Shards

September 14 - December 2, 2017

Opening reception: Thursday, September 14, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Remarks at 5:00 p.m. by Manitoba Craft Council, SHARDS curator Jenny Western and University of Winnipeg Winnipeg Art Gallery Chair in the History of Indigenous Arts of North America Julie Nagam.
SHARDS artists Jaime Black and KC Adams will perform after remarks.
Catering and cash bar by Diversity Foods.

Panel discussion with SHARDS curator and artists: Tuesday, November 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall at the University of Winnipeg

Exhibit tour and clay workshop with Franchesca Hebert-Spence: Friday, November 17 at 12:30 p.m. at Gallery 1C03

Curator's tour with Jenny Western: Tuesday, November 28 at 10:00 a.m. Gallery 1C03.

Gallery 1C03 is pleased to present the group exhibition SHARDS: Contemporary artists in conversation with the ceramics of our forebearers, organized by the Manitoba Craft Council.

Curated by Jenny Western, SHARDS features the work of four Indigenous female artists – KC Adams, Jaime Black, Lita Fontaine and Niki Little – in conversation with the 2000+ years old archaeological ceramic shards collections of the Manitoba Museum and the University of Winnipeg. SHARDS incorporates both new and old ceramics as well as artworks created in response to the shards and reflective of our past, present, and future as shared stewards of this territory. Exhibition dates are September 14 – December 2, 2017.

Indigenous pottery shards uncovered by archeologists suggest that ceramic craft and artistry have been practiced in the region currently known as Manitoba for well over 2,000 years. These ceramic pots are believed to have been made as cooking vessels, formed from the clay left here by the prehistoric Lake Agassiz and fired with wood from the area’s boreal forest. Scholars believe that the creators of these pots were women, most likely mothers feeding and caring for their families through their act of ceramic creation. Although their names are unknown, there is a kinship among the pots' original makers and the four artists who make up the SHARDS exhibition; they are connected as creators, as women, and as inhabitants of this land.

Gallery 1C03 hours: Monday - Friday: 12:00 - 4:00 p.m., Saturday: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Remembrance Day.

Admission is free and everyone is welcome. The Gallery is wheelchair accessible.

Shards workshop with archaeologist Grant Goltz
Shards artists KC Adams and Niki Little travelled to Hackensack, Minnesota to work with experimental archaeologist Grant Goltz. Goltz shares his theory of how pre-contact Indigenous peoples of our area made durable, multi-functional Blackduck pottery. Thank you to Lakeland Public Television for documenting this experience! Visit PBS for footage from this workshop.

For more information contact:
Jennifer Gibson, Director/Curator, Gallery 1C03
1st floor, Centennial Hall, The University of Winnipeg
515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg MB R3B 2E9
Phone: 204.786.9253