A CALL FOR CRITIQUE

Heritage Moments | Carly Wolowich

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Heritage institutions require thoughtful critique. Steeped in colonialism and built upon patriarchal structures, museums, and cultural spaces alike, need consistent criticism to transform these often exclusionary spaces. However, the question remains as to how to ignite such interventions, especially as someone who has, whether knowingly or unknowingly, become entrenched in museum practice. When looking to gain perspective on how to challenge the museum I often turn to those that display themselves and their work inside of such institutions: artists.

Artists have been critiquing the museum for decades now. The concept of institutional criticism began in the late 1960s as artists began to create art in reaction to the very institutions that purchased and exhibited their work. During this time, art institutions were often perceived to be a place of ‘cultural confinement’ that was not fulfilling its mandate to operate for the good of the public--the very concept in which facilitated their creation in the first place. Creatively walking the line as both an insider and outsider, artists continue to challenge society’s perception of museums in contrast to the reality of their often unethical forms of practice, resourcefully resolving such conflicting tensions.

Robert Houle, an Anishinaabe Saulteaux and prolific artist, exemplifies the power of institutional critique. Houle’s artistic career has been critical of colonial structures, focusing on injustices such as cultural appropriation in museums and art galleries. He writes, “exclusion from Western representation is deeply rooted in and even protected by a structure that authorizes and legitimizes certain representations while blocking, prohibiting or invalidating others”. Some of Houle’s most poignant artistic interventions are exemplified in Toronto’s very own Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

In 1985 Houle encountered an installation by German artist Lothar Baumgarten. The AGO invited Baumgarten to produce a site-specific work for Walker Court--the center and heart of the Gallery--as part of the exhibit The European Iceberg: Creativity in Germany and Italy Today. Baumgarten created Monument for the Native People of Ontario, which was meant to pay homage to eight nations. Houle appreciated the artist’s gesture, but was displeased with his lack of research. Printed on the walls in large Roman type, some of the names were misspelled, and linguistic groups, regions, tribes, and bands were intermingled with no distinction. Furthermore, Baumgarten’s felt right to document the names was extremely unsettling.

Robert Houle, Anishnabe Walker Court, 1993, site-specific installation at Walker Court, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. (Source).

Throughout the 1980s in Canada, contemporary Indigenous art was still being debated by artists and curators as to whether it had a place in mainstream art galleries or if such works should remain in anthropological museums. When Houle responded to Baumgarten’s installation with Anishnabe Walker Court, he affirmed Indigenous Arts’ place in contemporary art galleries. Houle re-appropriated the German artist’s tribal names, placing them in quotation marks and re-inscribing them in lowercase letters on the outer walls surrounding the Court. Houle also featured documentation of the historic changes made to the space over time, commenting on how colonial institutions, such as the AGO, improperly and offensively memorialized individuals and history. In 2008, when the AGO underwent their major renovation, these names were removed and Houle asserted his presence once again with his work Seven Grandfathers. 

Robert Houle, Ojibwa, from Anishnabe Walker Court preliminary study #8, 1994, collage, electrographic prints on wove paper, 43.5 x 35.5 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. (Source).

Robert Houle, Study #10 (for Anishnabe Walker Court), 1994, gelatin silver print, photocopy, ink on coloured plastic sheet, vinyl self-adhesive letters, black porous point marker, graphite on paper, resin-coated photographic paper, and coloured transparent sheet, 43.2 x 35.7 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. (Source).

Today, Seven Grandfathers boldly hangs in the place where Baumgarten’s work once did. Commissioned to coincide with the 2014 exhibition Before and after the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes, the work consists of seven abstract paintings that resemble ceremonial drums. Seven Grandfathers reveals the “concepts of respect, and sharing that form the foundation of an Anishnabe way of life”. Each disc corresponds to an animal spirit and imparts one of the sacred teachings of Anishinaabe culture to AGO visitors. 

Robert Houle, Seven Grandfathers, 2014, oil on canvas, digital prints, Mylar, watercolour on paper, seven site-specific works, each 20.3 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. (Source).

Museum professionals can learn from the artists in which they exhibit. Skillfully practicing a sense of duality, reflecting on both the museum and the communities surrounding them, artists critique heritage institutions with intent and inspired innovation. Stepping foot into the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Walker Court visitors are impressed with a space of seeming inclusivity that displays art such as Seven Grandfathers. While this artwork is likely recognized as a result of self-reflection by museum staff, I credit and thank Robert Houle for this systematic shift in the Gallery and museums more broadly. I hope in reading on Robert Houle’s practice, this article will implore people to not only thoughtfully look at museum spaces but listen to what others outside of the museum world have to say.

Next time you’re visiting the AGO make sure to glance up in Walker Court and take a look at Robert Houle’s artwork. You now know a history that I hope will inspire you just as much as it did me.

FLOUR POWER: 1960S HOUSEWIVES COOKING IN TORONTONIAN MUSEUMS

A Muse Bouche | Jordan Fee and Dominica Tang

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Hello, fellow Musers! For today’s post, I have invited another Museum Studies colleague, Dominica Tang, to chat with me about how the museum enacted gender roles within the framework of 1960s food programming in Toronto. More specifically, we will be taking a look at the workshops and demonstrations organized by the Women’s Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and comparing them with some of the activities offered by the newly founded Black Creek Pioneer Village (BCPV), which opened to the public in 1957. Our discussion is inspired by Joan Sangster's article "Creating Popular Histories: Re-Interpreting "Second Wave" Canadian Feminism," and Irina D. Mihalache's “Recipes as Culinary Communication in a Canadian Art Museum: Lobster Souffle, Beef Stroganoff, and the Tensions of Gourmet Cooking in the 1960s."

During the 1960s, the AGO – then known as the Art Gallery of Toronto – held a series of cooking workshops and demonstrations, organized by a group of female volunteers known as the Women’s Committee. Famously, the Women’s Committee invited celebrated chefs, such as Dione Lucas and James Beard, to share their knowledge and training of gourmet cooking with a Canadian audience.

Conversely, the female volunteers at BCPV worked to demonstrate historic methods of cooking – ones that did not necessarily coincide with contemporary understandings of culinary expertise. In this case, knowledge was disseminated in a manner that was less formal, sometimes creating a romanticized portrait of Canadian life during the nineteenth century. However, as will be shown, this portrait also reflected 20th century understandings of gender roles and the domestic sphere at large.

Jordan: So Dominica, how did a place like BCPV come to represent a time other than the 19th century?

Dominica: Museums are a product of their time. Living history museums, such as BCPV, may represent and interpret a past time period, but their rationale and methodology is grounded in their contemporary environment and ideologies.

In 1960s Ontario, there was a push towards increased industrial and commercial capacity, which caused many women to leave the domestic sphere and enter into the professional world. The 1960s also saw somewhat of a reinforcement of gender roles, especially in suburban areas, which is reflected in some of the programming offered at Black Creek. In the 21st century, BCPV has softened these rules greatly. During my employment with BCPV, I cooked, cleaned, and spun wool as a Victorian farm wife would, but you would also find me in the tinsmith shop piercing tin squares or in the doctor’s office showcasing 19th century splints and stethoscopes. Additionally, my pixie cut at the time did not conform with the typical feminine Victorian style, so I covered it at all times with a house cap or bonnet.

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#canada #toronto #blackcreekpioneervillage

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Jordan: Although BCPV was certainly envisioned as an historical site, it represented an idealized construction that in many ways mirrored contemporary social values. While it was built as a reaction against rapid modernization, it also helped to strengthen existing gender roles in that it offered a space for female volunteers to teach female visitors about domestic practices. In this way, the programming at BCPV mirrored the cooking demonstrations taking place at the AGO.

Dominica: Both programs served as a means to assert gender identities through the improvement of culinary skills in different ways. The food programs at BCPV were, in the participants’ imaginations, models for imparting and reinforcing gender roles for their children. The motivation for women partaking in the culinary program at the AGO was to become better hosts as part of their duties as middle-class housewives. By offering a historical perspective, the female interpreters at BCPV were attempting to reiterate and reinforce the superiority of modern lifestyles. They, moreover, compared the laborious and time consuming mode of preheating a wood-fired brick oven to a simple push of the button on their stoves at home. I often did in my interpretation while the visitors watched me chuck yet another log into the fire and wipe the sweat off my brow. The AGO also sought to maintain this superiority but through a more direct manner by partnering up with the Consumer’s Gas Company and Canada’s Packers’ ltd.

Both the AGO and BCPV were maintaining the division of domestic labour, and offering female participants the opportunity to improve their own lives through the use of more efficient technologies, both in regard to the packaging and the preparation of food items. In order to understand the role of women in the 1960s, it is crucial to remember that agency does not simply come from rebellious or transgressive behaviour, rather these women were exercising agency by choosing to actively participate in the improvement of their own lives. Saba Mahmood, in her discussion on the Egyptian Islamic Revival, terms this understanding as “docile agency.”

Jordan: Still, it does seem that the AGO offered a less restrictive environment. The women who observed and participated in these cooking demonstrations were not as bound to the past as the female volunteers at BCPV. Rather than reframing the past through an understanding of the present, the AGO’s Women’s Committee worked to create new possibilities, which included modern techniques and ingredients. In addition, the gourmet cooking programs organized by the Women’s Committee were meant to elevate quotidian practices, often understood as mundane, into the realm of the miraculous.

Surprisingly, the AGO has not taken advantage of the 21st century obsession with all things food, which is reflected today in an almost total lack of food programming. BCPV, on the other hand, still offers butter churning workshops as part of school tours, and still keeps living animals on the farm. When I visited BCPV in 2018, I was quite surprised that these traditions had been maintained so carefully.

Posing Sheep at Black Creek Pioneer Village (Photograph Courtesy of Dominica Tang)

While the programming offered at Black Creek Pioneer Village in the 1960’s was perhaps more traditional, it has nevertheless been sustained well into the 21st century. Although the workshops and demonstrations organized by the Women’s Committee were perhaps more innovative, they eventually died out either from increasing food costs or decreasing interest; we cannot be sure. In any case, it is quite evident that both of these institutions helped to cement and subvert power structures and gender roles at a time when the general social landscape was undergoing a drastic transformation.

RESEARCH, NETWORKING, AND SNACKS: INTERNSHIP CHECK-IN 2019

Internship Check-In | Joanna Wreakes

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Welcome to the first edition of Internship Check-In for 2019. This summer we've got MMSt students working all over Canada (and beyond) and I am so excited to be able to share what they're up to with all of you!

Our brave interns who have agreed to be interviewed will be asked five questions:

1. Please introduce yourself & tell us about your internship role
2. What is a typical day like at your institution?
3. Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?
4. What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?
5. Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?

This post features:

Savannah Sewell: Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, ON

Emma Puddicombe: The Canadian War Musuem, Ottawa, ON

Jordan Fee: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON

Erin Stodola: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON

Toronto's AGO - where two of this edition's interns are working! Source.

Please introduce yourself & tell us about your internship role.

Savannah: Hi there, my name is Savannah Sewell and I am completing my summer internship in the marketing department at the Aga Khan Museum. My role here is a little bit of everything. The marketing department is made up of seven individuals, including myself who range from designer to social media coordinator. The role I play, specifically, usually incorporates a bit of all of the marketing and communications jobs together. For example, my project for this internship is to prepare the social media campaign for the fifth anniversary of the Aga Khan Museum. This project will narrate the impact of the museum and hopefully engage new visitors.

Emma: My name is Emma Puddicombe, and I’m currently completing my internship at the Canadian War Museum in the Education, Creative Development and Learning Department (ECDL) and I love it! This department is responsible for creating public and educational programming for the institutions as well as exhibition development for the whole institution. The programs the staff work on include tours of the museum, theatrical orientations (mini skits presented to schools by staff in character), and the Supply Line Discovery Boxes. My role in this internship is to help out with various projects, such as developing condition tracking tools for the Supply Line Discovery Boxes (the staff simply call them ‘kits’), helping with planning and operations for the Historical Thinking Summer Institute, and also helping with planning for the family-targeted series, “Awesome Sundays”.

