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Winnipeg Free Press

Arctic exhibit ‘honouring the spirit that exists within them'

Downtown There's a unique exhibit at the Shirley Richardson Craft Gallery on Cumberland Avenue, home to the Manitoba Craft Council and the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library. Until Aug. 27, visitors can stop in to see depictions of the human life form, highlighted in Ilonnata/Kiyâna, a showcase exhibiting select items from the gallery's Arctic collection. ᐃᓘᓇᑖ (ilonnata) translates to 'all of us' in Inuktitut. The exhibit, made possible with the support of the Community Museums Project Grant through the Province of Manitoba, opened in early July and has viewers enthralled and enlightened. Exhibit curator Kasey Pashe, from Opaskwayak Cree Nation — who is pursuing graduate studies at the University of Manitoba in the fall — is thrilled to see it all come together. She took on a six-month term at the gallery from last October until March of this year, and remained inspired throughout that time. Now she gets to appreciate the response from others and the opportunities this exhibit brings for learning about Indigenous cultures. Supplied photo by Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library Kasey Pashe, pictured here at the Shirley Richardson Craft Gallery on Cumberland Avenue, is the curator of Ilonnata/Kiyâna, a showcase exhibiting select items from the gallery's Arctic collection. The exhibit will run until Aug. 27. 'It taught me a lot. It's been really eye-opening,' Pashe said. 'It gave me a lot of different hands-on experience. Now people can examine them with their own eyes, seeing all these materials,' she explained, adding that some pieces include embroidery and beaded works. Pashe pays homage to her Cree heritage with the inclusion of the word ᑭᔭᓇᐤ (kiyânaw) meaning 'us.' The exhibition works are displayed with the intention of honouring the spirit that exists within them; giving opportunity to proclaim 'this is us.' The project was a labour-intensive endeavour involving digitizing over 300 items in the collection. 'I had a fascination with Arctic pieces, Inuit sculptures and dolls,' said Pashe. 'The pieces I chose were human depictions. I wanted the pieces to kind of show how Inuit and Indigenous people portrayed themselves back in the day, and even now. Growing up, I had no representation in media and dolls. It's really interesting how we perceive ourselves in art. I wanted to be more explanatory for the pieces to speak for themselves, how our culture still is.' For the curator, the priorities now are getting the items out into the community and the public, getting more information out, and repatriation. 'These pieces have been hidden from the public for so long,' Pashe said, noting that all the items were sectioned into regional categories. With so many pieces in the collection created by many different artists, a lot of them unidentified, there's an element of the unknown to it all. 'Maybe people will see it and think, 'My relative made that,' or 'I think I know someone who might have made that'… it's kind of like a mystery to solve, we want to give ownership to whoever created it.' It is believed that the pieces were created to sell for the tourist market around the time of the mid-20th century, when Inuit art was immensely popular. Over the years the pieces were gifted to the museum, acquired without documents or artist details. Now Pashe has helped them find their way home. 'I feel really happy,' she said. 'It's very wholesome to be working with Indigenous art, being around these pieces that have some sense of spirit in them, giving them the opportunity to have them out, to be out in the open, for people to see, engage with them and learn about the art.' The various carvings, dolls, and textiles within the exhibition depict Inuit life in different scenarios. The Indigenous body is connected to the land and surrounding life forms, including materials sourced from the land. The works by the multitude of artists portray careful attention to detail and craftsmanship. Mondays A weekly look at news and events that matter in your communities. The exhibition stems from the larger project completed by Pashe at the Manitoba Craft Museum and Library (MCML), which holds over 300 craft pieces by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists. The Indigenous collection is now accessible online through the C2 Centre for Craft website. The collection is divided into five geographical regions: Arctic, Subarctic, Woodlands, Plains, and Northwest Coast. Pashe encourages all with an interest to take the time to see the exhibit. 'The main thing is to come and experience these sculptures and look at the culture, knowing that we are still here. These pieces are still here, which is part of us, the Indigenous community. I just want the pieces to speak for themselves. 'I feel honoured to be working with Indigenous collections and to be given this space to have our culture shown, portrayed in a museum, institutions that were not very friendly or accepting of us, to give a voice to our people.' For exhibit hours, call 204-615-3951, email mcml@ or visit: mcc@ Janine LeGalWolseley community correspondent Janine LeGal is a community correspondent for Wolseley. Know any interesting people, places and things in Wolseley? Contact her at: janinelegal@ Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.