sâkahikan (Fox Lake, Treaty 5) and from Francophone settlers, and has lived on Treaty 1 for most of her life. She was an integral part of the Artworks Renaming Initiative, and as a curator she hopes to explore Indigenous futurisms, resurgence, and joy.

photo: Leif Norman

photo: JP Media Works

photo: Janine Kropola

photo: Sarah Lamontagne

NEW OUTDOOR INSTALLATION

Notice something new? These seven beautifully engraved stone boulders were installed at the northern end of WAG-Qaumajuq, marking an expansion of our commitment to bringing art into public life. Created by artist Bill Vazan, the arrangement is collectively called M Theory. For Vazan, the longevity of stone engraving points to the non-permanence that exists beneath our basic comprehension of reality.⁠Explore the new install on your next spring walk!

INTERRUPTING THE INSTITUTION

As an art gallery, WAG-Qaumajuq was given a starting point to advance reconciliation in the arts and cultural sector by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. Since then, we’ve worked to advance our knowledge and understanding of Indigenous ways of being; colonialism and how it manifests in our institution; and the cultural norms that disenfranchise Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities while allowing a culture of white supremacy to proliferate. Here are a few of the ways we’ve committed to tangible action:

Welcoming Ceremony and Prayer into the Gallery – Many of the artworks in WAG-Qaumajuq’s collection belong to Indigenous nations, and those Indigenous nations have specific protocols and methods of care for both objects and people. Historically, these practices have been demeaned; recognizing, welcoming, and honouring these connections begins to correct historic and ongoing wrongs.

Equity Action Report – In order to get a clear view of how oppressive behaviours and structures are manifesting in the Gallery, WAG-Qaumajuq worked with Equitable Solutions Consulting to create a report that is guiding us forward as we work to build a Gallery that foregrounds justice and inclusivity.

EYES OF A CHILD INAUGURAL EXHIBITION

Curated entirely by young artists, the first exhibition in the new Through the Eyes of a Child gallery opened this December. Through the Eyes of a Child is dedicated to the future artists and curators currently enrolled at WAG Studio. This exciting new exhibition space was created through the generosity and support of our community. You can continue to support young artists and bring art to our community at wag.ca/donate

Artworks Renaming Initiative – Artwork names are often reflective of the sensibilities of the time they were made. Given the longevity of certain artworks, these echoes of past attitudes continue to influence present-day mindsets. By inviting Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers to rename these artworks, the Artworks Renaming Initiative welcomes Indigenous Knowledge into the canon of art history.

Ongoing Training to Disrupt White Supremacy Culture – For the last two years, the Anti-Racism Resource Group has run voluntary meetings to build understanding of white supremacy culture, allyship, and how to best work together in our colonial context. Now, staff at WAG-Qaumajuq are receiving training to disrupt colonialism and foster an anti-racist environment.

Interested in learning more? Visit wag.ca/equity

photo: Cara Mason

photo: Stephen Borys

photo: Katryna Barske

On View

Dec 2022 – Jun 25, 2023

A REFLECTION ON CURATORIAL APPROACHES AT WAG-QAUMAJUQ: VARIOUS METALS & STONES

By Dr. Riva Symko, Head of Collections & Exhibitions and Curator of Canadian Art

The most recent exhibition installed on the Mezzanine level of WAG-Qaumajuq, Various Metals & Stones, is a great example of the ways in which our curators – in this case, Dr. Stephen Borys, also our Director & CEO – are thinking beyond traditional canons of exhibition display to revise, reframe, and rethink art objects and their place in our history. Incited by two recent sculpture acquisitions, Black Seeds by John Greer and Black Shield by Vanessa Paschakarnis, and originally conceived as a meditation on material, this exhibition juxtaposes metal and stone in a way that draws out the aesthetic and corporeal properties of metal and stone. To leave the show at that, however, would be ignoring some of the more complex issues pertaining to artwork mediums (or materials) and their contextual properties – historical, gendered, cultural.

