Only a few weeks remain to see Ghost Dance: Activism. Resistance. Art. currently on view at the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) until December 15, 2013. Guest curated by Steve Loft, the newly appointed Coordinator of Aboriginal Arts at the Canada Council for the Arts, this exhibition examines activism as a culture of resistance in contemporary indigenous art. This exhibition presents photographs from the Black Star Collection with contemporary works by aboriginal artists to examine the role of the artist as activist, as chronicler and as provocateur in the ongoing struggle for indigenous rights and self-empowerment.
Ghost Dance: Activism. Resistance. Art. features the work of prominent indigenous artists, including Sonny Assu, Vernon Ah Kee, Dana Claxton, and Skawennati. In describing the exhibition, Loft writes, “Colonialism has been the cause of the suffering, oppression and violence perpetuated against Indigenous people in Canada and many other countries, for centuries… As a curator and art historian I would posit that Aboriginal art is innately political. It is the culmination of lived experiences, from pre-contact customary societies through the colonial enterprise. It is tied up in histories that include both pre- and post-contact epistemologies, narratives empowered by continuity, inextricably inter-linked; and it is the assertion of cultural autonomy and sovereignty.”
This Wednesday, December 11 at 6pm, you can hear more from Steve Loft and a special guest, for a guided walk-through of the exhibition.
You can also join in the conversation online on the exhibition blog at imagearts.ryerson.ca/ghostdance, by contributing knowledge or memories of the individuals and places captured in the 99 Black Star photographs, which are displayed on the Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall during off-gallery hours. The blog provides an online forum for you to contribute knowledge or memories of the individuals and places captured in the 99 photographs from the Black Star Collection.
Whether you make it to the exhibition or not, I recommend going online to read more about it, learn about the history of Canada’s First Nations, and how their art is a means to chronicle the “struggle for Indigenous rights and self-empowerment”.