Witnessing 40 Years of Urban Aboriginal Art

Date: Friday, November 23, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Location: Victoria Native Friendship Centre, 231 Regina Ave

During the past year, Peter Morin, Shona Collison, and Leslie McGarry have collaborated on a series of two-evening exhibitions. The exhibition are small, only fourteen artworks. There are no labels connected to artworks. The curators are present to tell stories about the art, about the artists. This exhibition is about communicating the history of the artwork, and the history of the urban aboriginal community.
The curatorial team have had the opportunity to work with a unique archive of art and stories from the urban aboriginal community. Collison, McGarry, and Morin designed and sequenced the exhibitions to acknowledge the artistic practices of the three island nations: Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwaka’wakw. The exhibition series called Witnessing of 40 years of Urban Aboriginal Art will complete its final installment on November 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre’s Annual Open House at 231 Regina Avenue.
Witnessing 40 Years of Urban Aboriginal Art samples the artistic legacy of the VNFC art collection, and is the first public exhibition of work from this collection. For this final installment of this exhibition series, the curators will share their reflections on how art can accumulate over four decades and how we can continue to help the stories emerge from the art of the community.