A day to remember and reflect

The AGO operates on land that is Michi Saagig Nishnawbe (Mississauga, Anishinaabe) territory and the territory of the Wendat and Haudenosaunee. 

This September 30 is both Orange Shirt Day and the first federally recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—a day to pause in remembrance of the children lost and survivors of the residential school system, in addition to lasting trauma inflicted on Indigenous families and communities. The AGO is recognizing this day, along with the effects of residential schools, through continued learning guided by Indigenous art and artists. 

Art and artists provide us with tools to relate to each other, our stories and the world around us. Furthering deeper understanding through art, dedicated signage in acknowledgement of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be placed throughout the Gallery directing visitors towards the J.S. McLean Centre for Indigenous & Canadian Art on Level 2. Visitors are invited to join in reflection by spending time with the work of contemporary Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island. Elsewhere in the building, visitors can view the solo exhibitions of Michael Belmore (also on Level 2) and Shuvinai Ashoona (on Level 4)—both artists thematically shaping their practice around their Anishinaabe and Inuit identities. Walker Court features Robert Houle’s ongoing installation Seven Grandfathers (2014), which echoes the traditional seven teachings in Anishinaabe culture (a major retrospective exhibition of Houle’s work will be on view later this year). Drawing from the work of Norval Morrisseau and Kent Monkman, European Art on First Nations Land (also on Level 1) considers the role European Art has played in the history of colonization. Monkman’s The Deluge (2019) is on view in the Walter C. Laidlaw Gallery until February 2022. 

The AGO’s educational programming, exhibitions and growing collection of contemporary Indigenous art centre on Indigenous ways of knowing and creative expression, while also addressing pressing historical and current social issues. In June of this year, the AGO hosted A Continued Conversation on Residential Schools, a virtual discussion about thoughtfully sharing the history and intergenerational effects of residential schools with children and youth. Robert Durocher, Vice-Principal at Kâpapâmahchakwêw - Wandering Spirit School (TDSB), award-winning author, educator and artist Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis, and hip-hop artist and activist Lindsay “Eekwol” Knight were joined in conversation with Dr. Audrey Hudson, AGO Richard & Elizabeth Currie Chief of Education & Programming. 

In June 2020, as part of the Shape of the Museum series, Paul Chaat Smith, Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and Wanda Nanibush, AGO Curator, Indigenous Art spoke at length virtually about the roles museums and cultural institutions have in shaping complex conversations when exhibiting work made by Indigenous artists.

Also in 2020, Nanibush was joined in conversation with Luke Parnell, as part of the ongoing Art in the Spotlight series. Parnell discussed his career as both a contemporary artist and educator as well as his series of seven acrylic on canvas paintings and printed wall texts, Re-Contextualizing the De-Consecrated (2014). The series was acquired into the AGO Collection in 2020 and AGOinsider profiled Parnell’s work in this story.

Tanya Talaga, activist and best-selling author of All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward (2018) and Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City (2017), reflected on the significance of Rebecca Belmore’s 2018 AGO exhibition, Facing the Monumental with Nanibush and former AGO Director, Public Programming, Devyani Saltzman. 

The AGO has learning resources for teachers aimed to help enrich classrooms from kindergarten to grade 12. Teachers will find artists such as Robert Houle, Ruth Cuthand and Michael Belmore in the Artist Spotlight series geared towards grades 7 to 12. Using works from the AGO Collection and its exhibitions, teachers can implement these resources in a variety of courses, helping students to form intersectional understandings about Indigenous communities. The AGO’s Virtual Schools Programs also offers a weekly program on Indigenous art and artists, led by Indigenous Art Educators.