In October 2009, the National Gallery of Canada hosted Camp Kabeshinàn, a conference organized by the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective (ACC). Aboriginal curators from Canada, North America and Australia gathered to discuss the state of Aboriginal curating in the world today, and they were joined by many alliance members of different ethnic backgrounds who support this important organization. It was an exciting time, energized by the opening of The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition, the first solo exhibition devoted to a First Nations woman at NGC, curated by Bonnie Devine, a respected Anishinaabe curator and artist. Bucking out-dated Gallery policy, Devine was the first curator to ever have her name appear at the entrance to the exhibition she had organized. In this aura of first things, you addressed conference attendees with the assurance that “things were changing at the National Gallery.” At that time, you also mentioned Canada could look forward to an international quintennial of Aboriginal art organized and hosted by the National Gallery.
On February 2, 2010, after watching your appearance in “Diaspora Art,” a spot aired on CBC’s The National, Canadian cultural producers realized how badly we had been duped. Standing in the First Nations Galleries surrounded by the work of Aboriginal artists, you told the Canadian public that, unlike the nation itself, the National Gallery of Canada is blind to cultural diversity: it only sees “excellence.”
This begs the question: Whose excellence? This is what women and ethnic minorities have been asking for centuries. In the 1960s, when cultural institutions like NGC only showed the work of white men, we were told it was because there were no women or people of colour making “good art.” Today you tell us that NGC doesn’t show ethnic minorities because they are not achieving “excellence.” The simplistic notion that connoisseurs know "good art" was thoroughly discredited by 20th-century feminist and post-colonial writers, artists and activists. Indeed, listening to your comments on The National was like watching a caricature of Clement Greenberg: “I know good art when I see it.”
Well, we know “excellence” when we see it, and today we prefer to call it hegemony.
As the Director of a major art museum you might like to read up on this concept. You could start with Linda Nochlin’s pivotal work "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" (1971), and then move on to more contemporary, fulsome texts, such as Edward Said’s Culture and Imperialism (1993) and bell hooks’ Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992). At the very least you could try reading Fuse Magazine.
There is a difference between being blind and just shutting your eyes. Ours have certainly been opened. After you left the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective’s conference there was a heated discussion concerning the differences between eurocentric curatorial practices and those of Aboriginal curators. Robert Houle took the podium and addressed a younger generation of curators in the audience. He urged them to watch out for people in positions of power who only wanted to capitalize on their work.
We now understand the real purpose of an Aboriginal quintennial, and we understand why the National Gallery is still so sadly out of touch. Thank you for showing us your true colour.
Signed,
- Emily Falvey, Independent curator and art critic, Montréal
- Milena Placentile, Independent curator, Winnipeg
- Ryan Rice, Curator, Kahnawake, Québec
- Scott Stephens, Artist/Anishinabe (Lac Seul FN), Winnipeg
- Diana Thorneycroft, Artist, Winnipeg
- Jayce Salloum, Artist, Vancouver
- Oliver Ressler, Artist, Vienna, Austria
- Jamelie Hassan, Visual Artist, 2001 recipient of Governor General of Canada Award in Visual & Media Arts, London, Ontario
- danielle drew belsky, Artist, MA candidate, Interdisciplinary Studies, York University, Toronto
- cam bush, Visual Artist, Winnipeg
- Leslie Supnet, Artist, Winnipeg
- Jeff Thomas, Photo-based Artist & Independent Curator, Ottawa
- juan carlos noria, Artist, Barcelona, Spain
- Stefan St-Laurent, Curator, Galerie SAW Gallery / Guest Curator, 28e Symposium international d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, Ottawa
- Justin Wonnacott RCA, Artist and teacher, Ottawa
- Dr. Aisha Jamal, Instructor in the Humanities at U of T and Media Arts Instructor at Sheridan College, Toronto
