Murray Wood: Who's scary... and who's scary good?
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week, in a specia...
The MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina has a fresh look.
In addition to its new red and burgundy letter M logo, it’s taking a sharpened focus on its artists, history and being an ally to Indigenous and contemporary art.
While Anthony Kiendl, the gallery’s executive director and CEO, said the MacKenzie was already working on this, he thought it needed to be showcased more clearly.
“We’re just evolving and growing as an organization, and it seemed like a good time to signal that to the community,” Kiendl said at the brand launch Thursday morning.
John Hampton is the MacKenzie’s director of programs and a part of the Indigenous advisory circle that helped reimagine the gallery’s new visual identity.
He said the circle helped shift the conversation from the MacKenzie being the leader in Indigenous arts to being a supporter.
“Really, the Indigenous artists and communities are the leaders of Indigenous art, and so (the MacKenzie) is (an ally) as a non-Indigenous institution on Indigenous land,” Hampton explained.
One of the ways the MacKenzie is being an ally to Indigenous art, he noted, is by having himself — a Chickasaw Nation man — overseeing exhibitions and education at the gallery.
However, Hampton said the alliance is apparent even before people step foot in the building.
Cree artist Duane Linklater’s piece, Kâkikê / Forever, which reads “as long as the sun shines the river flows and the grass grows,” is showcased on the outside of the building, he noted. Though it’s meant to symbolize the treaties made in both Canada and the U.S., Hampton said it equally speaks to Indigenous people’s relationship with the MacKenzie Art Gallery.
“We’re occupying this territory together as neighbours, as family, and this is supposed to persevere as long as this land exists,” he elaborated.
When it comes to the overall rebranding of the gallery’s visual identity, Hampton said it goes to show the diversity of the soil the MacKenzie sits on.
“I think that it really articulates how we want to see this land — both as Indigenous territory but also all of the richness from the diverse cultures that call this territory home now,” he reflected. “It’s seeing how those cultures can intersect and really build on understandings of the world from these various perspectives.”
On top of the brand changes, the MacKenzie is introducing an admission fee. Starting June 10, it will cost art lovers $10 to get into the gallery. Right now, it’s free.
Meanwhile, some fees have dipped. The annual “core membership” for one person will cost $30, down from $50, and a double membership will cost $55, down from $75.
— With files from 980 CJME’s Evan Radford