Jordan: My name is Jordan Fee, and I am currently working as an Exhibition and Publishing Intern at the Art Gallery of Toronto. The department that I work in is under the umbrella of Curatorial Affairs, and my supervisor is Jim Shedden.

Erin: I’m Erin! I am the Curatorial Intern of Indigenous + Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Which means: I help the Assistant Curator of Indigenous + Canadian Art, Renée van der Avoird (an MMSt Alumni!), with research tasks and projects, among other things. These vague-sounding tasks and projects are things like researching a work of art that the AGO wants to acquire, preparing reports for Cultural Property Export Permits, writing text briefs that will turn into didactics, cross-referencing sources to prove a contested date on an artwork and anything else Renée needs a hand with. Donald the librarian and I are good friends! While these are the main things I have been working on, Renée has been so generous to include me in departmental meetings, conservation demonstrations, installation supervision, trips to the vault, acquisition committee meetings, watching a Renoir being packed for travel... and the list truly goes on.

Emma & colleagues at the Canadian War Museum recreated this photo from the Second World War for #MuseumsWeek. Photo courtesy of Emma Puddicombe.

What is a typical day like at your institution?

Savannah: A typical day at the Aga Khan Museum begins with logging in and answering any emails that have come up. Most of the staff here works later than I do (I rather coming in earlier), so sometimes there are a few things to catch up on. After that is finished, I check up on our Monday.com checklist and begin one of the tasks that have been assigned to me. These tasks range from packaging donation requests, archiving collateral, and writing copy for events on our website. As the day continues, I am usually a part of one or two meetings, the staff here is very welcoming and often invite me to sit in, in order to expose me to as much of the institution as possible. The tasks continue through the day, sometimes new ones getting assigned as we go. The great thing about this department is that the constant collaboration between people allows me to challenge myself and learn new skills every day.

Emma: A typical day for me begins with arriving at my little cubicle (which I did not think I was going to have) and turning on my computer. Almost everything at the institution is done online, such as scheduling, planning meetings, sending files, etc. First thing in the morning I always look to see what new emails I have (regarding meetings, readings about projects, etc.) and what my schedule for the day is. From there, my day usually involves shadowing meetings and working on various projects. I always love attending the meetings because they give me a better insight into what projects the department is working on. Sometime, I’m even asked my own opinion on how to move forward with certain decisions (minor ones, like “Do you think this is a good photo to include in the Supply Line kits?”). The projects I’m working on include my own Big Project (more info below), and also smaller tasks that permanent staff just need taken off their own plates (eg. data entry and organization). This part of the day is always so great because I actually feel like I am contributing in the department. The last notable thing about my ‘typical day at my institution,’ is lunch. The majority of the staff take lunch at the same time each day, so there’s always a large group to eat with and talk to about non-work related things (Eg. Cheese and what your favourite cheese is….which turned into create Cheese Club, who meet every Tuesday at lunch to try new cheeses!). At the end of my day, I clean up my desk to make it look clear and fresh for the next morning and my day is done.

Jordan: My day typically begins around 9am, although I sometimes arrive a little early to spend time in Grange park prior to entering the building. I take the elevator to the third floor, step into our collective office, and begin work on my computer. So far, I’ve been predominately working on the first draft of a publication in Adobe InDesign, although there have also been a number of days when we’ve spent time planning the layout of an exhibition. I generally try to take a break around 1pm to have some lunch with Erin (in the park whenever possible). After this, I will either return to what I was doing in the morning or go to a meeting with Jim. The day ends sometime around 5pm, when I leave to go make dinner.

Erin: May 31, 2019: I spent the morning finishing a report for an Export Permit review, gathering any relevant information to help Renée make a decision as to whether or not the piece was of “outstanding National significance”. Later, Renée and I met with Karl Beveridge of Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge, Toronto’s social activist artist duo, to talk about a few of their pieces that will soon go on temporary display. It was such a pleasure hearing an artist speak about his own art in person. As I will be writing the text briefs for the labels, it was an amazing opportunity. Meeting artists doesn’t happen for me everyday, so on a more typical one, I would attend a small departmental meeting for a project, which are fascinating in a different way! After having lunch in Grange Park with fellow AGO intern and desk neighbour, Jordan Fee, I went over several Export Permit reports with Renée and we decided that they were all ready to find new homes outside Canada. For the rest of the day, I researched a number of specific facts about David Milne for the upcoming revamp of the David Milne Centre. Also there were surprise donuts. All in all, a very good day!

