From the Museum of Vancouver Website

What does it mean to be Indigenous in Canada? For more than a century, this nation has appropriated symbols of Indigenous Identity as part of nation-building narratives, while enacting laws that undermined cultural and family connections within Indigenous communities. Resiliency is defined as “toughness” and as an ability to “recover quickly from difficulties.”

This exhibition celebrates those who kept memory alive in difficult times; those who had the determination to do the work of knowledge repatriation; those who now mentor; and those who are forging new paths of creativity and resilience within their respective communities. Each of the artists featured in this exhibition created an artwork that invokes a specific form of memory and identity – whether it is rooted in story, is expressed as visual culture, or is investigated through portraiture, each of the featured artworks celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of Indigenous identity today.

With support from the YVR Art Foundation Scholarship Program these artists attended art school or studied with mentors who helped them to explore new mediums, such as sculpture and carving, or to expand their personal knowledge of Indigenous design. Learning new skills, they broadened their cultural literacy and increased their personal ability to foster artistic innovation. MOV is honoured to showcase the work of these ten talented artists and raise our hands in respect and appreciation for their mentors.