Written submission to Special Senate Committee on the Arctic by Stephen Borys, PhD, MBA, Director & CEO, Art Gallery November 2018

The Art Centre project at the Winnipeg Art Gallery

As we build the new Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, I am constantly thinking about – and rethinking – the idea of the museum; not just what it looks like, but how it functions, communicates, and what and who it stands for today. The Winnipeg Art Gallery houses the world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art with close to 14,000 carvings, drawings, prints, textiles, and new media. In addition, the Government of has placed on long-term loan their entire fine art collection comprising almost 8,000 works.

The WAG began collecting Inuit art in the 1950s when this art form was largely unknown in

Canada’s south. Supported by an unparalleled record of exhibitions, publications, research, and outreach, this collection represents Inuit identity, culture, and history – and it lies at the heart of the

Inuit Art Centre journey.

To celebrate the art and to honour the people who have created these Inuit works, the WAG is building an Inuit Art Centre, the first of its kind in the world. This new 40,000 square foot structure, adjacent and connected to the Winnipeg Art Gallery, will be a centre for exhibitions and programs, research and learning, studio practice and artmaking. It will be a bridge, enabling peoples from the North and South to meet, learn, and work together. It will be a gathering place— a community hub for exploration and advancement—with the art serving as a lens on ’s

Arctic. Built on the strengths of the WAG’s Inuit art collection and its global reputation in the field, the Centre will also embolden the Gallery’s critical role in presenting Indigenous art and culture.

This new museum is still a building, but its infrastructure is much greater than any form or edifice. Advancing beyond but not neglecting the age-old tasks of collecting, preserving and

1 exhibiting, the new museum is about dialogue, exploration and reconciliation. The museum reflects, responds to – and is the community. It is a collection of objects, ideas, and people reflecting cultures and stories that look back and ahead.

Art is a living and dynamic force in the world capable of imparting and shaping ideas and perspectives. With art there is always the exciting prospect of opening people’s minds to new images and ideas, new ways of thinking and perspectives on life and society. The Inuit Art Centre will be a transformative place led by the images and stories from the art, people, and land.

Linking northern and southern Canada is at the core of the Centre’s mission where art is a vehicle for artistic, educational, and economic development. Through regional, national, and international partnerships, the Centre will be a place for innovation and exploration. Northern partners and stakeholders have embraced this international project, and continue to inspire and inform, leading us on a journey to their land and culture.

With more than 50 percent of the population in the four Inuit territories under the age of 24, the engagement of young audiences is critical for the new Centre. The WAG, with Cisco and

TakingITGlobal, hosts virtual field trips for schools across the North. A cultural-worker training program for Inuit youth is being developed for the North, in partnership with the Government of

Nunavut. In partnership with Arctic College, the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit Heritage

Trust, the Inuit Art Centre Gallery will offer internships to Inuit for hands-on work experience.

The WAG is a conduit for trade and business opportunities between and Nunavut.

The bi-annual Kivalliq and Baffinland Regional Chamber of Commerce Trade Show takes place at the WAG with the next show scheduled for February 2019. WAG@The Forks and the WAG

Gallery Shop provide new retail opportunities for Inuit artists. The WAG participates in various international, national and regional conferences, trades shows, symposia that support Northern and Inuit art and culture.

2 With its exhibitions, programs, and outreach, the Inuit Art Centre will help shift the public experience through art, establishing new pathways to understanding and appreciation. Innovative learning and training initiatives in the Centre will ensure that Indigenous cultural workers have a place to study, train, and to work in the field. Internships will be developed for educators, curators, conservators, and other museum professionals. Inuit artists and Elders will be onsite to promote knowledge and skill transfer, incorporating multiple generations.

The WAG is a partner in a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

(SSHRC) grant, in conjunction with and , to build a blueprint to bring more Inuit into careers as arts workers. This seven-year project will build a conduit for training and employment opportunities in the North and South. Training will take place at the WAG and in participants’ home communities.

Two new Indigenous positions at the WAG, in senior management and curatorial departments, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, will strengthen our teams and further embolden the Indigenization of the WAG as we prepare for the opening of the Inuit Art Centre.

The Inuit Art Centre offers a critical path to sharing Inuit art and culture with the world, and in increasing value and understanding. We continue to build relationships in all Inuit regions, as well as the rest of Canada, to ensure the WAG is serving national interests – in the arts and culture, education, and economic development sectors.

The Centre’s exhibitions and programming are being guided by a national Indigenous

Advisory Circle. An all-Inuit curatorial team for the inaugural exhibitions is being led by curator and academic Dr. Heather Igloliorte with emerging curators/artists Asinnajaq, Jade Nasogaluak

Carpenter, and Krista Ulujuk Zawadski. This team represents all regions of Inuit Nunangat, including the Inuvialuit region of the western Arctic; the territory of Nunavut; Nunavik, ; and

Nunatsiavut, Labrador. The exhibitions of the Inuit Art Centre will be forward-looking, inclusive,

3 collaborative, and dynamic -- featuring contemporary Inuit art today, from digital media and installation art to mixed-media sculpture, music, and photography.

The WAG is creating internships as well as permeant employment opportunities for those of

Inuit descent. The Government of Nunavut and WAG collections are being used as a tool to train young people and cultural workers, in partnership with Government of Nunavut and the Inuit

Heritage Trust. Launched in 2018, this program brings young people from Northern communities to the WAG to learn from the collection as well as their Elders.

From the Inuit Art Centre’s inception, we have benefited from the guidance of Inuit – artists, elders, youth, and community leaders. With their counsel, and the direction from the WAG’s

Indigenous curators and educators, we have begun to implement the cultural recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using art to spur dialogue and understanding, we look to new ways to support this national initiative. The Centre will be at the forefront of the journey.

The WAG and Inuit Art Foundation have started national consultation to identify the programs and programming required to ensure the perpetuation of Inuit art. The WAG is working with partners across Canada to initiate conversations, encourage dialogue and identify pilot projects to aid artistic development and enhance markets.

The long-term loan of the Nunavut Fine Arts Collections to the WAG allows this national treasure to be shared and celebrated. Special national and international touring exhibitions supported by dynamic, interactive online content will raise the profile and understanding of Inuit art and artists. And we are working to establish a network of Canadian museums and galleries dedicated to supporting an ongoing dialogue on curatorial and exhibition practice in the field of

Inuit art.

Through local, regional, and national dialogues, guided by the WAG Indigenous Advisory

Circle, we have sought counsel from Inuit communities, artists, arts organizations, governments

4 and birthright organizations. Their concerns and hopes have shaped our thinking. Inuit have told us how they would like their art shared, their stories told, and who should tell them. Inuit voices are leading this narrative.

The WAG Inuit Art Centre invites the world to experience Inuit art and culture through transformative objects, images, and stories. Opening in 2020, the Inuit Art Centre project stands as a welcoming beacon for people in the north and across the country. This new museum will be about a creative and evolving conversation sustained through open and respectful dialogue.

Values and stories honor and reflect the full community of stakeholders and constituents.

Fostering new voices and ideas will help ensure the WAG and the Inuit Art Centre remain meaningful, present, and around for the next century. The exercise is a defining force for the museum for the 21st century.

Stephen Borys, PhD, MBA Director & CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery

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