Jordan enjoying the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre during some downtime at the AGO. Photo courtesy of Jordan Fee.

Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?


Savannah: I was surprised by how much they trust me! When anyone hands me a new task they are so confident in my ability to succeed at it. The support from the whole institution has been incredible and continues to allow me to push myself and learn. I really feel like they like me! Wasn’t expecting that.

Emma: What surprised me most about my internship, besides getting my own desk and cubicle, was how much my supervisor wanted to help me network. During my first week at the institution she told me to take some time and think about what museums I wanted to visit and who I wanted to talk to at those institutions. From there she would help me set up informational interviews with them so I could get a better idea of where my career could take me. This was something I would never have expected to happen at my internship, and I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity.

Jordan: The thing that surprises me most is the amount of creative freedom that I have been given so far. Of course, it’s not like I’m making any final decisions, but Jim is quite open to new ideas and generally lets me try them out. Other than that, I would say that the amount of people working at the AGO is quite astounding. I’m still meeting someone new every day, and I don’t think that will stop anytime soon.

Erin: I had a fairly good idea that the AGO was a large, well-oiled machine but I did not know just how large! It is its own little city and everyone has their job to do to make the city function and flourish.

Savannah at her placement at the Aga Khan Museum. Photo courtesy of Savannah Sewell.

What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?
Savannah: I am really excited about accomplishing this social media campaign, it is a new type of project for me and the challenges of a large institution’s narrative is exciting. This would also have a lasting impact on the museum itself and be an excellent addition to my resume. I have also begun to archive and organize all of their collateral which is exciting! Right now it resides in piles that have collected for five years and have been driving me BONKERS!



Emma: What I am most excited about accomplishing throughout my internship is my Big Project. Even before my internship started, my supervisor kept telling me, “We’re going to give you your own project that you can call yours from start to finish. Something you can leave this internship with and say ‘I did that.’” This Big Project is to create a Condition Tracking Report for the objects included in the Supply Line kits. It’s no quite condition reporting, but it is supposed to help the staff track the condition of the objects within the box so they can monitor object lifespans and budget accordingly for replacements and repairs. At first I thought I was going to be quick and fairly easy, but it was only once I started working on it that I realized how much work is going to be put into this. I have loved every step of this process so far. I cannot wait until I have the final product completed!



Jordan: I am excited about the fact that I will be able to walk away from this internship with some sort of portfolio, showing the work that I have done in InDesign and Illustrator. I have learned that the person who was in my position last year got to leave their internship with a bound book of all of the work they had accomplished in terms of research and writing, so I am hoping that I might be able to walk away with a similar document.

Erin: I am excited to soak up as much knowledge as I can handle in 12 weeks! From learning the ways that departments work together and the systems they use, to conservation theories, to political structures that can dictate the decisions of the gallery, to all the AGO’s works by Arthur Lismer, to how to send meeting requests in Microsoft Outlook. 12 weeks is time enough just to get my feet wet, which is to say: not enough time. A specific project that I very happy to be working on is researching a collection of Mary Wrinch’s miniature watercolour portraits on ivory. There is a lot to be said about this trailblazing woman, her fascinating career, the implications of ivory and discussion of femininity and gender roles in Victorian-era Toronto. The works won’t appear in the gallery until 2020, but my research will inform the accompanying didactics.

Erin in the beautiful Galleria Italia at the AGO. Photo courtesy of Erin Stodola.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?

Savannah: My words of wisdom would be to remain positive. The space is accepting, exciting and supportive. Ask questions and enjoy yourself while challenging your skills. Its sometimes difficult to recognize when you’re pushing yourself too hard vs. just the right amount. Ask questions! No one is going to laugh at you or get angry if you need help, everyone knows you’re new! Also, office jobs always have lots of snacks!! Be prepared for that, I wasn’t!

