Organized by MSVU Art Gallery, in partnership with Agnes Etherington Art Centre & the Esker Foundation
The Canadian Forces Artists Program was founded in 2001, as an opportunity for artists to address the complex relationships between culture and conflict. Terms of Engagement includes works by three “embedded” artists: Dick Averns (posted to the Middle East, 2009), nichola feldman-kiss (posted to Sudan, 2011) and Adrian Stimson (posted to Afghanistan, 2010). All of the artists work in lens-based media (photography and video) and sculpture. Stimson, a member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation, incorporates traditional ceremonial materials, razor wire and painting in his installations.
The exhibition takes no singular position on the merits of making war or peace. The art’s ambivalence frames the questions posed by the curator: Is there still a role for Canadian peacekeeping? Or has the country been “rebranded”, as a “Warrior Nation”?