Take, for example, metal itself. Metals became a heavily conceptualized medium during the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of the Minimalist movement. Minimalism brought the realization of art-for-art’s-sake ideas to their most extreme and abstract point. Dominated by a gregarious group of white male sculptors led by the likes of Carl Andre, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, and Tony Smith, the Minimalist movement also gained notoriety for its extreme machismo – perpetuating a gendered understanding of metal as a “man’s art medium,” a stereotype that has unfortunately persisted into today’s contemporary consciousness. After all, our common perception of metal is often a combination of so-called ‘masculine’ descriptors like “hard,” “strong,” “cold,” “sharp,” “infallible,” etc.

Mezzanine Gallery

Curator Stephen Borys, Director & CEO

photo: Eric Au

With Various Metals & Stones, Dr. Borys pushes the notion of “metal” beyond its mere aesthetic appearance by including artworks like Susan Chafe’s Tin Dress (1990), which looks like a child’s “princess” costume created from recycled tin cans. I like to think that Tin Dress disembodies the struggle that women face to assert their place in a male-dominated world! Similarly, the hard, durable steel of Barb Hunt’s Root Dress (1995) confounds associations of dresses with soft cloth and fluidity, which in turn questions our assumptions of gender and material. Root Dress is part of a series of large metal dresses made by Hunt, each fabricated from a single sheet of cold-rolled steel. The dress shapes vary, and forms are cut out of the interior to resemble textile patterns, images from nature, or other forms historically associated with femininity.

In delving deeper, and consciously considering the broader implications of curatorial choices, Dr. Borys’ exhibition helps to disrupt the predominantly masculine narrative that surrounds metalworking to demonstrate that contemporary women artists have carried on a vibrant legacy in the field as well.

Various Metals & Stones is on view until June 25, 2023. Don’t miss your chance to visit these unique pieces from our permanent collection!

On View

Apr 1, 2023 – Jan 2024

Qilak Gallery

Curators

Dr. Darlene Coward

Wight, Curator of Inuit Art and Jocelyn Piirainen, Associate Curator of Indigenous Ways and

INUIT SANAUGANGIT: ART ACROSS TIME

There are few exhibitions that cover the kind of ground that Inuit Sanaugangit treads. Curated by Dr. Darlene Coward Wight and Jocelyn Piirainen, this is the second major exhibition in Qaumajuq, featuring nearly 400 works from across the circumpolar North and across time. The works date from circa 200 BCE to the present day and include a wide variety of artistic practices, ranging from sculpture to drawing, clothing to printmaking, and ceramics to film. This exhibition’s remarkable vision comes from the strength, history, and beauty of Inuit art.

“This exhibition is a celebration of sanaugangit, (art by Inuit), from Inuit-related Yup’ik and Inupiaq cultures in Siberia and Alaska, to Ancestral and modern Inuit in Canada and Greenland,” Wight explains. The scope of the exhibition offers a unique view into past and present Inuit artistic traditions.

To accomplish its ambitious goal, Inuit Sanaugangit features a major art catalogue and extensive labelling which offer insight into the cultural context of the exhibition. As Piirainen explains, “the show is for the public-at-large who would like to learn more about the history of Inuit art, as well as the communities and regions themselves.”

For those who haven’t had the chance to be exposed to Inuit and ancestral Inuit artistic traditions, the exhibition’s scale represents a comprehensive overview of the past and present art of the Arctic. “By focusing on highlights from many regions and communities, it reveals the widely distinctive modes of expression that have characterized the art from different geographical regions and time periods,” says Wight. “These differences are evidenced in media, subject matter, as well as stylistic and aesthetic approaches.” While outsiders might assume that Inuit are a single cultural monolith, the truth is that there are diverse cultural communities and regions within the North. Piirainen hopes to communicate that “the art, clothing, and tools made by Inuit are just as diverse, but there are some connecting aspects shared throughout the works.”