Emma: Keep a little notebook and a pen with you at all times and write down all the advice you hear. Just being in the office environment you hear so much advice that will be so useful in the future. No one will just sit and tell you everything you need to know, but sitting in on meetings you can easily catch on to what best practice is, and what has been most successful in projects. Always make sure to listen to what people say and take from it any advice you can.

Jordan: Well I don’t think that I can offer too much concrete advice, but I would say that it’s best to learn by doing. I had very little experience with the kind of work that I am doing now, but I just tried to jump in head first. If you get the chance to try something new, then take it!

Erin: Remember that everyone wants to help you learn! Ask questions. Of anybody. Take notes for when you forget everything all of the time. Show your enthusiasm, gratitude and willingness to take on tasks. Bring treats to share.

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

That's all for this edition of Internship Check-In! And I have to agree with the advice above, office treats are plentiful and everyone appreciates when you bring things to share! Check back in a few weeks for another update about what some of the wonderful MMSt students are up to this summer.

THE LAST ONE FOR THE LADIES (WITH A REDUCED PRICE TAG)

She’s My Muse | Kathleen Lew

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Laurie Simmons, detail of Kaleidoscope House, 2001. Source.

It’s fitting that my final She’s My Muse article after nearly two years of writing under this column happens in the final days of Women’s History Month. As I stated (quite loudly) last year, March is almost over, but sexism and oppression remain in the art world, museums, and beyond. As my Museum Studies degree comes to an end, I can’t help but take a moment to be self-reflective. But in true She’s My Muse fashion, I will follow it quickly with a connection to current museum news and calls to action.

This column has been a place to grapple with how gender and feminism interact with museums, and how these spaces of power can be—and are currently being—transformed. She’s My Muse has not been an easy column to write; however, the moments of heartbreak and anger have been accompanied with learning and inspiration (and a healthy amount of self-doubt sprinkled in between). Together, we saw the rise of #MeToo and reflected on the memory (and re-memory) of prolific artists. I had the privilege of speaking with institutions that are advocating for marginalized creators and was continually inspired by the women in my class, in Toronto, and in the wider museum sector.

Finally, I set out to find muses and give other women a platform to share their own. I’d like to present you with a final one:

This post’s muse will look at the events surrounding photographer Laurie Simmons’ retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (MCA). Big Camera/Little Camera was curated by Andrea Karnes at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Chicago is the second stop of the travelling exhibition and MCA Director Madeleine Grynsztejn added an exciting twist.

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@mcachicago (my) amazing curator Naomi Beckwith standing in front of 1/2 man 1/2 woman 2019- the new picture I made for my exhibition and also placing furniture in #kaleidoscopehouse 2000, wearing a big camera/ little camera t-shirt and cups/ merch from the @mcachicago gift store. #fromLSarchive

A post shared by Laurie Simmons (@lauriesimmons) on Feb 23, 2019 at 6:50pm PST

The MCA has introduced a new tier of discounted admission. Anyone who believes they have been negatively affected by the gender pay gap can pay $12 admission rather than the full $15 price (from February 24 to May 5). This approximately 81% difference represents the 81 cents women make to every male dollar (source). The new admission price supports Simmons’ practice, which challenges gendered archetypes and disturbs the ‘American Dream’ through photography. Her constructed scenes use models, dolls, and props to challenge understandings of femininity.

Source.

Lack of representation, the pay gap, and its affects on artists and museum professionals is something the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) draws attention to year-round, with added social media campaigns in March. The NMWA’s #5WomenArtists campaign blasts these numbers across online platforms to draw attention to the sexism present in institutions. For example, out of a 2018 study of 820,000 exhibitions across public and commercial sectors, only one third were by women artists. When looking at museum professionals, women are still underrepresented in leadership positions, and the director positions they do hold are at museums with smaller budgets. The top three museums in the world (British Museum, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art) have never had women directors.

Source.

MCA’s recent dedication to women in the arts is a positive step, especially with the MCA’s 2018 exhibition What Remains to Be Seen, which looked at Howardena Pindell and studied demographics of women artists in New York museums. However, these efforts are not without their limitations. Most notably, a single admission discount does not account for the even wider pay gap for women of colour. An admission price difference is a strong (temporary) statement, but this should not be without looking into further action that accounts for intersectionality.

We also need to consider how these initiatives can be implemented in local contexts, such as supporting Canadian women in the arts. The recently closed Mickalene Thomas: Femme Noires was a beautiful exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Through monumental collages, Thomas’ work highlights the intersections between gender, race, and sexuality. She puts Black women at the forefront of her practice and critiques erasure in Western art history. However, Femme Noires is among only one other solo exhibition by a Black woman artist at the AGO, neither of which have been Canadian.

While the MCA is a leading example of what we have accomplished, there is always more to do to improve our structures and institutions. Change goes beyond the confines of this column, but I will be forever grateful for this tiny corner of the internet that has given me a place to discover powerful, intelligent, and dedicated women.

MUSEUMS OR NOT? PART 2: THE SHOPPING MALL

Beyond Tradition | Joanna Wreakes

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One of the many views inside Edmonton's West Edmonton Mall. Source.

When you visit a new city, what’s usually on the top of your “must-see” list? As museum people, we’re more than a little biased towards museums and galleries. But, I’ve been heartened when hosting guests from out of Toronto on their eagerness to visit both the ROM and AGO. I recently spoke with a colleague who is going on a work trip to Edmonton. What was one of the top sights on his list? The mall.


via GIPHY (source)

As a born and raised Edmontonian, I’ve got mall culture deeply ingrained. Edmonton is home to West Edmonton Mall (WEM), the largest shopping mall in North America, and the location of my part-time gig during undergrad. It’s a huge space filled mostly with the same stores we’ve got here in Toronto at the Eaton Centre, with a few hidden gems of locally owned places spread throughout the endless hallways.

It’s important to note that I’m far from the first person to consider the similarities between shopping malls and museums. Anna Zhelnina’s article “‘It’s Like a Museum Here’: The Shopping Mall as Public Space” talks about research carried out at malls in urban Russia. This relates to museum and museum-like spaces as places to see and be seen, where “visitors […] carry out informal monitoring based on their own ideas of what constitutes “right” and “wrong” behaviours for this place.” (source) This is similar to the observation I made in my last article about the symphony, another flashback to well-known museum academic Tony Bennett!

Looking at the example of WEM, the mall is full of intriguing attractions that we might not expect to see on a shopping trip. Kitschy theme streets are vaguely reminiscent of the themed galleries in museums - Europa Boulevard, Chinatown, and BRBN Street all can be found. Europa Boulevard is especially interesting. It plays on a lot of cliches Canadians might have about Europe. The walls are made to look (somewhat cheesily) as if you are in an outdoor shopping street, surrounded by ornate and colourful old buildings. This street also holds a lot of the higher end and more expensive stores in West Ed.

Europe Boulevard. Notice the beautiful building facades. Source.

Another thing that you might expect to see in a museum over a mall is an aquarium. The Marine Life part of WEM has a variety of educational programming, a lot of which is designed to tie into the Alberta education curriculum. Teachers can apply to have educators visit their classrooms, similar to many museum outreach programs. Here in Toronto, it can be compared to the ROM’s travelling education kits.

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Looks like our African Penguins Dayo and Skadu are TV show stars! Find them in @cbcgem's new #FamilyDrama series @northernrescuetv or visit them at Sea Life Caverns. . . . #northernrescueoncbcgem #northernrescue #cbcgem #cbctelevision #wested #wem #westedmontonmall #marinelife #sealifecaverns #africanpenguins

A post shared by West Edmonton Mall (@official_wem) on Mar 4, 2019 at 2:37pm PST

While I definitely wouldn’t advocate for replacing museums with malls, it’s intriguing to think about how the two function similarly as public spaces, places to provide entertainment and enjoyment, and even in some cases, act as educators.

