People twice removed

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This article was published 06/02/2025 (570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Shaman Never Die, a striking, large-scale 1989 mixed-media work by Cree painter and printmaker Jane Ash Poitras, language is rendered in many different ways. In syllabics. In English. In newsprint. In drawings. All layered atop one another, all jockeying for space.

At the top of the canvas, written in blood-red paint, are the words “preserve our language and culture.”

“It’s a representation of how our existence on this territory is also very layered,” says Nestor Wynrush (a.k.a. Elliott Walsh), the Winnipeg-based MC, writer, organizer, workshop facilitator and now, co-curator of Threads of Kin and Belonging: A Trinnipeg Live Mixtape Project, a new exhibition opening at WAG-Qaumajuq Saturday, with a free public celebration Friday.

“I speak as a person from the Black African Caribbean diaspora that has been greatly affected by these triangles of colonialism that have brought us here. The idea of people twice removed, threads of kin and belonging. What land do we belong to? Who do we belong to? Who claims us? How do we move in collective strength? How do we take up space?”

Those are the big questions at the heart of Threads of Kin and Belonging. Curated by Wynrush and Julia Lafreniere, head of Indigenous Ways & Learning at WAG-Qaumajuq, and co-produced with Synonym Art Consultation, the exhibition is described as a conversation and an intervention between Indigenous and Black communities on Treaty One Territory.

It features works by Black and Indigenous artists — including Shaman Never Die — in conversation with each other.

The exhibition is the fourth iteration of Wynrush’s ongoing Trinnipeg Live Mixtape — a multidisciplinary collaboration, mentorship and workshop project.

Wynrush says he was initially hesitant about co-curating a visual art exhibition.

“I’m hesitant about everything,” he says with a laugh.

His reluctance stemmed from the pressures of balancing voices and perspectives, the individual works themselves and the viewer’s experience.

“Really, this room becomes a canvas for a greater idea — and also, it’s left to interpretation. When somebody comes through the room, they come in with whatever experiences they carry in, right? So it’s wanting to do the artist justice, but also leaving the audience with something. It’s loyalty to our communities first. It’s about their lens. Are they seeing themselves?” Wynrush says.

“Are they cared for?” adds Lafreniere, who is Michif and Anishinaabe and is claimed by and belongs to Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation on Treaty 4 Territory.

“It’s a different way to curate because we’re accountable to them first, before the institution.”

That care can be seen throughout Threads of Kin and Belonging.

Care is reflected in how the exhibition sounds; Lagos-born, Toronto-based artist Chukwudubem Ukaigwe’s ceramic vessels, Untitled (Locution 1) and Untitled (Locution 2), double as sound installations, allowing visitors to be enveloped by the warm cacophony of a Nigerian market, the sound of which cannot be confined to a single gallery but instead spills out into neighbouring ones — a welcome interruption “letting it known that we’re here,” Wynrush says.

Care is also reflected in the exhibition’s accessibility features. The artworks are installed a bit lower so that people who use wheelchairs — like Wynrush — can view them at eye level.

There is seating with backs for people who might have mobility issues or can’t stand for long periods of time. QR codes will allow those with visual impairment to hear image descriptions.

Stephen Borys, director and CEO of WAG-Qaumajuq, says this exhibition is another step towards the organization’s goal of “decolonizing the gallery and decentring traditional settler perspectives and experiences.”

Other steps have included building acquisition endowments so that WAG-Qaumajuq can expand its collections of works by First Nations, Métis and racialized artists, as well as the establishment of a curatorial fellowship for an emerging racialized curator.

The words of the late Hon. Murray Sinclair, placed high on the wall so that they are visible throughout the building, serve as a guiding principle for Threads of Kin and Belonging: “Dare to live greatly, together.”

“This exhibition is about remaining true to ourselves as Indigenous, Black and racialized nations and our ancestors. It is a reminder to lead with love, care and compassion. It is about centring our words, our beliefs and our inherent sacred knowledge. We are stronger together, and if we embody this belief, our future ancestors will benefit,” Lafreniere says.

A host of other programming will be offered during the exhibition’s run, including storytelling, workshops and a live music event on Indigenous People’s Day, June 21.

The exhibition is a thread in a bigger tapestry; its curators want its impact to be felt beyond the gallery’s walls.

“It’s a small space with a big vision,” Wynrush says.

Threads of Kin and Belonging: A Trinnipeg Live Mixtape Project is on view until Sept. 30.

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com