1st Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: A Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists ends TODAY!

July 4th-6th, 2008
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Honouring Triple K Co-operative, Inc. (established 1973)
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"All Within", © 1978 Norval Morrisseau /Courtesy, Triple K Cooperative, Inc./
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The Triple K Co-operative Inc. and its important contributions to the art scene in Ontario and beyond, has been celebrated this summer during the Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival. But you might find yourself asking "what was the Triple K, and why is it important"?
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The Kakegamic brothers: Joshim, Goyce and Henry from Sandy Lake started the Triple K silk screening co-operative in downtown Red Lake in 1973. Influenced by their brother-in-law Norval Morrisseau, Goyce and Joshim Kakegamic had begun to paint in their teens. When the Co-operative was formed, they were in their twenties and had both achieved recognition as professional artists in their own right. "Triple K" artists included Norval Morrisseau, Goyce Kakegamic, Joshim Kakegamic, Saul Williams, Barry Peters and Paddy Peters. Today, their works can be found in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the McMicheal Canadian Art Collection, and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, to name a few.
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The Triple K Co-operative was unusual in several ways. First, it was established in the belief that Aboriginal artists should control all phases of their art production, from the design conception through to the marketing of the final product. This was revolutionary. Another unusual aspect of the Co-operative was that it was established close to the origins of the Woodland style of art in northwestern Ontario and close to the homes of the artists. But this location was far away from southern Ontario, specifically Toronto, which was viewed as the centre of the province's art scene. This was a radical innovation. Despite all of the odds stacked against them, by the late 1970s the Triple K Co-operative's high quality silk screen prints were being distributed to over 50 galleries across Canada, the United States, and Europe. In 1977, the Royal Ontario Museum recognized the importance of the Triple K by holding an exhibit of its silk screens. As the ROM catalogue says, "For a fine arts co-operative to survive at all is unusual. For a Native-run arts enterprise to operate successfully out of an isolated northwestern Ontario town sounds at the best improbable. But the Triple K is a reality."
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For more information about the Triple K Co-operative go to WIKIPEDIA.
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- Download RED LAKE WOODLAND ARTS FESTIVAL SCHEDULE!
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* For more information go to: www.redlakemuseum.com.
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> > > If you would like to contibute to the NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG providing material(s) from the 1st Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival contact the Blog Master at spiritwalker2008@gmail.com. < < <
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* The image in this posting: "All Within", 25"x35", Serigraph on Arches paper, Edition: 50, © 1978 Norval Morrisseau /Courtesy, Triple K Cooperative, Inc./