RESPONSE, REJECTION, RECONCILIATION: EXHIBITING CANADA 150

GREATEST HITS

BY: AMY INTRATOR

Welcome back to the final edition of Greatest Hits 2017! Writing for this column has allowed me to look to the recent past to make sense of developments in the museum world today. With the end of the year quickly approaching, I thought it would be fitting to turn to the very recent past to make sense of the year-long “celebration” that’s about to end: Canada 150.

Official logo for Canada 150. Source. 

The Government of Canada has been planning Canada 150 for years as a celebration of the 150-year anniversary of Canadian confederation. From the very beginning of this project, however, many communities in Canada have rejected this celebratory narrative of Canadian history. The Government of Canada includes reconciliation with Indigenous peoples as one of the themes of Canada 150, but the celebration of Confederation is at odds with most Indigenous peoples’ experience. Indigenous peoples have lived in “Canada” for hundreds of years, so this year marks 150 years of colonial persecution, not nationhood.

Tweet from the artist who designed Colonialism 150 logo, a response to Canada 150. Source.

Where do museums fit into this Canada 150 narrative? Over the past year museums across the country have hosted exhibits that critically reflect on Canada 150. For many curators, artists, and creators, museums have provided a space to stage a counter-narrative and incorporate non-celebratory perspectives on the 150-year anniversary of Confederation. Since there have been so many fantastic exhibits that reflect on Canada 150, for my last Greatest Hits post I have included not one, but three Musings posts, all of which reflect on exhibits that challenge Canada’s sesquicentennial celebration.


Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience 

Miss Chief Eagle Testickle in front of the Fathers of Confederation. The Daddies, Kent Monkman, 2016. Collection of Christine Armstrong and Irfhan Rawji. Photo courtesy of Sadie MacDonald. Source.

In February, Sadie MacDonald reviewed the Art Museum at University of Toronto’s exhibit Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience. The exhibit was on display at the Art Museum from January until March 2017 and is slated to tour museums throughout Canada until 2020. Kent Monkman organized the exhibit, which spanned 300 years and included hundreds of works. I used the word “organized” because Monkman played the role of creator, artist, and curator in this exhibit as several of his own paintings, dioramas, and other pieces were included, but he also put these objects in dialogue with pieces from museums across Canada. I had to visit the exhibit four times to completely take in the exhibit’s objects and text. Sadie’s review of the exhibit immediately picks up on the fact that Monkman organized a narrative that responds to Canada 150 by exploring the Indigenous experience with colonizers that began long before 1867. Even the timeline in the exhibit is a commentary on Canada 150, as Monkman cleverly begins his narrative 150 years before confederation in 1717. Monkman uses the museum as a stage for his narrative that contests Confederation as the beginning of life in Canada.


Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art

Buffalo Seed by Jane Ash Poitras. Photo courtesy of Natania Sherman. Source.

In March, former Musings Editor-in-Chief Natania Sherman reviewed a display at the ROM entitled Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art. Unlike Monkman’s exhibit which spanned centuries and included numerous works, the display Natania reviewed was extremely small in scale. The display included four new acquisitions by the Indigenous artist, Jane Ash Poitras, and while this form of display is common, Natania examined how the works were positioned to stage an anti-colonial dialogue. Poitras paintings feature colonial symbols, like the Hudson’s Bay stripes, in dialogue with symbols of traditional Indigenous knowledge. The paintings themselves were staged next to objects like a school desk and a basket to gather herbs to create a dialogue between the art and the ethnographic objects in the ROM collection. Natania’s thoughtful review of a small exhibit proves that there are many ways to challenge Canada 150 narratives in museums.


Witness Blanket

An unknown boy in from of the Chesterfield Inlet Residential School (top). Photo courtesy of Sadie MacDonald. Source.

