Witnessing 40 Years of Urban Aboriginal Art

Location: Victoria Native Friendship Centre, 231 Regina Ave

During the past year, Peter Morin, Shona Collison, and Leslie McGarry collaborated on a series of two-evening exhibitions. The exhibition were small: only fourteen artworks. There were no labels connected to artworks. The curators were present to tell stories about the art, about the artists. This exhibition was about communicating the history of the artwork, and the history of the urban aboriginal community.

The curatorial team had the opportunity to work with a unique archive of art and stories from the urban aboriginal community. Collison, McGarry, and Morin designed and sequenced the exhibitions to acknowledge the artistic practices of the three island nations: Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwaka wakw. The exhibition series called Witnessing of 40 years of Urban Aboriginal Art completed its final installment on November 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre s Annual Open House at 231 Regina Avenue.

Witnessing 40 Years of Urban Aboriginal Art sampled the artistic legacy of the VNFC art collection and was the first public exhibition of work from this collection. For the final installment of this exhibition series, the curators shared their reflections on how art can accumulate over four decades and how we can continue to help the stories emerge from the art of the community.