Price: $65 for ages 12 and up, $38 for ages 4 to 12, free for kids under 4
1st seating @ 10:30am | 2nd seating @ 12:30pm
Email [email protected] to register
Treat them to brunch! The RMG is hosting a Mother’s Day brunch in Arthur’s on the 4th. Catered by local company, Farm and Wild, come out and spend the day celebrating the motherly figure in your life.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s monthly free concert series RMG FRIDAYS finally returns home for the May 2022 edition! In addition to short films courtesy of Durham Region International Film Festival, an appearance by series mainstays WOOLY, and a tour of the new Tim Whiten exhibition ELEMENTAL: OCEANIC, this month’s event features a headline performance by Canadian indie darlings DIZZY.
Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the outdoor entertainment!
Program:
7:00 – Doors Open
In the Backyard:
7:30 – Performance by Wooly
8:15 – Tour of Elemental: Oceanic
Drawing from over fifty years of production, this exhibition features sculptures and works on paper from the early 1970s to the present, representing material explorations of ritual, embodiment, ancestral knowledge, and transcendence.
8:45 – Performance by Dizzy
In Arthurs on the 4th:
Films from DRIFF will be playing throughout the evening at 7:15pm, 8pm, and 9pm.
Wooly represents a collaboration of unique musical talents brought together through a common vision. Their music and lyrics are innovative, energetic, and insightful presenting a fresh view of the human experience and evoking a range of visceral responses. Emerging from diverse musical experiences and influences, Wooly strives to present a fusion of folk, jazz, rock, and alternative that is truly original.
With a Polaris Prize-nominated album and a Juno Award already under their belt, the Oshawa-based dream-pop outfit Dizzy has gained acclaim from outlets across the continent including NPR, Pitchfork, NME, and CBC Music. Tender, honest, and reflective, Dizzy’s music reveals a rare willingness to expose messy feelings and a preternatural gift for turning those musings into songs primed for singing along.
Special thanks to DRIFF in a Jiff and Canada Council and the Arts Reopening Fund for their support with this event.
July 4 to August 26, 2022 from 9am to 4pm
Ages 5 to 7 and ages 8 to 12
$180 Members/$190 Non-Members
*4 day camp $145 Members/$155 Non-Members
This summer, we have two rotating camps throughout for children ages 5-7 and ages 8-12 years old. Both camps encourage campers to explore the exhibitions with interactive content, use a variety of art materials, play indoor and outdoor games, and more!
Register for Summer Camp 2022 HERE.
Dream big and try something new! Young artists will explore a variety of art media including painting and printmaking, relief and 3D sculptures, as well as drawing materials. This themed camp encourages campers to invent, explore and discover art in creative new ways. This camp is inspired by special exhibitions.
Whether we are exploring the world through art or travelling to our imagination, this camp is surely to inspire young minds. This themed camp is for creative kids who don’t mind getting a bit messy while making their own paintings, prints, sculptures and more! This camp is inspired by artworks in the Permanent Collection.
We will continue to follow COVID -19 protocols and guidelines outlined by the Durham Region Health Department and the Province’s Chief Medical Officer. Our goal is to ensure the health and safety of staff and participants, and create an enjoyable summer experience.
Should we be unable to offer onsite camps, we will do our best to offer alternative options to keep your child engaged with art making experiences this summer. If we must cancel summer camps due to public health restrictions, we will issue full refunds. Cancellations by participants will be subject to our cancellation policy.
If you have questions or concerns that aren’t addressed here, please feel free to contact the Learning Department. More detailed information about camps and the Summer Learning Team will be sent to registered families prior to the first day of camp.
I see that you do online registrations, can I register in-person or over the phone?
While we prefer online registrations, we do accept in-person (cash, debit, VISA and Mastercard) and phone registrations (VISA and Mastercard). There is a mandatory registration form that needs to be completed fully for each camper at the time of payment. These forms are reviewed by staff and documented in order to ensure we know what’s what, and who to contact. We may reach out to families if we have follow-up questions prior to camp.
Families who choose to make payment over the phone will be emailed a copy of the registration form. The form must be filled out and sent back as soon as possible to secure the spot.
What is your maximum capacity?
15 campers maximum per camp.
What if I have a child that is outside the age range, can they still join?
All of our camps are geared specifically for children within the designated ages. In order to ensure the best experience for everyone, participants must fall within the indicated age range.
Are pre- and post-care available?
No, unfortunately, we are not able to offer this service.
Can I register for one or two days instead of the whole week?
Unfortunately, we ask families to commit to the full week as often our art making fun requires multiple days to complete (many requiring time to dry before paint or adding final details).
What type of activities have you planned, are campers outside at all?
This year, we are offering two different camps, each camp uses similar materials but in different ways; campers spend equal time in the Lookout and the Studio. Both camps will have in-gallery interactive visits include looking activities, games, and sketching. We also have a new fully fenced space! We plan to eat snacks and lunch outside, and play games, if the weather is agreeable. We will also take advantage of beautiful days with outdoor art making projects whenever possible.
Do you provide snacks/lunch?
Parents are asked to pack a water bottle, peanut free snacks and lunch daily. There are two snack breaks and lunch is from 12-1pm.
What else might my child need to bring?
We recommend sunscreen and a hat for outdoors, if you believe your child may need a change of clothes please provide that. The RMG is air conditioned and some campers may feel more comfortable having a hoodie/sweater on hand should they feel cold throughout the day. Please ensure your child wears art friendly clothing and comfortable footwear.
What is the staff to camper ratio?
We aim for a minimum of 1 to 7 ratio.
Do you provide a “kiss and ride”?
Drop-off takes place from 8:45am – 9:00am. On the first day, we ask campers are signed in with a staff member in the front lobby. Families can choose to escort their camper to their “homeroom” or a camp staff member can ensure your child gets to their room.
Families may choose to do a “kiss and ride” drop off in the mornings at the front of the building Tuesday to Friday starting at 8:45am.
We require all families to pick up their camper in the lobby at the end of each day at 4pm. Only authorized adults will be allowed to sign out campers.
Register for Summer Camp 2022 HERE.
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart… live in the question.”
– Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Tune in to a conversation between Tim Whiten and Erika DeFreitas, filmed at Whiten’s Toronto studio. During this recorded talk, both discuss their creative process, reflect on influences, and share recent work related to their shared interests in metaphysics, art, and ritual practices.
Tim Whiten’s broad and prolific creative practice reflects a life devoted to pursuing the nature of consciousness and the human condition. Drawing from over fifty years of production, this exhibition features sculptures and works on paper from the early 1970s to the present, representing material explorations of ritual, embodiment, ancestral knowledge, and transcendence. His work acts as a living question, attempting to reveal what cannot be seen and uniting the physical with the divine.
Elemental is part of an expanded, multi-venue retrospective and collaborative publication celebrating Tim Whiten’s career, developed in partnership between the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Art Gallery of York University, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, and McMaster Museum of Art from 2022 to 2023. This series of exhibitions are thematically united by the classical elements of air, water, earth, and fire – referencing Whiten’s interest in alchemical practices. Elemental: Oceanic focuses on the element water and its associations with emotions, intuition, imagination, and the infinite. The oceanic has also been a concept used by mystics and theologians to describe the feeling of the eternal, and the ineffable experiences of unity and oneness between all beings. In this exhibition, Whiten’s drawings and sculptural works reflect this energy through a refined pallet of natural materials—leather, bone, glass, iron, graphite and cloth—which become charged with connotative potential. Referencing the cyclical nature of life, the work is a reminder that to live with the remembrance of death is to live fully and expansively.
Tim Whiten was born in Inkster, Michigan in 1941. In 1964, he received a B.S. from Central Michigan University, College of Applied Arts and Science, and in 1966 completed his M.F.A. at the University of Oregon, School of Architecture and Allied Arts. After immigrating to Canada in 1968, he taught in the Department of Visual Arts at York University for 39 years. An award-winning educator, he was also Chair of the University’s Department of Visual Arts where he is currently Professor Emeritus. Since 1962, he has had work presented in exhibitions throughout North America and internationally and it is included in numerous private, public, and corporate collections, such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (both the de Young and the Legion of Honor/ Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts). Based in Toronto, Tim Whiten is represented by Olga Korper Gallery.