For the final exhibit review I’m including in my Canada 150 retrospective, we’re returning to Sadie but leaving Toronto. In June, Sadie reviewed Witness Blanket after visiting the exhibit at Museum London. The exhibit has been touring Canada since 2015, and currently the exhibit is slated to continue touring the country until 2021. The exhibit is composed of 887 artifacts from residential school survivors, which were collected by Carey Newman, a Kwagiulth sculptor and carver. Together, the hundreds of pieces create a patchwork of lost narratives from survivors of the schools, and in the process hundreds of narratives of loss and pain emerge. Sadie’s review examines the power of these objects curated together, both as a way for residential school survivors to heal and remember, but she also examines the power of this exhibit for the non-Indigenous population of Canada. The exhibit may have begun touring two years before Canada 150 celebrations began, but the powerful counter-narratives take on another layer of significance when remembering confederation. 

I tried to provide a brief snapshot of some of the important, challenging, and brave exhibits that have responded to Canada 150. If you have the time please read the amazing reviews of each exhibit! The exhibits take different approaches to staging a counter-narrative in the museum, from a small display of new acquisitions, to creating a dialogue between artifacts and contemporary art, to creating a collage of objects of trauma. These counter-narratives in museums are likely to continue for years to come, especially with many of these exhibits touring years into the future. Museums may help shift the legacy of Canada 150 from a celebration of nationhood to a rejection of colonial glory.

SEASON'S PASSES TO A HOT CANADIAN SUMMER

GHOSTS OF TORONTO'S PAST

BY: KATIE PAOLOZZA

With summer in full swing, I'm going to indulge in a somewhat laissez-faire attitude and cheat a little bit with the concept of this column. It's still going to feature an iconic part of Toronto, but one that isn't technically within the confines of the city. This place was a big part of my childhood summers, and one of the first places that my friends and I explored without total parental supervision. It was also the first place I had a massive stomach ache from combining too many forms of junk food, most notably funnel cake. I'm referring, of course, to Canada's Wonderland.

Source

Canada 150 celebrations have saturated the media this year, and will most likely continue to do so in the near future because various artistic and cultural projects funded by special sesquicentennial grants have yet to premiere. Politically, I have seen many Canada 150 articles juxtaposed with "This is not my America" rhetoric. It was my impression that the federal government was exploiting a divided America in order to create an artificial sense of unity among Canadians, no doubt in part to ensure that the money poured into Canada 150 was money well spent. But obviously, as with literally every country on the planet, there is no such thing as a completely unified sense of national identity. I tend to be much more patriotic than many Canadians, but I also deeply empathized with friends and colleagues who did not approve of the overt colonial undertones present this year, and I was disturbed to say the least at the backlash they endured for expressing that.

Source

Wonderland is an interesting lens through which we can digest this ambivalence. From its inception it was Canadian without being too on the nose about it, which I think makes it more Canadian. There is a fun little article blogTO wrote about when the park first opened that highlighted the balance of CanCon and international worldliness present in the original iteration of the park. Check out this aerial view near the back of Wonder Mountain:

Source

I love that photo because the park looks a bit like an old-school carnival, but one that loves pseudo-Medieval architecture mixed with professional landscaping and a dash of Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon themed kid's area was a big part of my Wonderland, but is long forgotten, sometimes even by people my age. There is not always a clear path to change and innovation. As is the case with Union Station, Canada's Wonderland still exists and has never been replaced with anything else. Yet I hesitate to even call it by the same name because large parts of the park are unrecognizable to me, and I'm sure my Wonderland is very specific and different from everyone else's. My Wonderland as it exists inside my memories most likely never truly existed in the first place. I visited the park a lot for about a decade, and it changed a lot during my childhood. My nostalgic vision is probably a strange mish-mash of attractions all lumped together that never necessarily coexisted.

The same logic can be applied to nationalism. My Canada is mine, and when I examine it outside of my own perception it dissolves. However, I'm fully confident that my concept of home is real. I get terribly homesick when I leave the country for too long, and my sense of where and how I want to live my life has always revolved around the idea of Canada. There is something there that exists outside of rational deconstruction and irrational sentimentality. I cannot put it into words, but I know it when I feel it. Home is a real place I can visit, which makes me and all Canadians incredibly lucky. We can visit old haunts like Wonderland and complain about how much better it was back in the day (which it totally was), and nothing too substantial is lost or gained.

Source

Two summers ago I went back to Wonderland with some friends. The most frequent topic of discussion was the past and present iterations of the park; but even so, I was never lost. There were even a few fleeting moments where I turned a corner and suddenly became a past version of myself. That's the power of large sections of real land. Concepts of ownership aside, when you walk in a certain place over and over, it becomes imprinted inside you. We don't know what we truly know until we retrace our steps.    

FROM STAMP TO STAMP: COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE IN CANADA

THROWBACK THURSDAY

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

I recently moved to the Northwest Territories to complete my MMSt summer internship, so I’ve been sending a lot of postcards home. And of course, postcards require stamps, which gave me an idea: let’s look back at Canadian history through postage stamps! So, in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary on July 1st, I’ve taken a look through Canada's stamp collections and chosen a few interesting ones to examine how commemorative stamps have changed over time.

EARLIEST STAMPS

The “Threepenny Beaver” – 1851

Among his many achievements, Sir Sandford Fleming (Fleming College’s namesake) designed the Province of Canada’s first postage stamp in 1851. Rather than the typical portrait of Queen Victoria used in Britain at the time, Fleming selected the beaver as the image – the first official stamp anywhere to depict an animal rather than a monarch. Fleming’s choice referred to the beaver’s centrality in the Canadian economy (via the Fur Trade) and helped solidify its status as the hardworking animal that we so frequently cite as a symbol of Canada.

Source.

Victoria, Albert, and … Cartier? – 1850s

A 6-pence stamp featuring HRH Albert, the Prince Consort, was engraved by Alfred Jones and released in May 1851. This stamp actually preceded the June 1851 introduction of Queen Victoria herself, on a 12-pence stamp – also engraved by Jones. These two stamps were the second and third official stamps issued by the Province of Canada, and the inclusion of the monarchy has continued up to present day.

Prince Albert stamp. Source.

Queen Victoria stamp. Source.

Interestingly, Jacques Cartier was also featured on an 1859 stamp, despite not being a monarch. His inclusion in the 1859 stamp series demonstrates his perceived value as an early European explorer of the New World. Since then, explorers such as Martin Frobisher have also been celebrated on Canadian stamps.

“We Hold A Vaster Empire Than Has Been” – 1898

Leading up to Confederation and beyond, the face of the British monarch was still customary on many Canadian stamps. At Christmas of 1898, however, another imperial design emerged and has since become one of the most iconic stamps in Canadian history. Hon. William Mulock, then Postmaster General of Canada, hoped to prompt interest in fixing a uniform postage rate for the whole British Empire. He thus issued a stamp that illustrated the breadth of the British Empire.

The phrase "We Hold a Vaster Empire Than Has Been" comes from Welsh poet Sir William Morris' "A Song of Empire", written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Source.

L’Abitation de Québec & Quebec Military History – 1900s 

1908 saw the commemoration of 300 years since Samuel Champlain founded Québec. The colony of New France of course played a significant part in the history of Quebec and of Canada as a whole – yet King Edward VII’s consent was still required to deviate from the portrait of a monarch. The illustration on the Quebec stamp is adapted from Champlain’s own sketch, and the archaic French from his diaries is also present. 

"L'abitation de Quebec". Source.

Similarly, Generals Montcalm and Wolfe, known for their opposing leadership and for their deaths at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, were commemorated in a dual postage stamp, with permission likewise granted by the King.

The Fathers of Confederation – 1917 

One of the most famous images in Canadian history, this 50th anniversary commemoration was issued in 1917, followed by a joint portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Sir John A. Macdonald in 1927. The rest of this collection comprised stamps picturing the Canadian Parliament buildings; a map of Canada; and some of the country’s most prominent statesmen, including Hon. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Robert Baldwin, and Sir Louis Lafontaine. 

