Urban Shaman Gallery Presents

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"Frontrunners"
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Alex Janvier, Daphne Odjig, Joseph Sanchez, Norval Morisseau, Jackson Beardy, Carl Ray, Eddy Cobiness , Louis Ogemah, Jackie Traverse, Lita Fontaine, Darryl Nepinak

Curated by Cathy Mattes
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© Urban Shaman

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WINNIPEG – Committed to expressing their cultural selves and making space for contemporary Aboriginal art, these seven Aboriginal painters congregated in Winnipeg in 1973 at the first Aboriginal owned art gallery, run by Daphne Odjig, to form the Professional Native Indian Artists’ Inc. (P.N.I.A. Inc.), aka the Indian Group of 7. The seven artists who belonged to the collective were Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird), Carl Ray, Joseph Sanchez, Eddy Cobiness, and Alex Janvier. Characterized by bright colours, abstracted landscapes and stylized images of animals, humans, spirits, and the earth, their diverse contemporary work visually interprets oral stories and legends, addresses post-contact history from an Aboriginal perspective, contemplates spirituality, and maps the land in abstract, painted form and drawing.

In addition to providing support to one another in their artistic endeavours, these seven artists were collectively concerned with copyright issues, art markets, resources to other Aboriginal artists and the politics of the art world at that time. Through their acts of social change and visual languages, members of the P.N.I.A. Inc. laid the foundation for many artists of Aboriginal ancestry in Manitoba and across Canada and made space for Aboriginal-run arts organizations such as Urban Shaman Gallery - they are the frontrunners. Frontrunners exposes the impact of the P.N.I.A. Inc. within Manitoba. Their story, and the context and time it happened, is a starting point for discussing the history of artistic, and social change action within Winnipeg by artists of Aboriginal ancestry, and the effective role Urban Shaman Gallery has, and continues to play. In partnership with Plug-In ICA, Frontrunners acknowledges and references the complicated history, impact, and positions created from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal perceptions of Aboriginal art that surfaced in the early 70s and the ground-breaking actions of the P.N.I.A. Inc.

An exhibition featuring work by the seven members of the Professional Native Indian Artists’ Inc. will be at Urban Shaman Gallery. Artwork featured includes paintings and prints from the 1970s that reflect their seminal roles as social change agents and recognizes their artistic sensibilities and the ways in which they affirmed their cultural presence. Also at Urban Shaman Gallery will be an exhibition featuring new work by Winnipeg-based artists Jackie Traverse, Darryl Nepinak, Lita Fontaine, and Louis Ogemah that visually respond to the contributions of the Professional Native Indian Artists’ Inc. in Winnipeg. Their painting, sculptural, and video works imagine the P.N.I.A. Inc. members’ interactions with one another and their existences as artists of Aboriginal ancestry in the 70s.

When: May 7th – July 17, 2011

Where: Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art, 203-290 McDermot Avenue (Winnipeg)

Opening reception: May 7 (7-11 p.m.)


Source: URBAN SHAMAN - Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery

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