What would happen if eight Indigenous artists and eight
non-indigenous artists explored Reconciliation?
What would they experience? What
would they discover? What would they
create?
In the summer of 2015, the Barrie Native Friendship
Centre initiated a “(Re)conciliation Art Project” that brought together these
sixteen Simcoe County artists. Their
goal was “to learn from each other, share stories, gain understanding and
collaborate on a linked series of art works.” (Call to Action #83 Catalogue)
The project was named Call
to Action #83. The Report of the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes 94 Calls to Action. The 83rd one calls “upon the
Canada Council for the Arts to establish, as a funding priority, a strategy for
indigenous and non-indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and
produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process.” (TRC Summary,
p.335)
In September 2015, the artists and presiding elders
gathered at the home of the lead indigenous artists Dazaunggee (Paul Shilling)
to take part in a sweat lodge and feast before choosing by lot the order of the
work.
When the first artist who was non-indigenous finished his
work, he met with the second artist who was indigenous to share the work and
the process of creation. The second
artist responded to that work and then passed it on to the third artist who was
non-indigenous and so on. An eagle feather was also passed on with each work. You can view all the art created on the Call to Action #83
website.
The
catalogue describes them:
The
first piece is a woodcut depicting the Ojibway creation story
of the Seven
Fires, the White Buffalo and an Eagle emerging
from darkness. The next is a
deeply felt painting of loss and hope
for renewal. In addition to canvases, the
series includes lacework,
paper cut-outs, a mixed media construction of the
medicine wheel,
a large sheet of birch plywood painted and
carved by a router and
with a painting of children from a residential school. A
huge
collage on a seven-by-seven foot piece of canvas depicts the wall
of a
residential school, on which children carved their initials, along-
side figures
of suicides that emerge from a ground seemingly
covered with ash and cinders.
The radiant icon of a heart berry
(strawberry) inspires a diptych of powerful
abstract canvases
depicting the strength of Spirit.
As I
read through the catalogue and viewed the creative work of these sixteen
artists, I was struck by the honesty and respect that they all showed in this
project. The very act of trusting in the
process of listening, sharing and responding from the heart is an act of
reconciliation. The art tells the story
of creation, the story of loss and destruction, individual and collective
responsibility, the story to tell future generations, the story of healing, the
story of unearthing stories and the story of living in harmony.
The
project is described by J. Clark and M. Meiers in the catalogue:
“It
seems that the call and the reply is an appropriate metaphor for this
project. Peoples of all faiths respond
to the call – how one artist called to the next with colour, form and image to
weave a narrative of truth. There is
music in the art as well. We can respond
to the Call to Action, one drum beat, one heart beat at a time.”
The
catalogue introduction ends with “Call to Action #83 lays out a roadmap for
“inawendiwin” – going forward together in harmony.”
The
project was initially exhibited in Toronto but is now on its way to
Barrie. You can learn more about that on
the Calltoaction#83 website. You can also read a review of the exhibit on Anishinabek News
I
invite you to take a trip along this courageous visual journey by visiting the website or attending one of the exhibitions.
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