National Indigenous Peoples Day | 2023

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY | 17

SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 2023

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Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art is an artist-run centre and gallery space in the Exchange District. They are a nationally recognized leader in Indigenous arts programming in Canada. Urban Shaman offers exhibitions and associated programming, workshops, residencies and curatorial initiatives for artists at every stage of their career and gives voice to wide- ranging discourses surrounding contemporary Aboriginal art. “In the ’90s, there was not any exhibition space for Indigenous contemporary artists to show. At the time, there was a questioning and an assertion about what is Indigenous and Aboriginal art. People weren’t recognizing that we are an evolving and adaptable people and have had certain types of styles enforced on us,” says interim director Debbie Keeper, referring to what many people generally think of as Indigenous art such as soapstone carvings, printmaking, West Coast- style art or Woodland art. “There were a lot of Indigenous artists working in contemporary formats even back then, like digital media, installation, painting, [with] less focus on the pan-Indian style of art that the mainstream really loves — but that’s not what a lot of contemporary Indigenous artists are doing. They may be revisiting that in another way but more as exploration and a way to reclaim culture.” Urban Shaman is committed to challenging people’s notions of what Indigenous art is and how it can be appreciated. They are eager to create programming that can’t be housed in commercial spaces, such as large- scale installations or virtual reality.

They also offer an online experience to bring art to the viewer called the 360 gallery. After an exhibit is over, people can access a digital experience online. The archive lives on their website for around a year, allowing a wider audiences to see it and providing increased exposure for the artists. Urban Shaman is preparing for their monthly open house as part of First Fridays and a new exhibit featuring Ian Kuali’i— a mixed heritage Hawaiian and Apache artist who works with cut paper designs — that will open in July. They are also excited about an upcoming move into the Market Lands development in downtown Winnipeg. “It would mean a lot for us because we would finally have a street presence,” Keeper says. “We’ve been around since the mid-’90s, and a lot of Winnipeggers don’t even know we exist.”

MANITOBA MÉTIS FEDERATION

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

LOCATION: SELKIRK PARK, 486 EVELINE STREET, SELKIRK MB

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: PANCAKE BREAKFAST 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM: OPENING CEREMONIES AND REMARKS 1:00 PM - 7:00PM: BBQ AND RED RIVER MÉTIS ENTERTAINMENT FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM: BILL SMOLINSKI (SOUND) • DAVE LAVALLEE • GLEN HEWGILL • MORGAN GRACE & KEITH • KEVIN CHIEF SQUARE-DANCERS • EDDIE FLEURY (METIS MAN IN BLACK) • MARK MORRISSEAU • DWIGHT KLATT • ART GLADU - DIAMOND • KINEW YOUTH DANCERS • JERRY SEREDA • DEAN & MARILYN DAVIS

JUNE 21, 2023

MANITOBA MÉTIS FEDERATION

MANITOBA MÉTIS