THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
Take a look at some of the culturally diverse and immersive art installations being displayed across the city this autumn.
Closing September 22nd, 2024 at Remai Modern
Other Arrangements captures the audience both visually and aurally, highlighting the relationship between stimulus and response. It gives visitors the opportunity to observe how each of the different featured artists react to the score, ranging from whimsical proposals to ponderous appeals to the weather.
This exhibit presents an array of event scores composed by mid-20th century artists, paired with works by Rodney Graham, Pierre Huyghe, Rodney LaTourelle, as well as Louise Witthöft from the Remai Modern collection.
Visitors might also get the chance to witness live performance programming from local dancers and artists as a part of the installation, presenting works by artists like George Brecht, Brendan Fernandes, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon.
Audience members fond of experiencing an artist’s work through immersion should definitely be sure to check this fascinating exhibition out before it closes later this month.
Open September 7th, 2024 at Remai Modern
taisha paggett, an artist based out of Southern California, reflects on Black survival in soliloquy for a horizon. Through her use of both visual media and performance, she allows the audience to take a look at the history of Black communities across Turtle Island (the US and Canada) from a different angle.
paggett has been conducting an examination of relational land practices across the continent, soliloquy for a horizon being her most recent work. Her previous works i believe in echoes and com.pleats.we (housecoat) both highlight different Black communities, their histories, the similarities in their struggles and in their successes. paggett’s latest project, created in collaboration with meital yaniv and Chris Kuhl, takes on the history of the Shiloh people, who fled the US to escape persecution and discrimination, and eventually went on to form the first Black settlement in Saskatchewan in the 1900s.
As a Black and queer artist, she uses her unique perspective of survival to analyze the history of different communities cross-continentally, and the thread that ties them all together: resistance. She draws on her choreographic expertise and experiences as an interdisciplinary artist in a way that is sure to leave viewers with a new understanding of Saskatchewan’s history.
Audience members keen on diving deeper into the province’s history and the strength and resilience of marginalized people within it should definitely make sure to stop by the Remai and visit this one-of-a-kind installation.
Open September 11th, 2024 at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada
Starting this month, in partnership with the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and with support from The Birks Family Foundation, the Ukrainian Museum of Canada will temporarily host the traveling bilingual exhibition Refuge Canada Tent.
From now until November 30th visitors in Saskatoon will have the opportunity to experience a smaller portion of the larger travelling exhibition, Refuge Canada, which is also currently being toured across the country.
The exhibit includes interactive reader walls in both English and French, making it more accessible to audiences across the country as it travels. Through the use of oral histories, archival images, and other tools that immerse the audience, it offers incredible insight into the complex history of refugees in Canada.
Refuge Canada Tent sheds light on the hardships and realities faced by people seeking refuge, introducing viewers to the role Canada has played and continues to play in the global refugee crisis.
One of the most striking features of the exhibit is its size. Refuge Canada Tent takes up approximately 330 square feet, having been specifically designed to be around the size of a typical shelter that might be used in refugee camps, and to resemble one as well. It gives viewers the ability to put what they already know about the adversity refugees experience into a larger and realer context.
Given the current global climate, this exhibition is incredibly valuable, the insight it offers relevant on a global scale. Audience members should definitely be sure to drop by the museum and see it while it’s in the city.
From the collection of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. Saskachewanshchyna / Саскачеванщина | https://umcnational.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/
Open on September 18th, 2024 at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada
Developed by Rachel Ormshaw in collaboration with Serhij Korliuk, Saskachewanshchyna is an open embrace of Ukrainian-Canadian culture, through the celebration of the various distinctive craft styles that have emerged in the prairies.
Time changes representation of identity, and in the context of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, the case is no different. Since the first wave of immigration several different craft styles have emerged as Ukranians in Saskatchewan used art as a method of preserving traditions and identity, and as a way of connecting with other groups of people across the country.
As a result ordinary objects and crafts have become significant, meaningful expressions of identity. Things like homeware and textiles, which seem mundane to the average Canadian, can act as a thread connecting the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada to their homeland.
Using items and art pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, this exhibit displays the truly dynamic and resilient nature of Ukranians in the prairies, and their culture.
19 Drawing with Blue, Yellow, and Orange 2009 | Ukrainian Museum of Canada
Open September 28th, 2024 at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada
Organized and curated by the museum under the direction of John Koenig, this exhibit is truly a testament to Ihor Rodion Dmytruk (1938-2021) and his career as one of the most prolific painters in western Canada.
This exhibition provides retrospective insight to Dymtruk’s work and his inspirations. He frequently experimented with both abstraction and design in his paintings, while also reflecting on the traditional Ukrainian folk art that inspired him, his own experiences, and his identity. Even the exhibition’s title, Testament, draws inspiration from the famous Ukrainian poem “My Testament” (Miy Zapovit) by Taras Shevchenko.
Despite the challenges faced by the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada their culture has persisted, and Dymtruk’s career is a testament to that. In this exhibition visitors will have the opportunity to see his work alongside many of the pieces that inspired him, and to observe the experience of third wave Ukrainian immigration to Canada in a new light.
Closing September 27th, 2024, in the College Art Gallery
This installation displays works that have been developed over the course of four decades. I refuse to be Invisible delves into the representation and absence of Indigenous identity in photography, both in a historical and contemporary context.
In this body of work, Thomas addresses the experiences of Indigenous peoples and their limited access to their own history. This project aims to disrupt the complex dialogue of Indigenous representation in media, and also make their history accessible to all.
He fights against the harm that stereotypes and misrepresentation has brought to the Indigenous community by producing photos that empower them, creating a juxtaposition by showing Indigenous people expressing agency and self-determination in places they have historically haven’t had the opportunity to.
Throughout the project Thomas showcases the change in representation of Indigenous peoples, and how slowly but surely the path is being paved to a future without stereotypes that denigrate an entire population’s identity. He records modern history, letting future generations know that while they may not have been seen before, they would now and forever onwards be seen.
I refuse to be Invisible is an incredibly important body of work that centers on decolonization, and acts as a record of Thomas’ efforts to contribute to the process on a global level.
If looking for art close to home, student’s should definitely check out the installation while it’s being displayed on campus.
