A recent rebranding campaign at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) introduced to emphasize Indigenous perspectives has been met with a mix of criticism and praise from local Indigenous artists and academics.
The rebranding launched on June 30 features a new circular logo and updated colour scheme and accompanies the release of the NGC’s first ever five-year strategic plan. The plan promises concrete policy changes relating to Indigenous representation at the gallery.
According to the strategic plan, the gallery will form a standing Indigenous Advisory Committee to consult on matters related to decolonization.
Shannon Moore, a writer for the National Gallery, told the Charlatan in an emailed statement that the committee, to be formed at the end of the fiscal year, will directly advise the gallery’s core leadership. In advance of this committee being formed, Moore said the gallery will hire a director of Indigenous affairs and decolonization who will be tasked with recruiting members of this council.
Laurel Thomas, a beadwork artist from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, said the committee is a promising first step but the gallery should focus on prioritizing voices from smaller First Nations communities such as the Haida, Mi’kmaq and Haudenosaunee when seeking insight from Indigenous groups.
“Giving these [smaller] nations a spotlight might allow for modern forms of expression towards recent historical events from an Indigenous point of view,” Thomas said. “This educates our non-Indigenous siblings on what actually occurred [historically] in its authenticity and in turn leads to a better understanding and accurate depiction of our people.”
The press release announcing the rebrand also states that the gallery plans to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into exhibits that have historically excluded them.
Leading this initiative is the Rembrandt in Amsterdam: Creativity and Competition exhibit, which launched in July. The exhibit features Indigenous artwork and commentary on the relationship between Dutch colonialism and Indigenous peoples.
Stephen Inglis, a professor of art and architectural history at Carleton and former executive director of the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, praised the gallery’s new approach for uniting the traditionally separate streams of Indigenous and European-settler Canadian art history.
“I think it enables the gallery to not only talk about art but also the history of the country and different tensions and capacities that art has to represent experience,” Inglis said. “If you’re going to have European artists commenting on a particular situation, this kind of blending allows [Indigenous] artists and historians to comment in the same way.”
Carmen Robertson, a Scots-Lakota contemporary Indigenous art history and curatorial studies professor at Carleton, said the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in exhibits such as these is a welcome but incomplete shift in programming.
“Building collections and adjusting curatorial planning impacts institutional direction, but I think it’s necessary to hire additional Indigenous curators and other staff in order to shift art discourse in ways that embed Indigenous ways of knowing into all aspects of the gallery’s structure,” Robertson said.
The gallery’s strategic plan does not state the gallery will hire Indigenous curators or staff members outside of the advisory committee, but does outline a commitment to making the gallery more accessible to Indigenous communities and individuals. Beginning in July, the gallery decided to waive all admission fees for Indigenous visitors to the gallery.
Thomas said the decision to waive admission fees is vital for Indigenous youth as it could eliminate some financial barriers that would prevent them from finding artistic inspiration. She added that the gallery should also develop programming and funding explicitly aimed at Indigenous youth.
“Being able to see yourself through someone else and their accomplishments has a huge impact on youth that may come from lower income families and have started to lose hope,” Thomas said. “It’s encouraging to know that someone who was similar to them is recognized and accomplished because it means they are capable too.”
Inglis also praised the decision to waive admission fees but said that accessibility goes beyond the price of an admission ticket. He said the gallery could become more accessible if it included more Indigenous perspectives and language within texts that accompany artwork on display.
“When people come to the gallery and look at these texts on the walls, which are a major form of interpretation, I think it’s important that they recognize some of these voices from their own communities or people,” Inglis said.
He added that having Indigenous staff members on hand to communicate with visitors achieves a similar effect.
“Indigenous people are diverse and have their own ways of looking at art and what it represents, which are fascinating,” Inglis said. “Sharing those worlds, as well as the actual contents on the wall, is the gallery’s responsibility.”
Featured image by Saif Rahman.
