CALL FOR PAPERS
Witness: A Symposium on the Woodland School
art gallery of sudbury / galerie d'art de sudbury

The Art Gallery of Sudbury is pleased to announce “The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition”. The exhibition is scheduled to open on September 15th, 2007 and run until November 11th, 2007. With more than sixty paintings and drawings executed over the past forty years, this exhibition represents the first major survey of Odjig’s work since 1985. An illustrated catalogue with essays by First Nations artists Robert Houle, Duke Redbird and Bonnie Devine will accompany the exhibition.

In support of the exhibition, a symposium of Aboriginal curators, artists, critics, historians and scholars, entitled “Witness”, will commence with the formal opening reception on Thursday, October 11, 2007. The symposium continues October 12, 13, 14. With 40 years of Daphne Odjig’s paintings as backdrop and inspiration, this series of lectures and discussions will provide a unique forum within which to address critical issues in contemporary First Nations Art.

The intention of the symposium is to facilitate a critical examination of the Woodland School Painters by Anishnabe, Algonkian and other Aboriginal thinkers. A primary focus of the discussion will be to recount (and account for) the re-emergence of an ancient Algonkian pictorial tradition in the region of the Canadian Shield in the mid twentieth century. Another trajectory of interest is the continuing influence of the Woodland Painters on the philosophical and aesthetic development of First Nations art practice in Ontario and Canada – a historical and critical locating of our traditions, whether within Modernist, Post Modernist, Colonial, Neo Colonial and Feminist discourses - or outside them. Most importantly, we wish to create a forum for the sharing and exchange of current practices, new directions in curatorial and critical issues, recognizing that while Aboriginal artistic expression in all media is expanding daily, the development of Aboriginal critical discourse is less visible. Finally, our discussions will be directed toward the publication of a discursive text, written from a contemporary Aboriginal perspective, spoken in a contemporary Aboriginal voice.

The Art Gallery of Sudbury invites artists, curators, scholars and oral historians to present papers and/or lead discussions on these and related
topics. Please submit an abstract of your proposal (250-500 words) to odjigproject@artsudbury.org by February 16, 2007.

Enquires regarding the exhibition and/or the symposium can also be directed to odjigproject@artsudbury.org , the Art Gallery of Sudbury at 251 John St., Sudbury ON, Canada P3E 1P9, Tel: (705) 675-4671 or Fax: (705) 674- 3065 Visit the website >

SYMPOSIUM 2007 - Preserving Aboriginal Heritage:
Technical and Traditional Approaches

UPDATE

SYMPOSIUM 2007 - Preserving Aboriginal Heritage: Technical and Traditional Approaches

Ottawa, Canada, September 24-28, 2007
www.cci-icc.gc.ca/symposium/index_e.aspx (English) or www.cci-icc.gc.ca/symposium/index_e.aspx (French)

2nd CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS - DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2007

Contributions are currently invited on the following themes:

• Mutual Learning, Respect, and Ethics
• Working Together
• Technical and Traditional Approaches
• Long-term Impact
• NEW: Pesticides - Session co-hosted by the ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections- Pesticide residues on cultural objects is a major concern for museum collections around the world. The problem is especially critical for Native objects since Natives may wish to consult, handle or use these collections. Contributions are invited on 1) research in pesticide identification and removal; 2) developments in the assessment of health risks; and 3) methods or protocols for handling or use of contaminated objects.

Submissions should include a title, 500-word summary, and the type of contribution being proposed, along with the author’s name, address, e-mail address and a 1-paragraph biography.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Submission Guidelines and Selection Criteria, visit: www.cci-icc.gc.ca/symposium/index_e.aspx, or contact: symposium_2007@pch.gc.ca .
Enquiries on the Program or the Call for Contributions, can be addressed to: Carole Dignard, Program Chair, Canadian Conservation Institute, 1030 Innes Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0M5, Canada; Tel.: (613) 998-3721 ext. 151; e-mail: carole_dignard@pch.gc.ca

INVITED SPEAKERS

• Stephen J. Augustine, Hereditary Chief on the Mi’kmaq Grand Council and Curator of Ethnology for Eastern Maritimes, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec
• Mariano Aupilardjuk, Inuit Elder from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
• Dr. Miriam Clavir, Research Associate, University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, B.C. and Adjunct Lecturer, Graduate Program in Museology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
• Charles Costain, Associate Director General and Director of Conservation and Scientific Services, Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Ontario
• Gloria Cranmer Webster, Former Director, U’Mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, B.C.
• Dr. Sherry Farrell Racette, Professor, Art History Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
• Tom Hill, Museum Director Emeritus, Woodlands Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
• Dr. Raoul MacKay, Executive Producer, First Voice Multimedia Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Dr. Gerald McMaster, Curator of Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
• John Moses, Conservator, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec
• Winnie Niviuvaarjuk Owingayak, Inuit Elder and Manager, Baker Lake Inuit Heritage Centre, Baker Lake, Nunavut
• Gilbert W. Whiteduck, Senior Education Advisor for the First Nations Education Council, Maniwaki, Québec
Speaker biographies are posted at: http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/symposium/speakers_e.aspx

SYMPOSIUM 2007 PARTNERS:

Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.ca/)
Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Cultural Education Centre (http://www.kza.qc.ca/cultural/pijashig2.htm)
Canadian Museum of Civlization (http://www.civilization.ca/visit/indexe.aspx)
National Gallery of Canada (http://www.gallery.ca/)
Parks Canada (http://www.pc.gc.ca/)
Carleton University Art Gallery (http://www.carleton.ca/gallery)
ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections
(icom-cc.icom.museum/WG/EthnographicCollections)
First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres (http://www.fnccec.com/index2.html)

TRADE SHOW:

Symposium 2007 will include a small trade show of services directed to the preservation of Aboriginal heritage. Further information on this unique exhibiting opportunity will be placed on the Symposium Web site as it becomes available. If you are interested in exhibiting at the trade show and/or would like to reserve a booth space, please contact:
Shanna Stevens (mailto:shanna_stevens@pch.gc.ca), Chair, Marketing and Promotions, Canadian Conservation Institute
tel.: (613) 998-3721 ext. 278, fax: (613) 998-4721

Symposium 2007 will be a unique opportunity for Aboriginal people and conservation specialists to learn from one another, in an atmosphere of mutual respect, about traditional, technical, ethical, and intangible aspects of the conservation of Aboriginal material culture. We look forward to a rich and exciting Symposium, and in sharing these five days with you!