Images: Tim Whiten – Elemental: Oceanic at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2022. Documentation by Toni Hafkenscheid.
This workshop is a celebration of spring facilitated by printmaker and RBC Emerging Artist in Residence Laura Grier. Laura will provide step-by-step instructions for designing, carving, and printing your own botanical relief prints inspired by the flowers that bloom at this hopeful time of year. We look forward to creating hand-printed cards and artworks together.
In this workshop, you will use a linoleum (lino) block to create a relief print. Much like the woodblock prints in Laura’s exhibition, you will use sharp tools to carve a pattern or image into a lino block; what’s left on the block will be inked and printed.
Materials:
Optional:
Please keep in mind: If you are new to lino printing, we will be using sharp cutting tools. They are easy to use, but require a lot of care. Please be safe and follow Laura’s guidance.
This event is free and open to everyone, but there is a limit of 10 participants. Sign up to save your spot! If you sign up, but cannot attend, please email Hannah at [email protected] so we can open your spot for someone else.
Register here: https://thermg.typeform.com/to/d76GTdVX.
Is there anything we can do to support your participation? Please reach out to Hannah at [email protected].
About the Workshop Facilitator:
Laura Grier is a Délı̨nę First Nations artist and printmaker, born in Somba ké (Yellowknife), and raised in Alberta. Through the use of traditional print mediums, they instrumentalize the power of the handmade to reflect political sociology, culture, ecology, and Indigeneity. Responding to lived experiences of urban displacement as a Dene woman through print, Laura’s work is also inspired by the dynamism of Indigenous art practices and uses printmaking as a tool for resistance, refusal, and inherent Bets’ı̨nę́. They hold a BFA from NSCADU (K’jipuktuk) and an MFA from OCAD University (Tkaronto). They have exhibited at Xpace Cultural Centre, Harcourt House, DC3 Art Projects, SNAP Gallery, and ArtsPlace. Laura has received grants and awards for their work, including the Indigenous project grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and was the 2018 RISE Emerging Artist recipient. They currently reside in Tkaronto.
The bi-annual For Art’s Sake exhibition celebrates the artistic talent of students in the Durham District School Board. Showcasing works from nearly every high school in the district, this event recognizes local budding young artists.
Please note that there will not be an opening event for this exhibition. The exhibition opens to the public on Friday, March 10th.
An exhibition by the Womxn of Colour Durham Collective
HUE x RMG: Honouring Unapologetic Expression is an exhibition of photography by the Womxn of Colour Durham Collective (WOCDC), a youth-led organization in Durham Region that is run by, for, and with Black, Indigenous, and other self-identified Womxn of Colour (BIWoC).
WOCDC aims to create equitable and inclusive spaces to connect and collaborate with BIWoC who may feel marginalized, unsupported, or unheard. Through projects like HUE x RMG, they hope to make lasting change in the community by cultivating spaces where their interests and experiences are given the awareness, recognition and attention they deserve.
Connect. Create. Cultivate.
This exhibition is built around the organization’s three core pillars: connect, create, and cultivate. WOCDC recruited eight racialized womxn and non-binary folks from Durham Region to participate in a photoshoot at the RMG. In small groups, Kezia Amoako, Anna Balagtas, Stephanie Hu, Ashleigh Hutchinson, Reisha Lyon, Melanie McFarlane, Melissa Murray, and Kay Williams were invited to connect with one another and the WOCDC team through storytelling. They had conversations about racism, identity, love, and resistance forged through both positive and negative experiences. Audio from those sessions plays on a loop in the exhibition and excerpts appear on extended labels that accompany the photo installations. Each story is illustrated with a portrait and a snapshot of the urban environment that provides contextual information about the location, theme, or content of participant’s story.
The portraits are visually unified by colourful lights that illuminate the sitters’ face and surroundings. In addition to visualizing the reciprocal relationship between people and place, the treatment of the portraits as a series also reinforces the themes that unfold across the exhibition, including questions of belonging, experiences of prejudice, and celebrations of identity and community. At the same time, the distinct colour gradients bring attention to the essential fact that each participant is unique and not representative of others.