Source.

Of course, Canada Post has commemorated even more historical individuals since these earliest examples. Other historical figures, from military Generals like Sir Isaac Brock to leaders such as Louis Riel, would also be featured in the following decades. 

CONTEMPORARY THEMES

Nature, Sports, and Health

Apart from the monarchy and prominent figures in Canadian history, Canadian stamps also moved toward showcasing popular natural sites, such as the Rocky Mountains and other landscapes. Technological advances also became the norm on Canadian postage stamps by the 1930s and 40s; these demonstrated Canada’s progress, innovation, and production to the world. Accomplishments in health and education were also prominent in contemporary history since the Second World War, as Canada’s social development took the spotlight.

Similarly, a stamp collection in the 1950s depicted outdoor activities and sportsmanship; the series contained depictions of Indigenous populations which seem to observe their cultural activities through a third-person, distanced colonial perspective that romanticizes their way of life.

"Inuit Hunter", issued in 1955, presents a romanticized view of Inuit in Canada's north. Source.

Sporting achievements came more and more into use as the twentieth century progressed, with Stanley Cup victories and Olympic feats growing more popular on Canadian stamps.

Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games stamp, 1980. Source.

Canadian Art & Heraldry

Prominent Canadian artists like the Group of Seven have also been featured in Canadian stamps, with artists such as Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, and J.E.H. MacDonald receiving commemorative stamps in their honour.

Part of the Group of Seven commemorative stamp series, depicting Tom Thomson's "The Jack Pine". Source.

In the 1960s Canada Post also issued a series on the Canadian provinces, with one stamp featuring each province, its crest, and its provincial flower.

As a proud Ontarian, I had to share our provincial stamp from 1964! Source.

In 1970, Canada Post featured Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak’s print “The Enchanted Owl” on a stamp to mark 100 years since the Northwest Territories entered Confederation. This print and its corresponding stamp is certainly one of my favourites, as I’ve always loved Kenojuak’s beautiful work.

"Centennial of the Northwest Territories", featuring Kenojuak Ashevak's "The Enchanted Owl". Source.

Around the same time, artists such as John McCrae, the poet who wrote “In Flanders Fields” have also been remembered, with new artists and musicians featured as the years pass.

And finally, with all the commemorative stamps that are coming out these days, it wouldn’t really be Canada without a Vimy Ridge commemoration, would it? Our attention has always been directed toward our few military victories - and this year is no exception, since it’s the 100th anniversary of the Canadian victory at Vimy in WWI. The Vimy 100 series is being issued jointly with France.

I hope you enjoyed looking back through some old stamp collections! Do you have any favourite postage stamps or collections of your own?

Visit the Canadian Postal Archives here.

JANE ASH POITRAS: AN ANTI-COLONIAL STANCE AT THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

SHE'S MY MUSE

BY: NATANIA SHERMAN

Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art (Photo: Natania Sherman)

Milestone birthdays are a prime opportunity to celebrate but also to take stock and think about the future. Those of us in the culture sector in Canada are currently facing this exact challenge, since our institutions are preparing Canada 150 programming and events. It is easy to get lost in a celebration of our Canadian-ness but the challenge is that in moments of nationalistic pride it is difficult to remember that many people see our national symbols as painful reminders of a dark past. One need only look at the Colonialism 150 hashtag on Twitter to see the opposition many Canadian First Nations feel to the Canada 150 fanfare.

The Colonialism 150 T-shirt. (Source)

Although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) has led to a renewed awareness of Canada’s dark history of colonialism, there is still a long way to go before Canadian settlers and Canadian First Nations are able to truly reconcile with our past and create change for the future.  Today I’d like to take a view of Canadian history through the lens of Cree artist,  Jane Ash Poitras. A current exhibition, Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art  at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)'s First People's Gallery presents a darker take on Canadian symbolism and reveals what we can learn from listening to the perspectives and experiences of others.