Through the unabashed celebration of art by Inuit and their precursors, the exhibition centres a community of artists connected through time and place. The diverse ancient and geographical works give a broad context to contemporary Inuit artistic creation; the contemporary works draw on this incredible history to create the next link in Inuit Sanaugangit

Decolonization, National Gallery of Canada.

opposite: Kenojuak Ashevak. Silavut, Nunavut (Our Environment, Our Land) (detail), 1999, lithograph. Collection of Barry Appleton. photo: courtesy of Dorset Fine Arts.

l-r: Unknown artist (Labrador). Two Women Carrying Meat in Tub, 1892–1901. ivory, black colouring, red colouring, yellow colouring, string. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The Cotter Collection, Acquired with funds from an anonymous donor, G-91-6; Davidialuk Abraham Anghik Ruben. Kittigazuit, 1999–2000. whale bone, Brazilian soapstone, African wonderstone. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Commissioned from the artist. Acquired with funds from The Winnipeg Art Gallery Foundation Inc. and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program, 1999-616; Alasua Amittu. Mythological Bird, 1958. stone. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Twomey Collection, with appreciation to the Province of Manitoba and Government of Canada, 1953.71. photos: Ernest Mayer.

A PLACE FOR MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE

Julia Lafreniere, Head of Indigenous Ways and Equity at WAG-Qaumajuq, works closely with Indigenous leaders and partners. We take this consultation seriously, and recommendations are made under the guidance and direction of Treaty One and Red River Métis governments. WAG-Qaumajuq has officially partnered with Treaty One Nation, the Manitoba Métis Federation, and Tunngasugit – an urban Inuit resource centre in Winnipeg. These are a few of many partnerships that help to lead the programs we offer at WAG-Qaumajuq.

“The arts are a fundamental way of interacting with the world, representative of human expression and thought. Bringing Indigenous perspectives, teachings, and worldviews back into this centre of artistic culture in a way that is accessible to all Winnipeggers affirms the central importance of Indigenous ways of knowing. I cannot wait to hear more Indigenous languages spoken and shared within WAG-Qaumajuq thanks to the support of donors like you.”

— Julia Lafreniere, Head of Indigenous Ways and Equity, WAG-Qaumajuq

photo: David Lipnowski

THANK YOU WAG-QAUMAJUQ DONORS

WAG-Qaumajuq is becoming a place for meaningful dialogue around issues that affect us all. These vital opportunities are flourishing because of donors.

Donors create programs that spark conversations and encourage understanding in ways that only art can. And everyone who visits WAG-Qaumajuq benefits.

The future of this important programming is in your hands!

With your support, WAG-Qaumajuq can build on Indigenous-led programs that amplify the voices of artists, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers, to create new opportunities for everyone in our community.

As a donor, you help expand learning and understanding around themes found in art and exhibitions with family activities, community tours, workshops, panel discussions and special events. You invest in the recruitment of Indigenous educators and guides for education programs. You create spaces for Indigenous Elders to pass their teachings on to the broader community, building

bridges of understanding between cultures, between North and South, and between generations. This is reconciliation in action.

WILL YOU DONATE TODAY?

With your support, the community can take part in Indigenous arts camps, artist panel talks, National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations, and monthly Indigenous language informed tours, which directly respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 14i and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Article 13, in support of the reclamation and revitalization of Indigenous languages.

Art provides a pure and powerful way to explore and share stories and histories and to imagine a better future together. Please give to amplify the voices of artists, add important Indigenous perspectives and teachings to education programs, and enrich the art experience for everyone.

If you’re able, we hope you’ll consider a monthly gift. It’s a convenient way to maximize your support! wag.ca/donate

Forwarding meaningful reconciliation includes ensuring there is space and amplification for the voices of Indigenous Peoples, and opportunities for everyone in our community to hear those voices. You can help create these opportunities at WAG-Qaumajuq, in the heart of our community.

Art has the power to share stories of the past and present – and to imagine a better future for us all.

l-r: Claire Johnston beading workshop - Louis Riel Day 2023; Nakatamaakewin, photo: Cara Mason; WAG-Qaumajuq Opening Ceremony.

On View

Apr 29, 2023

THE ART OF FAYE HEAVYSHIELD

Organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery and curated by Felicia Gay, The Art of Faye HeavyShield gathers the seminal works of a celebrated contemporary Indigenous artist, covering 40 years of artistic expression. HeavyShield, who is a Blackfoot (Blood) woman from the Káínai territory, is known for her groundbreaking work centring Indigenous women, concepts, and narratives.

