Land Rights Now
Guest-programmed by the Ombaasin Collective

The final First Thursday of the season focuses on Picturing the Americas, an expansive exhibition of more than 100 paintings depicting iconic landscapes from the Arctic all the way to Argentina. Featuring a series of performances, critiques and art-making activities designed to engage with the histories of contentious colonization and conflict embodied in these works, July’s First Thursday is guest-curated by Ombaasin, the Indigenous artist collective of Wanda Nanibush, Elwood Jimmy and Brian Norton. The night features artists of colour and Indigenous artists calling attention to the complex meanings and histories depicted in Picturing the Americas.

Headlining the event, Polaris Music Prize–winning Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq will perform her searing live soundtrack for the 1922 film Nanook of the North in Walker Court at 10 p.m. (Please note: Walker Court capacity is limited. Arrive early to grab a spot.)

Throughout the evening, visitors are invited to dress up and pose for photos as part of a satirical installation piece by Lori Blondeau and Adrian Stimson. The artists’ alter egos, Belle Sauvage and Buffalo Boy, invite visitors to join their queer rodeo, where buckskin meets fishnets and buffalo G-strings and where rodeo's biggest name is a Cree/Saulteux woman. Toronto artist Josh Vettivelu presents his choral soundscape Pulse, a song cycle constructed entirely out of amplified bodily rhythms, and painter Travis Shilling will undertake a live painting experiment in conversation with works in the AGO’s Canadian galleries. Plus, a performance by local artist Francisco-Fernando Granados.

Additional programming includes a spoken-word performance by Jamaias DaCosta, a pop-up talk by Krysta Williams and a panel discussion with Toronto lawyer Aaron Detlor and Teach for Canada Director Donna Ashamok, moderated by Wanda Nanibush. In Galleria Italia, our partners at Planet Indigenous will lead visitors in a cornhusk doll-making workshop. And artist and educator Connor Pion will lead visitors in Anishinaabemowin language classes and invite guests to make their own protest signs. 

Plus, DJs, drinks, delicious food and our monthly Out of the Vaults exhibition.

Follow the #AGO1st hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for updates on AGO First Thursdays.

The AGO would like to extend our thanks to the sponsors who partner with us to bring you First Thursdays each month: