The community pARTners art gallery in the Yorkton Public Library is hosting a new show that celebrates decades of First Nations art in the province. Marking Time collects pieces from the Saskatchewan Arts Board's permanent collection.
Belinda Harrow, outreach coordinator for the Saskatchewan Arts Board, says that the show collects pieces from four decades, from the '60s to today. The show mixes craft pieces and fine art, with the goal of representing a wide cross-section of First Nations artwork.
"I think people appreciate seeing the skill involved in those works, and I wanted to show the patterns you see in those traditional craft styles is found now in the contemporary painting. Artists are looking back at the traditional methods of making work and applying them to newer pieces," Harrow says.
She says that there are a number of themes that emerge in the different pieces, with things like horses being a frequent cultural touchstone, for example.
The show was originally put together for Agribition, inspired by the artist in residence for that year, who was an aboriginal artist focused on history. Harrow says that lead her to consider the Arts Board's own history, as well as considering the wide variety of aboriginal art in the collection itself.
Another one of Harrow's goals for the show was to showcase some of the work that doesn't leave the permanent collection as much. She says that many of the three-dimensional pieces don't get seen as much, so the goal was to give people an opportunity to see them again.
Marking Time will be at the Yorkton Public Library until the end of April, and there are plans to make it a centerpiece of educational programming at the library.
"This show has a lot of prominent First Nations artists in it, so it will be a nice draw for people. It's varied, beautiful show," Harrow says.