- Steve Loft, Executive Director, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto
- Ron Benner, artist, London, ON
- nichola feldman-kiss, Artist, Ottawa
- Ingrid Mayrhofer, Independent Curator, Hamilton
- Clint Enns, Video Artist, Winnipeg
- Chris Poulsen, Collector, Winnipeg
- J.K. Shishido, artist/educator, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Maggie Flynn, Artist, Toronto
- Jessica MacCormack, Multidisciplinary Artist, Montréal
- Claire Carew, Painter and Sculptor, Toronto
- Tomoko Takahashi, Artist, UK
- Ken Harasym, Graphic Designer, Winnipeg
- Sally Frater, Independent Curator and Arts Writer, Hamilton
- Camille Turner, Independent Artst, Curator, Toronto
- Sandra Brewster, Independent Artist and Art Educator, Toronto
- Cathy Mattes, Curator and Art History Lecturer, Manitoba
- liz garlicki, Artist and Gallery Coordinator at aceartinc., Winnipeg
- Kwame Younge, Arts supporter, Toronto
- Monika Vykoukal, Curator and Writer, Birmingham, UK
- Jennifer Matotek, Independent curator, Toronto
- Lana Lovell, Documentary Director, Toronto
- Dr. Abigail Schoneboom, Assistant Professor of Sociology, City University of New York, New York City
- Dino Koutras, Arts Supporter, Montreal
- Liz Park, Curator, Vancouver, BC
- Uta Riccius, Artist/Educator, Winchester
- Stephen Fakiyesi, artist, Toronto
- Jennifer Bisch, Independent film curator and curator of the Costume Museum of Canada, Winnipeg
- michèle provost, artiste en arts visuels, Gatineau
- Amy Thompson, Artist, Ottawa
- Judy McNaughton, Northern Artistic Director, Common Weal Community Arts, Prince Albert, SK
- Mikaela Bobiy, PhD (Art History), CEGEP Professor (Humanities and Philosophy), Montreal
- Brendan Tang, Artist, Kamloops
- Laura Margita, Executive Director, PAVED arts, Saskatoon
- Petra Halkes, Independent Curator / Artist, Ottawa
- Deborah Margo, Visual Artist, ON
- Johanna Mizgala, Curator and Art Critic, Ottawa
- Su-Ying Lee, Curator, Toronto
- Wahsontiio Cross, Artist and M.A. candidate (Art History, Concordia University), Kahnawake, Quebec
- Alice Ming Wai Jim, Assistant Professor, Contemporary Art, Concordia University, Montreal
- Glenn Alteen, Program Director, grunt gallery, Vancouver
- Jennifer Dales, Arts Writer, Ottawa
- Cindy Baker, interdisciplinary artist, Saskatoon
- Megan Morman, Visual Artist & Arts Volunteer, Saskatoon
- Lee-Ann Martin, Curator of Contemporary Canadian Aboriginal Art, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec
- Janet Lumb, Artistic Director, Festival Accès Asie, Montreal
- Freda Guttman, Artist, activist, Montreal
- Aubrey Reeves, artist/curator, Toronto
- sue goldstein, artist and writer, toronto
- Cynthia Girard, visual artist , Montreal
- Freddie Arps, Illustrator, Toronto
- Marc Côté, Publisher, Cormorant Books Inc., Toronto
- Chief Lynn Acoose, Board Member, Sakewewak Artists' Collective, Sakimay First Nations, Sakimay-Shesheep-Little Bone-Minoachak
- Dr. Pauline Wakeham, University of Western Ontario, cultural and literary studies scholar, London, ON
- Christine Conley, independent curator, art historian, Ottawa
- Roewan Crowe, Artist /Assistant Professor Women & Gender Studies, University of Winnipeg
- Paul Robles, Visual Artist, Winnipeg
- Mathieu Beauséjour, artist, Montréal
- Laura Paolini, artist and cultural worker, Toronto
- Carmen Victor, University of Toronto, Toronto
- Angela Rebeiro, C.M. (former publisher Playwrights Canada Press), Toronto
- Reena Katz, Artist, Toronto
- Elizabeth MacKenzie, artist, Vancouver
- hannah_g, cultural worker and artist, Winnipeg
- Gomo George, Visual Artist, Writer, Toronto
- Elle Flanders, Filmmaker, Photographer and Phd Candidate, York U,Toronto
- Izida Zorde, Editor, Fuse Magazine
- Maria Victoria Guglietti, PhD candidate, cultural studies, Calgary
- Jessie Caryl, arts supporter, Vancouver
- RM Vaughan, writer and artist, Toronto
- Andrea Mortson, Artist, Sackville
- Dawn Dale, artist and sculpture instructor, Ottawa School of Art
- Marion Bordier, Artist and Teacher, Gatineau
- Howie Tsui, visual artist, Ottawa
- Niki Little, Artists & Program Coordinator, Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Winnipeg
- Adrian A. Stimson, Artist/ Independent Curator, Saskatoon
- Mikiki, Artist, Toronto
- Matthew Molnar, musician, Winnipeg, MB
- Marie Lopes, Arts Programmer, Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
- Nancy Baele, art critic, Ottawa.