In this exhibition, WOCDC created the conditions for all of the participants to show up without apology. The work brings attention to the joy and beauty of intersectional identities, while expressing the ways racism has affected the participants’ interactions in public spaces. This exhibition is presented as evidence for the infinite potential of spaces made safe for creation and connection in community; you are invited to imagine what could be possible if more spaces were cultivated for BIPOC collaboration in Durham Region and beyond.
The WOCDC and the RMG would like to thank Kezia Amoako, Anna Balagtas, Stephanie Hu, Ashleigh Hutchinson, Reisha Lyon, Melanie McFarlane, Melissa Murray, and Kay Williams for sharing their stories and participating in this project.
We would also like to thank Smokestack for their generous sponsorship of this exhibition.
Follow WOCDC on Instagram! @wocdc & @wocdchue
Hįdú ɂAssı̨́i – K’inayele (Now Things, She Carries Them Around) by Laura Grier
Join Laura for their workshop, In Bloom: Lino Printmaking, on April 24th!
Laura Grier’s works in printmaking and word-making are expressions of relationships. In Hįdú ɂAssı̨́i – K’inayele (Now Things, She Carries Them Around), Grier works with TseYǝ́dı́ı (wood), tampons, pads, underwear, takeout containers, plastic beads, pill bottles, and Sahtúgot’ı̨nę Kede (the Bear Lake Language) to make words and patterns that adorn sheets of cotton and the gallery’s walls. These hand-carved wood block prints foil institutional expectations for printmaking by aspiring to be less precious and more useful than fine art prints on paper.
Making with wood and the Bear Lake Language teaches Grier how to recognize the potential for extending and receiving care; asking for and yielding to compromise; and cultivating joy and respect with non-human relations. Within Sahtúgot’ı̨nę Kede, Grier carves out space for their lived experiences as an urban Dene person by crafting words that reflect their reality. For Hįdú ɂAssı̨́i – K’inayele (Now Things, She Carries Them Around) specifically, Grier shares words that describe the floral designs of their textile works, honouring their self-care while confronting the tension they feel about menstruation and its associated waste.
Each design in this new body of work began as experimental drawings made with objects from Grier’s life related to bodies and periods. Grier translated those marks into digital form, then combined them with others into patterns reminiscent of Dene textiles. Though not sewn with beads, this imagery allows Grier to connect with the visual language of Dene craft as a printmaker. The work also creates opportunities for Grier to contemplate the harder-to-recognize relationships in plastic, whose versatility as menstrual products or pill bottles tends to disguise its deep-earth origins. Camouflage is at work in Hįdú ɂAssı̨́i – K’inayele too. As it invites moments of disorientation and discovery, the work asks you to look with fresh eyes on the materials that populate your everyday life.
The RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation and the RBC Emerging Artist Project.
Laura Grier is a Délı̨nę First Nations artist and printmaker, born in Somba ké (Yellowknife), and raised in Alberta. Through the use of traditional print mediums, they instrumentalize the power of the handmade to reflect political sociology, culture, ecology, and Indigeneity. Responding to lived experiences of urban displacement as a Dene woman through print, Laura’s work is also inspired by the dynamism of Indigenous art practices and uses printmaking as a tool for resistance, refusal, and inherent Bets’ı̨nę́. They hold a BFA from NSCADU (K’jipuktuk) and an MFA from OCAD University (Tkaronto). They have exhibited at Xpace Cultural Centre, Harcourt House, DC3 Art Projects, SNAP Gallery, and ArtsPlace. Laura has received grants and awards for their work, including the Indigenous project grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and was the 2018 RISE Emerging Artist recipient. They currently reside in Tkaronto.
This exhibition is supported by the RBC Foundation and the RBC Emerging Artist Project.
