I
n the Canadian Salon of the National
Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, early 20
th
-cen-
tury paintings are clustered on a red wall.
In the foreground, a magnificent birchbark
canoe highlights Indigenous artistry from the
same time period.
In another room, a vitrine displays Indige-
nous beadwork against the backdrop of Tom
Thomson's The Jack Pine.
Throughout the National Gallery of Canada's
new Canadian and Indigenous Galleries, which
opened June 15, a conversation is taking place
between works by Indigenous and non-Indige-
nous creators, says Josée-Britanie Mallet, the
gallery's senior media and public relations officer.
"The idea was to tell a more complete story of art
made in Canada," she says. Pieces made at the
same time are displayed together, to show how
styles influenced each other or evolved in parallel.
"It's not new," she adds, explaining that the
gallery has been displaying Indigenous art for
many years. "It's just that we're doing it in a dif-
ferent, bigger way."
Works made before 1967 are displayed in per-
manent galleries. A separate exhibition, Canadian
and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present (until April 30,
2018), features more than 150 modern pieces,
including recent drawings by Annie Pootoogook
and other Inuit artists, and a video installation by
the collective General Idea.
MADE
IN
CANADA
BY LAURA BYRNE PAQUET
TRAVEL PLANNER
For more information on the National Gallery of
Canada and its galleries, visit gallery.ca.
TOP RIGHT: Janet Kigusiuq Uqayuittuq
Night-time in Camp, 1990
Graphite and coloured pencil on wove paper, 56.3 x 76 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa NGC
DS