WE NEED TO TALK, OR NOT: LANGUAGE IN MUSEUMS AS A FORM OF CONTROL

Breaking the Glass Case | Alexandra Forand

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Did you know 2019 is International Year of Indigenous Languages? Language and words are powerful, potent, and markers of culture and identity. Words are a constant in museums and galleries, but we might not realise it. When I visit a museum or gallery I view the art and artifacts, but I read the information alongside. I read the label to gain knowledge about the object, such as who made it or what it’s made of, almost like I’m using the label to justify why the object is in the museum or gallery. I bet it is safe to say that we read in museums and galleries more than we look at the thing we came to see. One gallery experience made me reflect on this practise, not because the pieces of art were so dazzling (which they were) or because the message was inspiring (which it was), but because I could not read the labels.

The Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, AB. Source. 

The exhibition was Li Salay (Michif for “The Sun”) at the Art Gallery of Alberta and featured Metis artists. This exhibition explored the idea that the sun is often partially visible due to ordinary events such as cloud cover, or unnatural events, such as an eclipse. Metis peoples’ identity has become naturally obscured, and these contemporary artists shine a light on this incompleteness.

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"Li Salay" will expose you to a diversity of languages, both visual and verbal. To celebrate the languages of “Li Salay”, we are sharing details of the artists’ works through their own words. Keep your eyes open for weekly posts! . . #yeg #yegarts #yegdt #youraga #indigenousart #Métisart #Métisartists #canadianart #canadianartists #sun

A post shared by Art Gallery of Alberta (@youraga) on Jun 30, 2018 at 5:15pm PDT

The curators of the exhibition, Amy Malbeuf and Jessie Ray Short, chose to display the labels in the language of the artist. For instance, Lori Blondeau (a Cree/Salteaux/Metis artist and scholar) had her label written in Cree and English. That being said, Blondeau was an exception, since most of the artists had their label written in their mother tongue only. Just as the sun and Metis identity are partially obscured, so was the exhibition, to me, a non-speaker.

Just saw Li Salay at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Super stoked to see the exhibits were all (save one) presented in the Indigenous language of the artist! There were booklets with translations if you wanted them. pic.twitter.com/705Fj8K1SA

— âpihtawikosisân (@apihtawikosisan) August 9, 2018

More institutions are incorporating Indigenous languages in their didactics, but why? The Art Gallery of Canada (AGO) has chosen to display trilingual (English, French and Anishnaabemowin or Inuktitut, depending on the artist’s heritage) didactics throughout the J.S. McLean’s Center for Indigenous and Canadian Art in recognition that the institution was built on Mississauga Anishinaabe territory. Other institutions, such as the Manitoba Museum, utilize Indigenous languages because it is important for audiences to experience the language by seeing it, even if they cannot understand it.

The Self gallery in the J.S. McLean Centre for Indigenous and Canadian Art at the AGO. Photo curtesy of Alexandra Forand. 

If we return to Li Salay, this was not the reason the labels were written in Indigenous languages. It can be argued that up until now, Metis art has been interpreted on Western terms, obscuring the true meaning of the work. Describing the art in the artist's mother tongue re-centres the Metis experience and works to obscure Western influence.

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Our Curatorial and Preparatory teams are busy putting the final touches on “Li Salay”, which opens May 26. We are excited and proud to present this groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by Amy Malbeuf and Jessie Ray Short. As the first cross-country survey of contemporary Métis art to be presented at a large public art museum, “Li Salay” opens a space for Métis art practices to be recognized and defined on their own terms. Image credit: Katherine Boyer, Rug, 2016. Found fabric, String, Yarn, Seed beads. Collection of the Artist. . . #yeg #yegarts #Métisart #canadianart #yegdt #youraga

A post shared by Art Gallery of Alberta (@youraga) on May 10, 2018 at 10:06am PDT

The labels written in Indigenous languages was a way for the artist to share their art with me, but not their story. You see they do not owe me their story and they do not have to justify their art to me. I, as an outsider, am only privy to partial information, to a half-story, to none of the power. It was not my place to interpret the art based on a Western understanding, but to enjoy this art as it was, perfectly partially obscured.

Did you get a chance to see Li Salay? Or have yo seen an exhibition with non-traditional didactic panels? Let me know! Please do not hesitate to contact me at allyforand@gmail.com or if Twitter and Instagram is more your speed my handle on both is @Ally_but_online.