Some of the best Indigenous art from across Canada is on display at the Woodland Cultural Center for the next two months.
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Indigenous Art 2024, the 49th annual juried exhibition opened on Saturday (Aug. 3) and features a diversity of artistic work, says Patricia Deadman.
“Part of our mandate is to celebrate the work of Indigenous artists and this exhibition is all about diversity,” Deadman, the Woodland Cultural Centre’s curator, said. “It’s not just the diversity of work, that is the different forms of art, but also diversity of artists in terms of where they are in their career.
“The exhibition features work from emerging, mid-career and established artists.”
Deadman said emerging artists are those who are just starting out. But the emerging isn’t necessarily reflective of age.
“In some cases, the emerging artists are middle-aged or older,” Deadman said. “They’ve retired or reached a stage in life where they can spend more time pursuing other passions such as their art.
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“For some, it’s returning to something they once enjoyed but only now have time to develop their art.”
The established artists are those who have been creating work for decades, Deadman said.
Established in 1975, the exhibition is an opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their work in a fine art gallery. The exhibition is being presented by Woodland in partnership with The Brown Homestead, which aims to preserve and maintain significant heritage buildings and sites.
Artists were invited to submit up to three works of art, all of which must be original and have been done in the past two years. The work will be adjudicated by guest curators.
This year’s exhibition attracted more than 130 submissions from more than 60 artists. The submissions were reviewed and more than 50 works by 39 artists were accepted.
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The work is being displayed in all three of Woodland’s gallery spaces.
“We were really impressed by all of the submissions and we had to make some really difficult decisions,” Deadman said. “We liked it all and wanted to put everything in the exhibits.
“But that’s not the way it works.”
The official opening of the exhibition, which continues to early October, was held Sunday and attracted well over 100 people including artists and visitors.
The afternoon began with a director’s preview, conducted by Deadman, followed by the opening reception.
The art work on display included Maskwa 2024, an acrylic on canvas by Dianne Brown-Green.
An explanation of the work provided by the artist informs visitors that the Maskwa (Bear) holds special meaning to many Indigenous peoples.
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“For the Cree, it is a connection to our ancestors, it represents strength, courage and resilience,” Brown-Green said. “The Maskwa is a keeper of medicine, considered a spiritual guide and is very much revered and respected in our culture.”
Samantha Jacobs, a Seneca from the Cattaraugus Territory in New York, was one of the many artists to attend the opening and director’s preview.
A full-time artist, Jacobs does bead work, tufting (needle work), traditional clothing and jewelry.
Her work “What She Became, 2023,” is included in the exhibition and tells the story of a woman’s life. Various elements explain the various stages of the woman’s life with a moon at the center of the work.
In addition to getting their work displayed at Woodland, the artists will see their work published in a book following the exhibition.
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