A new exhibit is providing a space for the Carleton University community to come together and learn about settler colonialism in a way that facilitates open dialogue.
Opened on Jan. 20, watching territory contains various forms of artwork that challenge people to expand their understanding of Canada’s colonial past and present.
Stéfy McKnight, co-curator of watching territory and an assistant professor in media production and design at Carleton, said the goal of the exhibit is to create a space where artists, students, scholars and community members can come together to discuss colonialism and surveillance.
“[The exhibit] creates a space for compassion, love, joy and what I call care-laboration,” they said
McKnight said the exhibit encourages visitors to consider how different authorities within Canadian society, such as Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, can act as unwanted surveillance among Indigenous communities.
Watching territory contains paintings, photographs, projections of land, and even a hunting camera that displays live footage from the room. McKnight said the collection pushes people to explore the nuances of territory and its “tumultuous relationship with colonialism and surveillance” in a safe space.
McKnight said they want people to consider the ways in which settlers have imposed borders on Indigenous communities that have displaced them from their land, including the land on which Carleton University is located.
During the exhibit’s opening reception, Kayleigh Lewis, co-curator of the exhibit and first-year master’s student in international affairs at Carleton, performed a land acknowledgement that went beyond recognizing the land the exhibit is held on.
“Unceded is a big word, but it means that this land was never surrendered, given, sold or relinquished,” Lewis said. “This fact is central to understanding historical and present-day relationships between sovereign Indigenous nations and settlers in so-called Canada.”
“They remind us of our shared responsibility to reflect on the legacies that have led us here today,” she said.
“This requires us to recognize the resilience, the strength, and the contribution of the Indigenous peoples who continue to protect their lands and advocate for justice, their livelihood, and their culture.”
McKnight and Lewis said they want people to come to the exhibit with questions, treating it as a place to re-learn concepts related to territory, surveillance and colonialism.
“This exhibition is very important for bringing forth diverse perspectives and finding unique ways of dealing with these conversations that still respect the integrity of the story,” Lewis said
The room, while small, is arranged in a way that allows attendees to sit down and engage in open conversations with others.
Theo Dunn, a first-year master’s student in philosophy and digital humanities at Carleton, attended the opening reception and said his takeaway from the exhibit was conceptualizing different relationships to land.
“We look at land very much from a property standpoint or from an unclaimed standpoint,” he said. “So going through Indigenous artist-scholars’ work and their relationships to land is very important.”
Lewis said the use of art to share the stories provides a more “humanistic perspective.”
“A lot of the times when we tell these stories within institutions, especially academia, it becomes an overwritten experience.”
Lewis said they wanted people to learn in a way that engages with Indigenous values to better understand the history and importance of land. The exhibit provides an opportunity to further examine the “complexities of surveillance practices,” Lewis added, and to “grow towards reconciliation.”
Dunn said reconciliation was an important consideration that the exhibit successfully conveyed.
“[The exhibit] gives students, faculty and staff a really important opportunity to see what decolonization looks like,” Dunn said. “We can better implement that into our practices, both as researchers and as community members.”
Lewis said she wants attendees to feel a sense of welcoming that opens the floor for community discourse.
“The biggest thing is having those inclusive conversations and making things accessible for everyone, no matter [who] they are.”
Watching territory runs until April 25 in Dunton Tower room 1105. Admission is free.
Featured Image by Grace Martin/the Charlatan.