A collage of colonial symbolism (photo: Natania Sherman)

Although the purpose of Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary First Nations Art at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is to highlight new acquisitions, the resulting display, which places historical and ethnographic objects next to Poitras' paintings, is a subversive and anti-colonial take on the museological tradition of showing off newly acquired objects.  The tagline of the exhibition is "Four paintings recently acquired by the ROM explore colonialism and traditional knowledge of the therapeutic properties and spiritual significance of plants, wisdom now lost but which we hope to reclaim" (ROM, 2017).  The works in question are large scale paintings by Poitras that contrast traditional indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants with the drudge work imposed on indigenous youth by the residential school system. Works like Potato Peeling 101, Ethnobotany 101 directly challenge historical white settler's assumptions that children from indigenous communities were only good for peeling potatoes, by highlighting medicinal knowledge such as the fact that foxglove or digitalis purpurea had medicinal uses familiar to first nations peoples well before its medicinal properties were "discovered" by European scientists. Poitras' paintings tell a story through scale and through the sheer number of paint and collage elements included in each piece. Large painted backdrops resembling a classroom blackboard are overlayed with colonial symbols like the Hudson's Bay Company stripes and images of western medical textbooks. Poitras' hand painted elements creep in to overtake the colonial symbols in the form of expressionistic flowers and stylized buffalo, representing traditional knowledge and sacred medicine.

Buffalo Seed by Jane Ash Poitras (Photo: Natania Sherman)

The exhibit features ethnographic and historical objects alongside the paintings; a school writing desk and baskets for gathering herbs. In the context of the installation and interpretation, these objects take on a spectral quality, highlighting the losses in culture and disruption to family and social life that were a legacy of the residential school system.


 The modes of display also work to reinforce Poitras' artistic voice. Red and yellow interpretive text featuring botanical illustrations, The beautiful red interpretive labels, give this exhibition the feel of a very well designed pop-up exhibit, and they add to the aesthetics of the exhibition with botanical illustrations. The exhibit  features ethnographic and historical objects alongside the paintings; a school writing desk and baskets for gathering herbs. In the context of the installation and interpretation, these objects take on a spectral quality, highlighting the losses in culture and disruption to family and social life that were a legacy of the residential school system.

The new acquisitions' also look at the buffalo hunt, and how over hunting and extermination by European settlers nearly wiped out a key food soucre for First Nations peoples. The painting Buffalo Seed from 2004, which tells the story of the buffalo, is contrasted with oil paintings by European artist George Catlin, that romanticize the buffalo hunt as a dying relic of a dying people. Poitras' paintings tell us otherwise and are a scathing critique of our easy assumptions about  Canadian history.

I wish I could continue to write about all of the indigenous women artists whose work sometimes flies under the radar when it comes to the dominant narrative of Canadian History. So often we struggle to name even one woman artist when asked, (in fact there's a challenge about just this from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in the States) so creating a dialogue whenever possible highlights the importance of female voices in our cultural landscape.

THE SCREAM AND THE SWING, SUBJUGATION AND STRENGTH: SHAME AND PREJUDICE: A STORY OF RESILIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ART MUSEUM

EXHIBITION REVIEW

BY: SADIE MACDONALD

Emily Welsh mentioned Art Museum at the University of Toronto's latest exhibit Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience in a January "What’s Happening Wednesday" column, so here I am to tell you just what is happening in this exhibition, and to convince you to see it if you haven't already…  because really, you ought to see it.

Kent Monkman, a Canadian artist of Cree and Irish heritage and a member of the Fish River band of Northern Manitoba, is the mastermind behind this exhibition. Created as a “Canada 150” project, Shame and Prejudice portrays Indigenous experiences of the past 150 years. These stories of devastation and deliberate destruction by the Canadian state, and the “resiliency and strength” of the Indigenous people who withstood it, are influenced by Monkman’s personal experiences and told in memoir format by Miss Chief Eagle Testickle.