The newest member of WAG-Qaumajuq's curatorial team, Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art Marie-Anne Redhead, is excited for this show to be the first she helps bring to Winnipeg. Redhead calls attention to the importance of memory, poetry, and story throughout HeavyShield’s work.

“All of HeavyShield’s work is so rooted in place and in her stories, her family, and the land there,” says Redhead. “It will be really interesting to see how that translates here.” An example of this is found in Body of Land, a work that ties digital prints of skin to the form of a lodge or tipi, constructing the idea of home through a nomadic lens. “Home is entwined with movement,” says Redhead, noting the connection to the body.

Galleries 7 & 8

Curator

The Art of Faye HeavyShield is built on the bones of memory and story and embraces an ethic of relationality, making this exhibition an unmissable encounter with the work of this celebrated senior visual artist.

Join us April 28, 2023 for a special opening reception of the exhibition, including words from the visiting artist and curator, and a FREE sneak peek view of the exhibition. Learn more at wag.ca/events

Felicia Gay, Curatorial Fellow at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

above: Faye HeavyShield. Aapaskaiyaawa (They are Dancing), 2002. acrylic on canvas, acrylic paint, beads, plastic filament. 178 x 366 x 183 cm. Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery; Faye HeavyShield at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation © Faye HeavyShield, photo: Virginia Harold © Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

GRACE NICKEL

This spring, WAG-Qaumajuq is partnering with the Manitoba Craft Council to bring you an incredible exhibition of the work of one of Manitoba’s foremost ceramicists, Grace Nickel, the winner of the 2023 Saidye Bronfman Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts in recognition of her exceptional and thoughtful career as a ceramicist. Over the course of her career, Nickel’s observational approach has led her to explore themes of devastation, memorial, and our cultural relationship to death. Even as she documents the impermanence of existence, she does so in a way that feels strongly grounded in the acknowledgement and honouring of loss.

Nickel’s artwork has been exhibited both nationally and internationally – including a 2002 solo show A Quiet Passage: Grace Nickel at the Winnipeg Art Gallery – and it is clear why. Nickel’s studio practice embraces new technologies and methods by building on traditional ceramic histories and processes. Today, she primarily produces experiential sculptural installations, often introducing organic forms to more familiar porcelain shapes like vases or columns. For instance, Nickel often references textures drawn from nature, especially trees, as a metaphoric proxy for the cyclical nature of the human body and human existence.

This solo show is a celebration of a leading Manitoban artist recognized worldwide for her innovative work and technical skill. Don’t miss Grace Nickel at WAG-Qaumajuq!

On View

May – Oct 2023

Gallery 9

Curators

Tammy Sutherland, Director, Manitoba Craft Council, and Riva Symko, Head of Collections & Exhibitions and Curator of Canadian Art.

l-r: Grace Nickel. Vessel, from the Moth Series, 1989. Earthenware, glaze. 20.3 x 49 x 5.4 cm. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Acquired with funds from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Naylor, G-91-158; Grace Nickel. Terminus Ultimus 2002. paper clay, glass, 158 x 38 x 38 cm. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Acquired with funds from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Naylor, funds administered through the Winnipeg Foundation, and with funds from the Volunteer Committee to the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program/Oeuvre achetée avec l’aide du programme d’aide aux acquisitions du Conseil des Arts du Canada, 2002-44 abc. photos: Ernest Mayer.

KAMA

A PARTNERSHIP IN CELEBRATION OF THE FUTURE OF INUIT ART

An exciting expanded partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation will see new opportunities for Inuit artists while bringing their talent and expression to WAG-Qaumajuq.

The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award celebrates and supports the work of mid-career Inuit artists. Every two years, ten artists are selected for the longlist. This year, thanks to a partnership with RBC, all ten longlist artists receive $2,500 and a feature in a dedicated catalogue, distributed with Inuit Art Quarterly. The longlisted artists are Manasie Akpaliapik, Deantha Edmunds, Billy Gauthier, Glenn Gear, Maureen Gruben, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloon, Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq, Kablusiak, Ningiukulu Teevee, and Couzyn van Heuvelen. Of these ten artists, five are selected for the shortlist; each receiving $5,000 and their work exhibited in a group show at WAG-Qaumajuq.

