Indigenous architectural perspective on display

GATINEAU, QUE. — The Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. has announced the launch of an exhibition that originated as Canada’s entry in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Unceded — Voices of the Land is described as an immersive audiovisual installation and it will run at the museum until March 22, 2020.

The exhibition was originally developed by Indigenous Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal, the designer of the museum itself, as part of a team of 18 Indigenous architects.

Designers representing Anishinaabe, Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Lakota, Metis, Mohawk, Navajo, Nisga’a and other Indigenous nations developed a journey theme through four thematic territories: indigeneity, resilience, sovereignty and colonization.

Co-curators are David Fortin, a Metis architect who is director of the McEwen School of Architecture in Sudbury, Ont., and Gerald McMaster, a Canada research chair in Indigenous visual culture at Toronto’s OCAD University.

“We wanted to show the international community how important the Indigenous world view is to the rest of the world, for the future of our human family,” said Cardinal in a statement. “But of course, that education should start at home in our own country.

“So, I’m extremely happy that Mark O’Neill at the Museum of History feels that it is important to showcase this international exhibit in our own country, with the opportunity of touring North America.”