Miss Chief Eagle Testickle in front of the Fathers of Confederation. The Daddies, Kent Monkman, 2016. Collection of Christine Armstrong and Irfhan Rawji. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald

Miss Chief is an alter-ego created by Monkman, and he has often dressed as her and depicted her in his paintings. With her flamboyant poses, high heels, and, often, a whip in hand, she uses sexuality and campy humour to make a point. Miss Chief is a symbol of Monkman’s Two-Spirit identity and a representation of Indigenous empowerment against colonial control. As Monkman puts it, Miss Chief “embodies the flawed and playful trickster spirit, teasing out the truths behind false histories and cruel experiences.” In this exhibition, she is the narrator and frequently a subject as she recalls Indigenous experiences of Canada.

The exhibition is organized by sections according to themes such as “STARVATION,” “INCARCERATION,” and “URBAN REZ,” though those themes are not numbered in chronological order. Works include installations and acrylic paintings by Monkman as well as historical paintings, documents, and other objects, which create a sense of reiteration and juxtaposition. For example, one room has historical works such as period paintings of John A. Macdonald and Wilfrid Laurier, a reproduction of Treaty 7, and Pîhtokahanapiwiyin's moccasins, which are situated alongside Monkman’s paintings The Subjugation of Truth and A Country Wife. The historical and modern styles appear to blend seamlessly at first glance, but a closer look at The Subjugation of Truth reveals anachronistic participants from the government, clergy, and RCMP forcing a grim-faced Pîhtokahanapiwiyin and Mistahimaskwa to sign a treaty; in A Country Wife, mascara runs from the eyes of Macdonald’s wife.

A wall in the "WARDS OF THE STATE / THE INDIAN PROBLEM" section of the exhibition. Kent Monkman's The Subjugation of Truth, 2016, is shown in the middle. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald. 

Monkman’s paintings are large, making close inspection necessary. Viewers are able to get close to the art, and the details are then slowly yet startlingly revealed. Monkman’s immense landscapes are evocative of the romantic ideal of the sublime and pastoral scenes in nineteenth-century European art. He employs the characteristics of Western art as well as direct references to specific works, such as The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. These trappings are ultimately subverted by the details within.

Left: Le Petit déjeuner sur l'herbe, Kent Monkman, 2014. Right: Bad Medicine, Kent Monkman, 2014. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald.

Bad Medicine, the painting with the bears shown above to the right, has some disturbing details upon closer glance.

Detail, Bad Medicine, Kent Monkman, 2014. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald.

Here is a close-up of one such detail. A Picasso-esque woman is sprawled on the ground as a bear towers over her, the contents of her purse spilling onto the sidewalk. Among the contents are bear repellent, a container of pills, and a bottle of alcohol.

Starvation Plates, Kent Monkman, 2017. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald

Monkman bluntly explores the uncomfortable and unjust history of Canadian colonization. This table is in one of the last rooms of the exhibition. Under glass is a setting of European fine dining on top of commemorative plates, while the end of the table is uncovered and littered with animal bones. Here, plates created by Monkman depict photographs of the mass killing of buffalo. This installation shows that the spoils of colonialism created a feast for white Canadian colonizers, while their extermination of the plains buffalo left Indigenous people with scraps – and no seat at the table.

In a series of raw and painful remembrances, I found the most heartbreaking segment to be “FORCIBLE TRANSFER OF CHILDREN”, which focuses on the removal of Indigenous children under the residential school system. This section has its own room within the gallery. Dominating the room is a large painting entitled The Scream, which depicts Indigenous children being taken away by members of the clergy and the RCMP while their mothers resist and desperately fight to hold onto their children. Historical cradleboard baby carriers line the wall on either side of the painting, though some spaces on the wall are taken up by industrial-looking skeletons of baby carriers, or chalk outlines in place of a carrier. Even Miss Chief’s interpretive panel can’t bear to go into detail here: “The pain is too deep.”

The Scream, Kent Monkman, 2016. Photo Credit: Sadie MacDonald.