Anaanatta Unikkaangit: The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award Shortlist opens May 19, 2023

Riva Symko, Head of Exhibitions & Collections and Curator of Canadian Art, is animated while talking about the upcoming KAMA exhibitions. “It is super top secret, but I’m extremely excited,” says Symko. “Any of the five shortlist artists would put together an incredible solo exhibition.” While the shortlist artist identities are under wraps until the grand reveal on May 19, the strength of the longlisted artists more than promises an amazing exhibition.

Out of the five shortlisted artists, one will ultimately receive the recognition of being the 2023 KAMA winner. The winning artist will receive an expanded cash prize of $20,000, a fully funded creative residency at WAG-Qaumajuq in 2024, and a solo exhibition with accompanying catalogue and acquisition at WAG-Qaumajuq in fall 2025. The winning artist will be announced at the September 29 WAG-Qaumajuq opening of 2021 KAMA winner Tarralik Duffy’s solo exhibition at WAG-Qaumajuq.

2021 KAMA Winner Tarralik Duffy: Gasoline Rainbows, opens September 29, 2023

The 2021 KAMA winner Tarralik Duffy is an innovative artist from Salliq (Coral Harbour), Nunavut. She’s well-known for her work with jewelry, textiles, and pop art concepts. “Tarralik is very dexterous and agile in terms of working across media,” says Symko. “She’s inspired by the things she collects: baleen, beluga vertebrae, antler, and other natural materials.”

Over the last year or so, Duffy has delved further into her work with pop art, taking recognizable objects and transforming them through her own unique lens. “Drawings, sculptures – she uses

a lot of bright colours and fun interpretations in her work,” says Symko. “We can expect her to be using the Giizhig/Kisik gallery space in an interesting way. She’s a very outgoing energetic person, and that really comes across in her work.”

Tarralik Duffy. China Lily, 2021. Print, courtesy of the artist.

SPRING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Explore the stories behind the art and experiment with artmaking. Programs, tours, and art classes are available for all age groups with special pricing for WAG-Qaumajuq members. Learn about these events and more at wag.ca/events.

National Indigenous Peoples Day Events

BANNOCK BABE DRAG

>> June 18

Indigidrag takes over WAG-Qaumajuq! Come have a good time with some fabulous queens!

Erin Propp in Sounds of Manitoba

>> May 12

Experience the galleries with a backdrop of live, Manitoba-made music, all for FREE on the first floor thanks to a partnership with Leon A. Brown. Hear Erin Propp’s unique blend of folk and jazz surrounded by the beautiful art of WAGQaumajuq. More at wag.ca/music

Canada Life FREE Sundays @WAG

>> May 14 and the second Sunday of every month

Every month, visitors to the Gallery can access FREE admission and special programming at WAG-Qaumajuq thanks to a partnership with Canada Life! Learn about family-friendly programming at wag.ca/freedays

CEREMONY >> June 21

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, join us in ceremony together as we celebrate and honour Indigenous Peoples across the country currently known as Canada.

GRIPPIN SAGE ROOFTOP

DANCE PARTY >> June 23

Join us on the WAG-Qaumajuq rooftop for our second Grippin Sage night with Boogey the Beat and special guest DJs.

wag.ca/events

Decolonizing Lens: Spotlight on Alanis Obomsawin

>> May 4 @ 7pm

Hosted by Sonya Ballantyne with special guest and celebrated filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, enjoy a selection of three films by Obomsawin, Bill Reid Remembers, Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair, and Upstairs with David Amram, for FREE, with snacks and drinks by Feast Café Bistro. Learn more at wag.ca/events

SUMMER POP-UPS

JAZZ ON THE ROOFTOP

>> July 6, Aug 24

This Winnipeg classic returns to WAGQaumajuq this summer! Come enjoy the best of Winnipeg jazz!

DRAG PICNIC >> July 20

Blankets, charcuterie, champagne, and drag! Feast on the WAG-Qaumajuq rooftop with amazing food and drag performers.

wag.ca/events

Exhibition Tours

>> select afternoons @ 2pm

Included with Gallery admission and FREE for WAG-Qaumajuq members. Check out our community-led tours, drop-in tours, and customizable adult tours available at wag.ca/tours!

