The first thing you see when you come up to the second level of the Winnipeg Art Gallery Quamajuq these days is a striking portrait of the front of a house with four different Black people in it. Their skin is turned to red and blue as they interact with each other in a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in Winnipeg’s West End.
Julia Lafreniere agrees. “You see the plant pots, maybe it’s almost springtime and they’ve been there since last winter and it’s almost time to plant anew.”
Lafreniere, along with co-curator Nestor Wynrush, have planted a new exhibit in the heart of the gallery called Threads of Kind and Belonging, which speaks to the experiences of Black and Indigenous communities in Winnipeg.
“It’s actually a part of a conversation that him and I have been having for probably twenty years about how, if we work together, then we have similar struggles and we can go further together instead of fighting for room at a table that doesn’t necessarily want us there.”
“If we work together, then we can create our own table.”
The exhibit features a unique cross-section of Black and Indigenous artwork, sound installation and literature that, in turn, interacts with the gallery’s longer-standing collections in unique ways.
“The exhibition is in Gallery 3, but we have pieces that are purposely outside of the typical gallery,” explained Lafreniere. “We did that because we wanted it to signify the knowledge that is contained within these art works to sort of penetrate, not just be exclusive to the gallery space.”
The exhibit’s title also embodies the idea of a community stretched across multiple experiences, but at the same time, thinly stretched and interrogating their sense of belonging in the world. The pieces in Threads of Kin and Belonging are seen in close proximity to longer-standing works in the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s permanent collection, such as paintings by the Group of Seven and Emily Carr.
“I think it’s a different perspective and to value other artwork as well,” says Lafreniere. “Not to devalue European artwork... but to know that there are other perspectives. Hopefully, this will just broaden the perspective.”
Patrons visiting Threads of Kin and Belonging are invited to leave their perspectives on a desk containing literature about the Black and Indigenous experience. "I think that it’s one of love,” she smiles when she’s asked about the sentiment contained in those messages. “Especially for Indigenous and Black and racialized people. It’s one being seen and understood.”
The exhibit features multiple ways to be seen and understood. The artwork is deliberately hung lower on the walls so that they are accessibly viewed by all people, and QR codes allow people who may have vision impairments to experience the exhibit through described audio.
“I think that it’s part of a conversation,” says Lafreniere about the engagement with the material. "It's acknowledging where we are in the conversation. It’s something that’s been going on longer than me and [Nestor Wynrush] talking about it... and it will continue for hundreds of years after.
“Just acknowledging where we are right now in a visual art sense.”
Visitors can engage in the conversation with Threads of Kin and Belonging until the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. For more information, you can visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery Qaumajuq’s website.