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Canadian Indigenous Art at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA

Canadian Indigenous Art at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA

Visitors to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA have an extremely rare opportunity to see a survey of Canadian Indigenous artworks through September 1, 2024. More than 100 objects are on view, ranging from ceremonial regalia from the 18th century to paintings by avant-garde artists of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, courtesy of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection outside of Toronto. The exhibition marks the first survey of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis art to be presented internationally.

Never before has a better representation of this material – or more of it – been exhibited outside Canada.

That fact, however, does not make this a comprehensive survey of Canadian indigenous art. Certainly not when there are 600 First Nations communities spread across a landmass 3,000 miles wide, with over 50 different languages ​​and countless variations in spirituality, culture and lifestyle.

Despite this diversity and the fact that the work took three centuries to complete, there is one common theme.

“The show resonates with the idea of ​​survival, a portmanteau of the words ‘survival’ and ‘resistance,'” Chelsea Pierce, McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum of Art, told Forbes.com. “Popularized by Anishinaabe writer and literary theorist Gerald Vizenor, the term encompasses notions of Indigenous sovereignty and the assertion of their continued presence in the postcolonial world. We see this in works that depict legacy and lineage, the persistence of cultural traditions passed down over time. The existence of such contemporary works refutes the 19th-century sentiment that Indigenous cultures were on the path to extinction. Survival asserts that indigeneity belongs in the 21st century.”

The future is indigenous. And the present and the past too.

The show features the usual objects – beadwork garments, ceremonial masks and stone carvings – in dialogue with contemporary Indigenous practices, allowing visitors to discover the thriving traditions of First Nations groups from across Canada.

“Discovery” is a loaded word when it comes to indigenous subjects, art or otherwise. For over 500 years, people of European descent have claimed to have “discovered” lands and ideas known to indigenous people on the North American continent. Indigenous art has been around all that time, so perhaps “awakening to” or “appreciating” is better than “discovering.”

This applies to both the museum and the visitors.

The exhibition and accompanying catalogue are the result of McMichael’s commitment to increasing the representation of Canadian Indigenous artists in its collection. That commitment is relatively recent, dating only to the past decade. The title of the exhibition, “Early Days: Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection,” reflects the institution’s journey with Indigenous art more than the artwork itself.

As the only museum in Canada focused exclusively on Canadian art, the McMichael Museum did not take too long to do so and fortunately collaborated with Indigenous stakeholders – scholars, keepers of traditional knowledge, and living artists – in developing the exhibition.

You are on native land

What interest does a museum in Norfolk have in indigenous Canadian art?

“The Chrysler is still in the early stages of forging relationships with Native stakeholders in our community, and we are working to increase representation in our museum in a variety of ways,” Pierce said. “In a way, McMichael helps set an example for other institutions to follow, and bringing this collection to Norfolk demonstrates our commitment today and for future projects.”

A commitment that goes beyond words, a commitment that translates into actions.

In 2024, the Chrysler presented Tlingit glass artist “Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight.” Next year, “Clearly Indigenous,” a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary indigenous glass art from around Native America and the Pacific Rim, will visit the museum. The Chrysler has one of the largest glass collections in America.

Outside the museum entrance is a sculpture created by a team of four artists, all members of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe of Virginia. The sculpture spells out “Tsenacommacah.” Tsenacommacah comes from the native name for the land on which the Chrysler Museum stands.

Visitors to the Chrysler Museum will find the Native Canadian artwork on display in “Early Days” not all that different from much of the Native American artwork they may be more familiar with. And for good reason.

“It would be a mistake to emphasize American or Canadian identity over indigeneity. The political boundary that divides our countries, called the ‘Medicine Line’ by many indigenous peoples, did not exist for millennia and there are many tribes who live on both sides of that boundary, united by shared beliefs, customs and language,” Pierce explains. “As for the artwork, examples of formline from the Northwest Coast could barely be distinguished between a Tlingit community in Canada and one in the United States. People probably think of beadwork and ceramics when they think of traditional Native American art and there are some fantastic historical and contemporary examples of beadwork in the show.”

Political borders are arbitrary and have only existed since the beginning of history, especially when compared to the indigenous peoples and cultures they contain.

Canadian Indigenous Contemporary Artists

“Early Days” features artists such as Norval Morrisseau, Carl Beam and Alex Janvier, and features leading contemporary Indigenous artists such as Kent Monkman, Meryl McMaster and Rebecca Belmore.

Morrisseau (1932–2007; Ojibwe Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek) has posthumously made national headlines in Canada as, unfortunately, the artist victim of the largest art fraud in history. The scheme behind Morrisseau’s forgeries was the subject of a fascinating 2019 documentary titled “There Are No Fakes.”

Monkman (b. 1965; Cree) is a leading contemporary artist, both Indian and non-Indian, who received a major commission from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019. His work remains highly sought after by leading art museums in Canada and America.

Two notable ones among many.

“These works of art are an invitation to consider different beliefs and worldviews through an incredible diversity of material and practice,” Pierce said. “Indigenous culture is not monolithic — the art really speaks to that. We hope our visitors come away with a little more understanding and empathy for the work, and by extension, the communities they encounter.”

After closing time at the Chrysler Museum, “Early Days” travels to the Musée National des Beaux-arts du Québec.