Painters Eleven was the first abstract artist collective in Ontario. They were founded in 1953 at the cottage of artist Alexandra Luke on the Oshawa/Whitby border. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s collection began in 1967 when artist Alexandra Luke, a member of the Painters Eleven, donated thirty-seven works from her private collection. Luke’s donation of art included work by all of the members of Painters Eleven and helped to establish the RMG’s unique focus on collecting and exhibiting the work of Painters Eleven. Today, the RMG’s collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints by Painters Eleven has grown to over 1000 works, including works from before and after the Painters Eleven years (1953-1960). The RMG has regular exhibitions featuring works by the group, pulling together different aesthetics or themes.
Rather than having a common philosophy or style, Painters Eleven banded together around their shared desire to support abstraction and exhibit together. As Jock Macdonald noted: “The meaning of our group is the fact that we think alike about creativeness in art and the unity established is our power.” Rather than a manifesto, the group settled on a statement: “There is no manifesto here for the times. There is no jury but time. By now there is little harmony in the noticeable disagreement. But there is a profound regard for the consequences of our complete freedom.” (1955)
Curators: Missy LeBlanc, Erin Szikora
Artists: Lacie Burning, Melody Crowe, Jon Colwell, Sabrina Fontaine, Laura Grier, Jay Havens, Mem Ireland, Sarah MacLeod-Beaver, Sheri Osden Nault, Skye Paul, Matthew Stevens, Michael Tiggelman, Dr. Elder Shirley Williams
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina | Mother Tongues: Dish With One Spoon Territory is the second of four locality specific iterations of the Mamanaw Pekiskwewina project and is presented in tandem with the tour of Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew | Like the winter snow kills the grass, the summer sun revives it, across so-called Canada. Developed in consultation with region-based Elders, Knowledge Keepers, language teachers, and educators, Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Dish With One Spoon Territory celebrates and makes visible the traditional and ancestral languages of the lands covered by the Dish With One Spoon treaty, an agreement made between the Anishinaabek, Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee Nations to share the resources and responsibilities of the territory. Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Dish With One Spoon Territory is co-curated by Missy LeBlanc and Erin Szikora for The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
E-NOKIICHIGAADEK WIINDIMAAGEWIN
Wenesh ediming pii gdoo-zhigiizhiwewin [1] aawizinok ggashi naasaab miiniwaa gnokomisag? Wenesh ediming zhi-giizhiweng nowewin giin debendiziiwon, e-aawzinok nowewin gaa-miigowin miiniwaa ezhi-jiwong giin biinjina, ezhi-mingowin?
E-ninaasaabsek zhiwe nowewining kina mooshin akiin; nowewin zhinoomaagemgwad e-zhi-kendimong gegoo e-kendimong miiniwaa gdi-kinoomaagonaa waa-zhi mindizoying enso-bebezhig miiniwa aki. E-bi-zhi-koginigoong maanda nowewin debendaaksinok, maanda nowewin gaa-mji-miingowewziying gonda sa nji-gaa-bi-digoshnajig, mooshkin mgoshkaajiikemgwad bimaadiziwin miiniwaa giw bimaadiziiwinwaa mshi-ebi-yaasigwaa. Gda-ni-jiibkenwedaanaa miiniwaa dash gda-ni-mnowaangismi biinjina miiniwaa gdi-noweninaa eni-piichi-maajiibdeg kwii-yoomnaang miiniwaa ni-zhinoomaagwiing waa-ni-zhaaying. Wenesh dash e-zhiwebak pii nindan kidwenan eni-zhinoomaagemgok waa-ni-zhaayin bebkaanak kidwenan dash gewiinwaa gaa-zhinoomaagwaad zhaazhi-gaamaajaajig, nindan dash kidwenan mii-na ni-bnaadak nji-sa maanda waabshkiiyewin?
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina Ezhi-gashiwing Deniiwan gii-ntami zhichigaade oodi zaagijeying zhinoomaagewin oodi Calgary Aapitoweying Mzinigan-gamik pii Binaakwe-giizis-Minidoo-giisoonhs 2019. Gii-zhinoomaadim enji-maanjiining nji-sa Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew Dibishkoo iwa Bibooni-goon e-zhi-nsigemgok miishkoonsan, maaba niibin giizis neyaab bi-maajiigtoon, maanda zhinoomaagewin oodi TRUCK Nongo e-zhinaagok/ Mzinbiigewin pii Baashkaakodin/Minidoo-giisoonsing 2019. Iwi dash aanji-zhinoomaagewin e-zhinikaadek Maamanaw Pekiskwewina gii-biijigaadeg e-maamowi-zijig mesinibiigejig nji-sa niiwing Anishinaabek nowewin enji-baajig zhiwe Treaty 7 nekeyaa – Nakoda, nehiyawewin, Nitsiipowahsiin, miiniwaa Tsuut’ina – wiinwaa gaa maamowi-sidowaad di-nowewinwaa e-zhchigewaad. Maanda dash zinoomaagewin neyaab gii-miinaawag ntam Anishinaabek zhiwe nekeyaa e-yaajig, e-piichi-mshkooziitoowaad maanda doo-a-kiimwaa zhiwe yaa’ing gegoo mooshkin mwijigaadek nowewin mewzha zhichigewinan e-zhi-jiibkenwiying miiniwaa geyaabi bemjiwong biinjina yaa’ing.
Maanda dash bebaa-zhinoomaading Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew mompii mzowe-kamik Canada e-szhinikaadek, nindan e-zhi-miiksemgak zhinoomaagewinan aabideg gii-aanji-gnowaabnjigaadenoon; gaawii dash go ngoji pkaan zaagigeying zhinoomaagewin, Mamanaw Pekiskwewina gii-daapinigaade ji-aawong nokiiwin waani-zhiseg nendaasowin zhiwe waa-nji-zhinoomaading nindan. Giw waa-zhitoojig maanda da-aabji’aawan Mamanaw Pekiskwewina – e-wiijiiwed Anishinaabe gekendang maanda zhichigan debendaagozid zhiwe – ji-zhichigaadeg maajiishkaawinan nji-sa e-yaajig zhiwe Anishinaabek miiniwaa ji-mina-maajiishkaamgok di-nowewinwaa. Maanda dash ediming “Zhiwe besha” maanda sa nji-maajiishkaawin ngoji pkaan ni-zhaamgod e-zhi-kenjigaadek miiniwaa zhaagonaashii nsastaagewin nikeyaa ooshime e-zhi-gnoonindowaa Anishinaabek debendaagozijig nongo megwaa miiniwaa mewzha gaa-daajig zhiwe akiing monda e-zhidigok megwaa yaawaad.
Maanda dash bezhig naakinigewin nji-sa maanda Mamanaw Pekiskwewina gonda maanda e-miikigig ji-gnoonaawaad Anishinaaben zhiwe endaajig miiniwaa ji-bzindamoowaad nendowendimoowaad ji-yaamowaad asgaabwitaagewin nji-sa ji-naawseg maanda nowewin ezhi-mzinbiigeng. Ezhi-bigosenjigaadeg maanda zhichigewin ji-aansek gbeying naakonigewin zhiwe enji-nokiichigaadeg maanda gonda e-miikigig zhichigan ezhi-aasgaabichigaadek Anishinaabe naadiziwin enokiijig miiniwaa mesnibiigejig gewii go ji-naakmichigaadeg giigidoowin, ezhi-aansek, miiniwaa gbeying nokiitaadiwin nji-sa Anishinaabek debendaagozijig mooshkin e-piichi mina-daabinigaadek gwek nowewin zhichiganan nji-sa akiing.
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Naagan Teg Bezhig Emkwaan minik-ekonaabing aawan eko-niizhing niiwin minik aanji-zhichigeng maanda sa Mamanaw Pekiskwewina zhichigan miiniwaa zhinoomaagaade pii zhinoomaading pipon kona, nepin pesim odi mzowe Canada eshnikaadek. Gii-maajiikigaade dibaajimatoodwaa eyaajig getizijig, ge-kendigig gegoo, Anishinaabemowin ekinoomaagejig. Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Naagan Teg Bezhig Emkwaan minik-ekonaabing aawan mnaajchigaade miiniwaa zhichigaade ji-waabnjigaadek naadiziwin miiniwaa gegeti nowewin nji-sa minik maanda Naagan Teg Bezhig Emkwaan minik-ekonaabing, naakonigewin zhichigan gaa-zhitoojig Anishinaabek Mississauga, miiniwaa Haudenosanee Mzowe ji-maandookiiyaad kina gegoo eteg miiniwaa naadimaadiwin zhinda ekonaabing. Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Naagan Teg Bezhig Emkwaan minik-ekonaabing gonda Missy LeBlanc miiniwaa Erin Szikora gii-naabsidoon maanda nji-sa Robert McLaughlin Mzinbiiganag enji-gnowenjigaazowaad.
SHKWAAJ NENDIMOOWIN
[1] Maanda memoonji nakaazong ediming “Ezhi-gashiwing Deniiwan” miiniwaa ‘ntam nowewin’ nji-sa iwi nowewin maaba e-ntami-yaad pii-binoojiiwid gaa-kendang miiniwaa geyaabi ezhi-giigdod endaat. Booj dash go, niibina Anishinaabek mzowe mompii akiing dinkaaznaawaa maanda kidwin “ezhi-gashiwing deniiwan” wii-kidwaad edming nowewin njisa wiinwaa gashiwan miinwaa / maage mewzha nowewin. Maanda zhibiigan gnowaabnjigaade iwi ntam gaa-dibaachigaadek zhiwe kidwin “ezhi-gashiwing deniiwan”
PROJECT STATEMENT
What does it mean when your mother tongue [1] is not the language of your mothers and grandmothers? What does it mean to speak in a language that is not your own, that is not the language that has been passed down and flows through you, sustaining you?
Embedded within languages are entire worlds; language reveals how we know what we know and teaches us how to relate to one another and the land. Being raised with a foster language, a language forced onto us by colonizers, affects all aspects of a life and the lives of those that come after. We take root and are nourished within and by our language as it moves through our bodies and guides us. But what happens when the words that guide you are not the same words that guided your ancestors, but are words instead tainted by imperialism and colonialism?
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina | Mother Tongues was first conceived as an offsite exhibition at the Calgary Central Library from October-December 2019. It was presented in concert with Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew | Like the winter snow kills the grass, the summer sun revives it, an exhibition at TRUCK Contemporary Art in November/December 2019. The original iteration of Mamanaw Pekiskwewina brought together emerging artists from the four Indigenous language groups of the Treaty 7 region—Nakoda, nēhiyawēwin, Nitsiipowahsiin, and Tsuut’ina—who incorporate their ancestral languages into their practice. The exhibition gave space back to the First Nation communities of the area, while asserting that the Indigenous lands that we occupy carry specific language traditions that root us to this land and still flow through us.
For the tour of Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew across so-called Canada, the relationship between the exhibitions had to be reimagined; rather than a specific offsite exhibition, Mamanaw Pekiskwewina has been adapted to act as a framework of engagement for right relations to the localities of each of the tour locations. Each of the host organizations will utilize the Mamanaw Pekiskwewina—aided by an Indigenous Assistant Curator who has ties to the region—to develop programming that engages with the local Indigenous community and their language revitalization efforts. The definition of ‘local’ for this project has moved away from civic borders and the colonial understanding to one that is more region based and defined in consultation with the Indigenous people that currently and historically reside on the land the host organizations occupy.
One of the main intentions of the Mamanaw Pekiskwewina is for the host organization to engage with the local Indigenous community and be responsive to their needs when it comes to supporting language revitalization efforts through art. The hope is that this engagement will spark long-term institutional change with the host organization by supporting Indigenous cultural workers and artists as well as building a dialogical, reciprocal, and sustainable relationship with the Indigenous community at-large while taking into account the specificity of the language traditions of the land.