For artists at every age & skill level.

wag.ca/studio

photo: Sarah Lamontagne

photo: M anitoba Music

Bill Reid working on Loo Taas in Skidegate, 1984.

photo: Robert Semeniuk, Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada, 2022

Ivan Eyre: The Idea of Trees

Curated by Dr. Stephen D. Borys

>> Nov 26 '22 – Jun 3 '23

Ivan Eyre: The Idea of Trees explores the unique landscapes of Eyre’s body of work. His imaginative lands are built from the fragments of real landscapes, patched together into compositions that capture a sense of familiarity while resisting any firm sense of identification. Each visit with Eyre’s landscape work reveals something new, some new insight tangled in the wild details of these constructed lands.

The exhibition also features selected quotations from Eyre himself as he conceptualized his relationship to landscapes, trees, and his artistic practice. The exhibition feels invitational, even as the scale of some of the artworks (in particular, two multi-panel paintings over 20ft wide) trends towards the grand. “It celebrates the experience of rediscovery with Ivan Eyre’s landscapes, underlining the feeling that with each encounter, the same work offers something new, something unexpected,” says curator Stephen Borys, WAG-Qaumajuq Director & CEO. “While drawing is the source of much of the visual vocabulary that informs Eyre’s figurative works, this is not the case with the landscapes. They are their own – his own – genre: compositions created largely from the artist’s imagination and his countless encounters with nature.”

With over 50 years of artistic production represented in the exhibition, Ivan Eyre: The Idea of Trees celebrates some of the most well-loved artworks from the local artist. Visit the exhibition in the well-matched location of Assiniboine Park via WAG@The Park.

Commemorating Our Connections

Curated by Grace Braniff

>> Nov 12 '22 – Apr 30 '23

Commemorating Our Connections is a unique take on the work of Walter J. Phillips, inspired by the ways we connect with one another. “He created a lot of his works initially to be Christmas cards, or later they were adapted into Christmas cards,” says curator Grace Braniff. It was this aspect of Phillips’ work that sparked an exhibition.

“I was thinking about how much people were missing being in spaces together, and then also the ways they found hacks or alternatives to still show their connection to each other,” says Braniff. “In some ways I see Christmas cards that way – it's not being physically present in a room together, but it’s a way to extend yourself across space to somebody else.” As the concept developed, Braniff searched out other artists and works that embrace connection, something found abundantly in WAGQaumajuq's Inuit art collection. Braniff pulled together Inuit wall hangings, packing dolls, and a drum alongside the cards people have sent each other.

The end result is an exhibition filled with the well-wishes and warm dreams of Phillips’ cards, wrapped in Inuit wall-hangings, creating a cozy space that facilitates connection, both to the art and to each other.

WAG-Qaumajuq is out in the community! Learn more about the special programming and partnerships that make your Gallery more accessible at wag.ca/community

l-r: Ivan Eyre. Untitled, n.d. acrylic on canvas. Collection of the Pavilion Gallery. Ivan Eyre. Twilight, 1996. acrylic on canvas. Collection of the Pavilion Gallery. photo: Serhii Gumenyuk; Marianne Gopalkrishna. The Sweet Taste of Maple Syrup, 1990. earthenware, coloured underglazes. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Acquired with funds from the Winnipeg Rh Foundation Inc., G-90533. photo: Ernest Mayer.

Inside the Pavilion building at Assiniboine Park

Tim Gardner: The Full Story

Curated by Dr. Stephen D. Borys

>> Opening Oct 2023 | Galleries 7 & 8

Coming soon to WAG-Qaumajuq, Tim Gardner: The Full Story will survey the career of a noted artist with a penchant for capturing rambunctious and mischievous masculinity. Tim Gardner is an American-born Canadian artist who studied at the University of Manitoba’s School of Fine Art. Known for his watercolour paintings, Gardner also works in oils and pastels. His art practice embraces the warmth of the moment, whether that moment is on a basketball court or under the stars. A maestro of the urban and natural landscape, Gardner documents the everyday happenings of masculinity, family, and friendship.

