MSVU Art Gallery

ANTHEM: Perspectives on Home and Native Land
2008-08-25 - 2008-10-05 | Canada
In this exhibition the following artists present their responses to forms of Canadian identity, nationhood and nationalism: KC Adams, FASTWÜRMS, Cynthia Girard, Dana Inkster, Alisdair MacRae, Shirley Moorhouse and Eric Robertson. These seven artists from diverse backgrounds (including African-Nova Scotian, aboriginal and Inuit) consult their personal and communal selves to formulate the variations of “sovereignty” that they express as their “anthem.” The results counter stereotypes by presenting ideas that Canadian multiculturalism policies fail to encompass. The artistic media include digital photographs, video, painting, textiles and installations.
Organized by Carleton University Art Gallery

The Archaeology of Origin - Transnational Visions of Africa in a Borderless Cinema
2000-02-03 - 2000-02-24
This film series brings together seven works by black film and video makers from Britain, Canada, France, Martinique and the US. Two of the films, Making Change and Welcome to Africville, are set in Nova Scotia. In her catalogue essay, guest curator Sheila Petty observes that, “black peoples who have had a long history of coping with dispersal through slavery, exile and migration have pushed the boundaries of “origin” by developing transnational strategies that combine nations, cultures and journeys.”
The hybridizing tendencies of these films and videos extend beyond questions of national origin to blend artistic genres such as fiction, documentary, sci-fi and music video. For viewers of the concurrent James R. Shirley retrospective, this film series may serve to situate his production along a spectrum of African Diasporic practices.
Produced by MSVU Art Gallery with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Wrap-up Talk
During the final evening of screenings, film scholar Dr. Sheila Petty and visiting filmmaker Salem Mekuria (Ethiopia/US) gave a talk at the Gallery.