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Dish With One Spoon Territory is the second of four locality specific iterations of the Mamanaw Pekiskwewina project and is presented in tandem with the tour of pipon kona, nepin pesim across so-called Canada. Developed in consultation with region-based Elders, Knowledge Keepers, language teachers, and educators, Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Dish With One Spoon Territory celebrates and makes visible the traditional and ancestral languages of the lands covered by the Dish With One Spoon treaty, an agreement made between the Anishinaabek, Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee Nations to share the resources and responsibilities of the territory. Mamanaw Pekiskwewina: Dish With One Spoon Territory is co-curated by Missy LeBlanc and Erin Szikora for The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
END NOTE
[1] The most common usage of the terms ‘mother tongue’ and ‘first language’ refer to the language that a person first learns during childhood and still speaks at home. However, many Indigenous groups around the world use the term ‘mother tongue’ to refer to the language of their mothers and/or ancestral language. This text observes the latter usage in reference to the phrase ‘mother tongue’.
Conversations on Ezhi-gashiwing Deniiwan: Part 1
January 29, 2022 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
A conversation with Laura Grier, Matthew Stevens, and Melody Crowe, moderated by Erin Szikora.
Conversations on Ezhi-gashiwing Deniiwan: Part 2
February 12, 2022 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
A conversation with Lacie Burning, Sarah MacLeod-Beaver, and Dr. Elder Shirley Williams, moderated by Missy LeBlanc.
Embedded within languages are entire worldviews. They shape the way we consider ourselves, our environment, and our relationship to those around us. Within so-called Canada there are over 60 distinct Indigenous languages, however, only three are expected to survive the next 100 years—nēhiyawēwin, Anishinaabemowin, and Inuktitut [2]. Despite this dire situation, Indigenous people across this land now known as Canada are taking up the fight to revive and preserve their mother tongues.
Please join us January 29th and February 12th for Conversations on Ezhi-gashiwing Deniiwan, a two-part series exploring the importance of Indigenous languages across Dish With One Spoon Territory. Hear from artists, language teachers, and community organizers who are at the front lines of language revitalization work in our communities.
END NOTE
[2] Gessner, Suzanne and Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams. Indigenous Languages Recognition, Preservation and Revitalization: A Report on the National Dialogue Session on Indigenous Languages: Abridged Version. Brentwood Bay, BC: First People’s Cultural Council, 2017.
June 1, 2022 – October 29, 2022
We are pleased to present two community-informed murals by artists Jon Colwell and Jay Havens this summer from June 1st to October 29th at the Delpark and Jess Hann branch libraries. The murals were developed in consultation with local students and Indigenous community members, reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of Oshawa’s Indigenous community, increasing Indigenous visibility and representation in public spaces across the city.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jon Colwell is a self-taught painter and digital artist with a lifetime of artistic practice. He resides on Scugog Island and is a proud member of the Missisaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. The main inspirations for his work include street art, graffiti, vinyl toys, punk rock, tattoos, and skateboarding.
This mural was designed in consultation with members of Bawaajigewin Aboriginal Community Circle.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jay Havens (he/him/they) is a multi-media 2Spirit artist, educator, and collaborator of Kanien’keha’ka and Scottish Canadian ancestry. Havens was born on Haudenosaunee Territory known as the Haldimand Tract and raised on Unceded Sto:lo and Musqueam lands close to Vancouver, Canada. He is a proud citizen of the Mohawk, Bear Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River.
This mural was designed in consultation with Grade 7-8 students from All Saints Catholic Secondary School. Their drawings can be seen in the feathers of the dancers.
June 18, 2022 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Join us virtually or in-person at Oshawa Public Libraries – Delpark Homes Centre Branch on Saturday, June 18th for a morning of stories and songs with Anishinaabekwe Melody Crowe. Learn the Anishinaabemowin names for the animals living around us. This event is hybrid with limited in-person capacity. To participate in-person, please email Erin Szikora at [email protected]. To participate virtually, please register with the link below. Each participant will receive a printable colouring book. This event is for all ages and is presented in partnership with Oshawa Public Libraries.
We invite you to download a free printable copy of our Story and Song: Anishinaabemowin Colouring Book illustrated by local Indigenous artists Sabrina Fontaine, Mem Ireland, Sheri Osden Nault, Skye Paul, and Michael Tiggelman. Anishinaabemowin translations provided by Melody Crowe.
Mamanaw Pekiskwewina | Mother Tongues: Dish With One Spoon Territory is presented in partnership with TRUCK Contemporary Art.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Trillium Foundation for this project.