Gardner’s artistic approach is humble in his commitment to subject matter and traditional technique. “He's a profound technician of the medium,” says WAG-Qaumajuq Director and CEO Stephen Borys, curator of the exhibition. “At times it’s hyperrealist, and then at times he will abstract some part of the picture, so that you suddenly realize that it’s watercolour. That juxtaposition is impressive.”

Tim Gardner: The Full Story will be the first retrospective and the largest exhibition of Gardner's work, spanning over 20 years.

Winnipeggers will have a chance to see Gardner’s unique lens on the world this October.

Learn more at wag.ca/upcoming.

ᕿᕐᓂᖅᓯᓯᒪᔪᖅ | Dark Ice

Curated by Rebecca Basciano, Curator, Ottawa Art Gallery

>> Nov 22, 2023 – May 5, 2024 | Galleries 5 & 6

Organized and circulated by the Ontario Art Gallery, Dark Ice is an essential examination of the profound and drastic impact that climate change is already having on our varied ecosystems and how this impact is most evident in communities of the North.

The exhibition was conceived through the collaboration of artists Leslie Reid (Ottawa, ON) and Robert Kautuk (Kangiqtugaapik, Clyde River, NU).

Reid is an established painter and photographer who has conducted research in the Arctic through the Canadian Forces Artists Program and the Canada C3 expedition, while Kautuk’s artistic exploration includes the use of drone technology to capture aerial photographs and videos of his community. He works at the Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre and encourages Inuit-led research there.

Together, Reid and Kautuk’s research and visualizations foster diverse perspectives around climate change, offering a promising path forward in the face of global warming. The exhibition features photographs, paintings, and videos that centre Northern communities and landscapes as the first witnesses of climate change. Together in dialogue, these artists share perspectives and experiences, finding the common ground that carves out and shapes a path towards our shared future.

l-r: Tim Gardner. Nick and Tobi on Ferry (detail), 2012. pastel on paper. Collection of Monte Clark Gallery; Leslie Reid. Through Time, Through Space 5 (detail), 2020. Photographs, light boxes. Diptych: 68.6 x 68.6 cm; 68.6 x 96.5 cm. Courtesy of the Artist. Archival aerial vertical b/w photograph: National Air Photo Library; taken for early mapping of the North, above Frobisher Bay, 1949. Colour photograph: Leslie Reid, taken from the deck of the Canada C3 Expedition icebreaker Polar Prince, Franklin Strait, 2017.

SPRING SUMMER

ShopWAG is celebrating the 50-year career of local glass artist Ione Thorkelsson with an ongoing selection of blown glass works from the artist's personal collection. This series will be released over the course of the year, available for purchase in-store only. Shoppers can expect a wide variety of works from one of Canada's most recognized glass artists, with artworks dating back to the 1970s.

WAG-Qaumajuq has accompanied Ione on her 50year discovery of glass. When she first attempted to put a dollar sign on her work and present it to the world back in 1975, it was at the Polo Park Art Fair, which was sponsored by the Women's Committee of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. That same year, the Gallery Shop began handling her work, a relationship that continued throughout her career as a glassblower. Thorkelsson’s work, both blown and cast, has been

50 years in glass

included in ten group shows and two solo shows at the Gallery between 1976 and 2021. Her solo 1998 show, Unwilling Bestiary, was part of the Gallery’s very early and ground-breaking acceptance of craft as material-based sculpture.

The Gallery also nominated Thorkelsson for the Bronfman Award in 2000 and again in 2009. On the strength of this last nomination, she was presented with the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts/Saidye Bronfman Award in 2010.

Over 150 works will become available for sale over the span of the year. Don't miss this opportunity to see work from one of the longest-running glass studios in Canada.

Visit wag.ca/Thorkelsson for updates on upcoming releases.

The artist in the quonset at Sheridan College

1974

The artist's first studio, Stony Mountain

Open during regular Gallery hours

shop online at shop.wag.ca for shipping across Canada.

@shopwag

photo: Clayton Bailey

OCTOBER 14 2023

Save the date for Winnipeg’s most elegant annual fundraiser. Learn more at wag.ca/ball.