- Steven Leyden Cochrane, artist and instructor at the School of Visual Arts, University of Windsor
- Carol Williams, Canada Research Chair in Gender & Feminist Studies, Peterborough
- Francisco-Fernando Granados, artist, Vancouver
- Sadira Rodrigues, Director, Continuing Studies, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver
- Carol Camper, Artist, Writer, Activist, Toronto
- Viviane Gosselin, Doctoral Candidate, UBC Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness Faculty of Education, Vancouver
- Hakili Don, Visual Artist, OCAD, Toronto
- Jennifer Webb, Communications Manager, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver
- Jonathan Middleton, Director/Curator, Or Gallery, Vancouver
- Kim Nguyen, Curator, Vancouver, BC
- Amber Landgraff, curator/artist, Toronto
- Chloe Lum , Artist , Montreal
- Joshua Schwebel, artist, Montreal
- Marlene Milne, free-lance arts facilitator, Winnipeg
- cheyanne turions, Curator, Vancouver
- Edwin Janzen, artist, writer and editor, Ottawa
- Leah Decter, artist, Winnipeg
- Makiko Hara, Curator, Centre A, Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
- Romi Chandra, anti-oppression educator, Vancouver
- Zool Suleman, Writer/Editor/Lawyer, Vancouver
- Jennifer Flower, Edmonton, Alberta
- Cyndy Chwelos: Community Arts Programmer, Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC
- Gail Bourgeois, artist, Ottawa
- Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Vancouver
- Colwyn Griffith, artist, Toronto
- Patricia Palulis, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
- Randy Lee Cutler, Artist/Associate professor, Emily Carr University
- Sally McKay, artist, writer, curator
- Darsha Hannah Hewitt, Artist, Instructor, Montreal
- Jennifer Smith, Art History Student, Winnipeg
- Mosa Neshamá McNeilly, Independent Artist, Educator, Guelph, Canada
- Lorna Mills, Visual Artist, Toronto
- George Walker, Associate Professor - Faculty of Art, Ontario College of Art and Design, Faculty of Art, Printmaking, Toronto
- Michael Maranda, artist, curator, editor, Toronto
- Shauna Thompson, Independent Curator, Toronto
- Thirza Jean Cuthand, Video Artist/Filmmaker Saskatoon
- Eve Rice, musician/DJ, Winnipeg
- Romi Chandra, anti-oppression educator, Vancouver
- Anthony Easton, writer, artist and curator, Toronto
- Leila Armstrong, artist, Lethbridge, Alberta.
- Michael Anthony Griffiths, Writer & Art Patron, Toronto
- Bogdan Luca, artist, Toronto
- Rachel Gorman, artist and lecturer, University of Toronto, Toronto
- Aaron Cain, artist, Toronto, ON
- John Murchie, writer & artist, Sackville
- Adriana Contreras, Vancouver BC
- Juan Pablo Munoz, visual artist, Vancouver
- Lorna Brown, artist and curator, Vancouver
- Elwood Jimmy, Curator/Artist/Program Director, Sakewewak Artists' Collective
Regina - Roy Mitchell, Arts Administrator, Media Artist
- Anar Ali, writer, Toronto
- RON NOGANOSH, ARTIST, MAGNETAWAN FIRST NATION
(RESIDING OTTAWA, ON) - Erik Edson Assoc. Professor, Mount Allison University Department of Fine Arts
- Lori Blondeau, Executive Director, Tribe Artists Collective, Saskatoon
- Carole Condé + Karl Beveridge, artists, Toronto
- Jill R. Baird, Curator of Education & Public Programmes, Museum of Anthropology UBC, Vancouver
- Heather Haynes, Executive Director of Toronto Free Gallery, Publisher of Fuse Magazine and Associate Programmer at Hot Docs, Toronto
- Michel Boutin, Canadien/metis artist, cultural animateur, Artistic director for IPAC (the Indigenous Peoples Artist Collective), Prince Albert, Sask. Acting chair for the Red Shift Gallery, Saskatoon
- Amy Zion, Assistant Editor of Fillip, Vancouver
- Douglas Casimel, 2301 Toronto Street, Regina
- Kelaine Devine, artist/educator, Lethbridge
- Lindsay MacDonald, MFA student, Calgary
- Gabrielle Moser, writer/curator, Toronto
- Amir Shingray, An Afo-Canadian Artist, Toronto
- Karen Connelly, Writer, Photographer, Toronto
- Robert Chang, Architect, Photographer, Toronto
- Nancy Richler, writer, Vancouver
- Solomon (Salman) Husain, Social Service Provider, Plateu Montreal/resident West End Vancouver
- Victoria Moufawad-Paul, Programming Coordinator, A Space Gallery, Toronto
- Ghazal Mosadeq, writer, Toronto
- Catharine Marr, Arts supporter, Vancouver
- Karen Whaley, York University, Toronto
- meredith walsh, PhD Candidate, London Consortium
- Lydia Kwa, writer and psychologist, Vancouver
- Tim desClouds. Artist / Teacher -Canterbury HS, Programme for the Arts, Ottawa
- Rina Liddle Visual Artist, Programming Director, Balcone Art Society, Vancouver
- Jennifer McMackon, visual artist, Toronto
- Melissa Wastasecoot, artist, Winnipeg
- Rafael Lopez-Ramos, artist, Vancouver, BC / Miami, FL
- Vincent Chevalier, Artist, Montreal QC
- Anne Patterson, Social researcher, Ottawa
- Daisuke Takeya, artist, Toronto
- Marnie Fleming, Curator of Contemporary Art, Oakville Galleries, Oakville
- Melanie O'Brian, Director/Curator, ARTSPEAK, Vancouver
- Robin Pacific, Artist, Toronto
- Sarah Hatton, visual artist, Ottawa
- Julia Lum, Arts Writer, Toronto
- Pamila Matharu, artist, Toronto
- Reona Brass, Artist/Educator, Regina,
- Maj(Ret) Denis M. Falvey MA MD FRCSC CD, Ophthalmologist, Mathematician, and arts supporter, Rose Bay, NS
- Bernie Miller, visual artist, Winnipeg
- Stephen D Fowler, President, Nelson & District Arts Council, Actor, Writer, Nelson BC
- Amy Fung, Art Critic, Edmonton, Alberta
- Diana Sherlock, Freelance Curator and Arts Writer/Educator, Calgary
- Evan Tapper, Artist, Toronto
- Rita Kamacho, artist, Toronto
- David Khang, Artist, Adjunct Faculty, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver
- Joyce Lindemulder, Art Practitioner, Courtenay
- Cristina Usubiaga, Filmmaker and Arts/Culture Consultant, Winnipeg
- Rahul Varma, playwright and artistic director, Teesri Duniya Theater, Montreal
- Alyssa Stryker, Graduate Student, Vancouver
- Rob Brownie- Teacher and Writer, Vancouver
- peter cole, stl'atl'imx
- Erin Kelly, Arts Administrator, SAW Video, Ottawa
- Akim Adé Larcher, The Larcher Group, Toronto
- Sam Rudolph, visual artist, Vancouver
- Antonia Hirsch, artist, Vancouver/Berlin
- Elia Eliev, Artist-researcher, Geneva, Switzerland
- Martha Langford, Associate Professor, Concordia University Research Chair in Art History, Montreal
- Philippe Hamelin, artiste et enseignant, Gatineau
- Mary Millen, arts supporter, Ottawa
- Rinaldo Walcott, Associate Professor, OISEUT and Research Fellow, John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
- Catherine Sicot, Director of Education and Public Programmes, Oakville Galleries, Oakville
- Pablo Rodriguez, Art history student, Montreal.
- Charles Campbell, artist, Victoria BC
- Peter Conlin, writer, organizer, artist, Montreal/London
- Joanne Bristol, artist, Winnipeg
- Jean-Pierre Caissie, Cap de Shédiac, NB
- Olivia C. Pipe, artist and Master's candidate at Concordia University, Montreal
- Sheila Spence, artist, Executive Director Martha Street Studio, Winnipeg
- Charles Gagnon, sculptor, Montréal.
- Rosika Desnoyers, visual artist, Montreal.
- Supriya Tandan, Likes all kinds of art, Montréal, Québec
- Alan McConchie, geographer and artist, Vancouver
- Richard Pickard, Senior Instructor, Dept. of English, University of Victoria, British Columbia
- Sid Chow Tan, arts supporter/media producer Vancouver
- Julien Geoffroy, architecte, MOAQ
- Larissa Lai, writer and professor, Vancouver
- Johan Lundh, curator and writer, New York and Stockholm
- Kyra Folk-Farber, D.Mus, Toronto
- Maria Noel Secco, MA candidate, Art History, Concordia University, Montreal
- Philippe Guillaume, photographer, Montreal
- Jesse R. McKee, Independent Curator and Writer, Montreal
- Maya Soren, MA Art History candidate, Concordia University, Montreal.
- Dale Smith, director/curator of DALESMITHGALLERY, Ottawa
- Michael Rattray, PhD Student Concordia University, Art Historian and Visual Artist, Montreal
- Natalia Lebedinskaia, M.A. candidate in Art History, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
- Ian Patrick McAllister, Multidisciplinary artist, Toronto
- Chelsey Lichtman artist and programmer Toronto
- Adrienne Connelly, Librarian, Montreal
- Robin Simpson, MA Candidate, Art History, Concordia University, Montreal
- Stephanie Springgay, Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies and Art Education, OISE/University of Toronto
- Jim Logan, Artist, Curator
- Anna Khimasia, PhD Candidate in Visual Culture, institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture, Carleton University.
- Cam Forbes, Artist, Winnipeg
- Christopher Smith, Writer, Cultural Critic, Scholar (UofT) Toronto
- Aparna Mishra Tarc, Assistant Professor, York University
- Laura J. Thrasher, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies, UT
- Eugenio Salas, Artist, Toronto
- Deanna Bowen, Artist, Educator, Toronto
- Angela Robinson, PhD Student, York University, Toronto
- Gordon Hatt, Curator, Ontario
- Michelle Jacques, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
- Jason St-Laurent,Director of Programming, Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival
- Karen Tam, Artist, Montreal. Thanks.
- Brenda Goldstein, Artist, Toronto
- Tomas Jonsson, Program and Outreach Coordinator, EMMEDIA
- Sarah Wilkinson, Free-Lane Writer and M.A. Candidate, Concordia University
- Britt Gallpen, Art History, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
- Amber-Dawn Bear Robe Director of Urban Shaman Gallery: Contemporary Aboriginal Art
- Joanne Hui, Artist and doctoral student, Montreal
- Darren O’Donnell, Artist, Toronto
- Karen Jordon, artist, Ottawa
- Ruth Anita James, Artist and Lawyer, St. Catharines
- Becky-Lynne Thiessen, Artist/Community Art Faciliator, Winnipeg
- Nicholas Brown, Curator, Red Bull 381 Projects, Toronto
- Jean Gagnon, Independent curator/commissaire indépendant, Montréal
- Pat Beaton, Artist, Vancouver
- Robert Waters, artist, Mexico City
- Jessica Wyman, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Liberal Studies, OCAD, Toronto
- Joe Mckay, multimedia artist, Assistant Professor SUNY Purchase
- Jennifer Rudder, Independent Curator, Toronto; Instructor, Brock University, St. Catherines, ON
- Alia Toor, Artist + Educator
- Sara Koopman, PhD Candidate, Geography, University of British Columbia
- Jewell Goodwyn, artist, London, ON
- Emiko Takeda, NSCAD Universtiy graduate
- Fana Seife, Ethiopian-Canadian Arts Adminstrator
- Kelly Price, Media Artist & Designer, Gabriola, B.C.
- Ulysses Castellanos, artist/curator, Toronto
- Ariane De Blois, Doctorante en histoire de l'art, McGill, Montréal
- Dr. Annette Bhagwati, curator and professor adjunct at Concordia University, Montreal
- Shirley Clark, Director, Radionics & Dowsing Institute of Canada, Newfoundland
- Erandy Vergara, Ph. D. Candidate in Art History, McGill University, Montreal
- Will Kwan, artist, educator, Toronto
- Danielle Lewis, MA Candidate, Art History, Concordia University, Montreal
- rosalind hampton, artist, educator, Montreal
- Juana Awad, media artist - performer, Toronto
- Nadijah Robinson, artist, activist, educator, Ottawa/Toronto
- Erika Pipe, Master's Candidate of Art History at Carleton University
- Kati Campbell, artist, cultural theorist, Vancouver
- John Devenish, Board Member Wychwood Barns Community Association, Annex Jazz Festival Board Member, Committee Member (Sub-Committee of Diversity Committee - AGO)
-------------------
To watch the video featuring Mr. Mayer's inflammatory statements, please click here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/ID=1402664008
------------------> Update: As of March 4, we have noticed this video is no longer available online. If anyone had the foresight to make a copy for archival purposes, please consider making it available here for purposes of discussion.
------------------> Update: As of March 5, we found and posted this version of the report online. Please note the audio/video are not perfectly in-synch. We are working to source a better copy. Thank you!
------------------> Update: As of March 23, the CBC has reported that the technical problem preventing access to the archived video has now been fixed. The video can be viewed here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/Arts_and_Entertainment/ID=1402664008.
PLEASE NOTE: Additional co-signers are always welcome by contacting: excellenceatthenationalgallery@gmail.com.
Also, please visit our facebook group to view/join the growing list of 500+ members there: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=354576594872&ref=ts