Yet through such pain, Indigenous strength shines through in the exhibition. Reminders of the determined courage and endurance of Indigenous people create a narrative thread throughout Miss Chief Eagle Testickle’s memoirs. She herself appears often as a symbol of reclamation and a rallying cry to her people. As she puts it: “The others cannot see our magic, they try to tell us it is not there, but they do not understand the power of Miss Chief and they sorely underestimate the resilience of our people.”

Shame and Prejudice is uninhibited, unsettling, and utterly remarkable. Monkman’s art provides a voice that is very much needed during our Canada 150 celebrations this year. Shame and Prejudice will be at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto until March 5 and will then go on tour around Canada (including to my home province at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia!). If you get the chance to see it, please do.

CELEBRATING CANADA 150

WHAT'S HAPPENING WEDNESDAYS

BY: EMILY WELSH

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the January edition of What's Happening Wednesdays! Today is #MuseumSelfie Day! Are you celebrating? Post your selfies on social media and continue reading this edition to explore five upcoming Canada 150 events and the resources you can use to stay up to date with events taking place throughout the year.

Throwback to one of my favourite selfies - on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. 

1. Canada on Screen - Toronto International Film Festival 

Start the car! This commercial for Ikea Canada is included in Canada on Screen's list of 150 essential works of moving-images. Source.

TIFF and their partners are celebrating Canada's moving-image heritage through Canada on Screen, a program of FREE events, screenings, guest talks and more all based on a list of 150 essential works. This list, compiled from polls of industry professionals, includes animation, commercials, documentaries, features, shorts and television series. The program began in January, with works from the list included in TIFF's Canada's Top Ten Film Festival which runs from January 13th - January 26th. The events will continue throughout the year in Toronto and in other cities across Canada.

To learn more visit http://www.tiff.net/canadaonscreen/?tab=about

Click here to download the full press release detailing when events will take place and the complete 150 list.

2. Winterlicious - City of Toronto

This year's Winterlicious includes culinary events celebrating Canada 150. Source.

The City of Toronto's winter celebration of all things food takes place January 27th - February 9th at more than 220 restaurants. As part of 2017's celebration, diners are invited to explore Canada's history through food, with ticketed culinary events such as Casa Loma's Celebrating 150 years of Canadian Cuisine and FUSE's Elements of Soul - 150 years of Caribbean Influence. At Casa Loma, visitors will enjoy Canadian dishes of the past and present while at FUSE diners will explore "contributions made by generations of Black Caribbeans to Canada's soul food and music offerings."

To learn more about the restaurants participating in this years Winterlicious and the special culinary events available visit http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=e0e8a417e9dd2410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

3. Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience - University of Toronto Art Centre

Kent Monkman's exhibit, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, begins at the University of Toronto Art Centre on January 26th with a reception from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. Through Monkman's artistic works and historical artworks and artifacts from other collections, the visitor explores Canada's history, from the present to 150 years before confederation, and First Nation's resilience. The traveling exhibit will premiere at the centre until March 4th.

Public lecture by Kent Monkman: February 1st, 2017, 4:30pm - 6:00pm, University College Room 140

Curatorial tour with Kent Monkman: February 4th, 2017, 2:00pm.

To learn more visit: http://www.artmuseum.utoronto.ca/
and http://canada150.utoronto.ca/event/kent-monkman-shame-prejudice-story-resilience/

4. Our Journey - Spadina Museum

Spadina Museum asks visitors to contribute to Our Journey, on at the museum from February 4th - December 31st 2017. Source.

From February 4th - December 31st, 2017, the Spadina Museum invites visitors to contribute to Our Journey, an exhibit exploring the diversity of Canadians. Visitors are invited to share their family's origin and share some of their family story by creating stories and/or art that answers questions including: "When did you or your ancestors first arrive in Canada? What does indigenous Canadian mean to you? What is the best thing about living in Toronto?"

*The art map is free but there is a charge for admission to the museum.

To learn more about Spadina Museum and the project visit here and here.

5. My City My Six - Cultural Hotspot 2017  

This year, from May to October, the Cultural Hotspot program is highlighting and celebrating the arts, heritage, cultue, businesses and communities of East York. As part of the program comes My City My Six, a public art project celebrating Canada 150 and the diversity of Toronto. Torontonians are invited to submit six word stories that describe essential aspects of themselves and their lives. Submissions will be accepted from January through May after which a jury will select submissions to be displayed in the fall exhibit; the exhibit will take place city-wide in transit shelters, on billboards and in other public spaces.

To learn more about the Cultural Hotspot program and My City My Six visit here.       

Canada 150 Online Resources

Canada 150 events will be taking place across the country throughout the year! Here are some of the resources you can use to keep track of what's happening:

TO Canada with Love is the city of Toronto's Canada 150 program with information on exhibitions, celebration and commemorations. Check their event calendar throughout the year.

Ontario150 will give you details on how Ontario is celebrating it's and Canada's 150th anniversary.

The Government of Canada's Canada150 page will give you information on events, programs and social media links.

The University of Toronto has a website for it's Canada150 events, history and programming.

And of course there is social media! 

Source.

City of Toronto Historic Sites has released this summary of Canada 150 hashtags to help us follow along and participate with Canada 150. You can also follow the Government of Canada's Canada 150 accounts on twitter, instagram and facebook.

City of Toronto Historic Sites has produced this summary of Canada 150 hashtags. Source.

If you know of any additional upcoming Canada 150 events, online resources, or hashtags, please add your comments below!

CANADA 150: A COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

(FUN)DRAISING

BY: MAYA DONKERS

As the first semester of the 2016/2017 year comes to a close and students everywhere rejoice in the thought of a well-deserved holiday, so sweeps in 2017. And with it, Canada's 150th birthday. As stated by Melanie Jolie, Minister of Canadian Heritage, "The 150th anniversary of Confederation is an opportunity for a whole generation of Canadians to come together and celebrate our accomplishments. This important step will allow us to strengthen the bonds between Canadians from all regions of the country and to build, together, a vision for our future.”

To wish our country a very happy birthday, a new community fund was announced to bring Canadians together leading up to the big day.

NB: I completely disagree with the background imagery. Source.

What is the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program?

Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program is part of the federal government's approach to celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.

The $150-million program was originally launched in May 2015.

In Budget 2016, the Government of Canada committed an additional $150 million over two years to renovate, expand and improve existing community and cultural infrastructure, including projects that support a better future for Indigenous peoples and advance a clean growth economy.

By doubling investments in community infrastructure across the country, the Fund supports improvements to community centres, museums, parks and arenas. 

As best described by Ian Bird, President of Community Foundations of Canada, “[The Program] is an historic moment with the power to strengthen our communities and our connection to one another. The Fund will encourage all Canadians to contribute to their communities in a way that fosters a greater sense of belonging, inclusion, and reconciliation, leaving a lasting legacy for our communities and our country.”

The logo that will be everywhere, very soon. Source. 

How much funding is available? 

The program in southern Ontario is set to be delivered with a total allocation of up to $88.8 million over two years.

• FedDev Ontario may contribute up to $1 million per eligible project;
• Funding recipients may receive up to 50 percent of total eligible project costs;
• Priority may be given to applicants requiring only 33.3 percent of total eligible project costs;
• Priority may also be given to smaller-scoped projects to ensure broad program reach.

What's next?

The first intake was received and funding was dispersed accordingly. The second intake has closed for the 150 Fund, so no new projects will be able to submit for funding. 

With all this support going out to exciting new programs, keep an eye out in your local communities for all variety of engagement in celebration of a nation. 

Sources

McLean, Melody. 2016. "New Community Fund for Canada's 150th to build community and encourage participation for the sesquicentennial." Community Foundations of Canada. http://communityfoundations.ca/new-community-fund-for-canadas-150th-to-build-community-and-encourage-participation-for-the-sesquicentennial/

Western Economic Diversification Canada. 2016 "Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program." Western Economic Diversification Canada. http://www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/18873.asp