February 21 – April 8, 2018
Building on 40 years of creative collaborations with Indigenous artists, communities, and organizations, the Art Gallery of Guelph launched 150 Acts: Art, Activism, Impact in the fall of 2017, an exhibition that provided a platform for diverse Indigenous narratives that imagine new social futures. 150 Acts coincided with Canada’s sesquicentennial, an essential moment of national reflection and an opportunity to query the relationship of nationhood itself to Indigeneity in Canada.
Throughout, the exhibition recognized art practices as simultaneously personal, conceptual, cultural, political, and social acts – and as meaningful responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. From installation, film, new media, and performance to practices framed by traditional beadwork, textile, sculpture, drawing, and painting, the artworks explored both socio-cultural and physical terrain while mapping wholly new geographies through language, storytelling, and the land itself.
This is a selection of the foundational pieces from the AGG’s Indigenous collections and new art practices from across Canada that were included in 150 Acts: Art, Activism, Impact. Featured artists include KC Adams, Mary Anne Barkhouse, Rebecca Belmore, Maureen Gruben, Anique Jordan, Ken Maracle, Michael Massie, Norval Morrisseau, Shelley Niro, Victor Reece, Arthur Renwick, Don Russell, Jeff Thomas, Wayne Young, and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun.