gathered together // Chief Lady Bird, Isaac Murdoch, Lapiztola, Lido Pimienta, and Whess Harman

Curatorial statement:

We would first like to acknowledge that we are on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininiwak, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the Homeland of the Métis Nation. This is Treaty 1 Territory.

Art existing in public spaces has the power to shape neighbourhoods, to acknowledge the land we live on and come from, and to tell stories. Streets and online spaces become spaces wherein artists use graphics and direct engagement to facilitate communication in their communities amidst challenging political climates. Artists are the voice for movements and they offer access to complex stories by reinterpreting the issues at hand. They use their beautiful and striking images to create change. This exhibition focuses on the effective design that artists Chief Lady Bird, Isaac Murdoch, Lapiztola, Lido Pimienta, and Whess Harman create from a place of care and collaboration. Their power to create dialogue through various mediums is celebrated in and beyond the gallery walls.

An ethos of care, empowerment, and resistance is imperative to identifying and undoing the oppressive mechanisms of colonialism. Working as a musician, artist, and curator, Lido Pimienta embodies these values in her everyday praxis. Through her actions and creative practice, Pimienta explores themes including gender, race, and resilience. Her visual work is as exuberant and playful as her music and shares a boundless joy with her community. As part of gathered together and Wall-to-Wall Culture and Mural Festival, audiences are invited to join a conversation with Pimienta, presented in partnership with The Uniter.

Lapiztola and Isaac Murdoch strive to use their art for positive social change. Each of them have brought an accessibility to activist-based art that surpasses the locale of the artists through the internet, streets, banners, and picket signs. This promotes a powerful message to create unity across diverse audiences. Despite being located across the continent, Lapiztola and Murdoch share similarities using collage-style imagery with bold pop art to capture the viewer’s attention from afar. Their dedication to transferring their skills and knowledge to others unites us in meaningful ways for generations to come. Digital and in-person workshops presented in collaboration with these artists will provide the public with opportunities for hands-on engagement. The workshops are presented in partnership with Graffiti Art Programming and Wall-to-Wall Mural and Culture Festival.

Both Chief Lady Bird and Whess Harman’s art practices focus on the strength and power of their nations while rejecting colonial tropes that aim to disempower Indigenous Peoples. Much of their works are dedicated to taking up physical and conceptual space, within and outside the gallery walls. This exhibition invites them to share their voice on Treaty 1 territory as a way of empowering Indigenous relations all across Turtle Island. Within their illustrative works, they speak to the ways in which they celebrate family and kin, while providing compelling perspectives on the vast and fluid Indigenous knowledge systems that weave together on Turtle Island.

gathered together and associated programs are presented in partnership with Wall-to-Wall Mural and Culture Festival and Graffiti Art Programming, with additional funding from the Winnipeg Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council and Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage.