About Urban Shaman

MISSION STATEMENT
Urban Shaman is an Aboriginal artist-run centre dedicated to meeting the needs of artists by providing a vehicle for artistic expression in all disciplines and at all levels by taking a leadership role in the cultivation of Indigenous art.

VISION
Urban Shaman presents contemporary Indigenous Aboriginal art with integrity while remaining rooted in our diverse Aboriginal cultures.

MANDATE
Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art is a nationally recognized leader in Aboriginal arts programming and one of the foremost venues and voices for Aboriginal art in Canada. Our focus on developing new programming and new ways of presenting it have resulted in increased exposure and the expansion of our activities. Urban Shaman is dedicated to the Aboriginal arts community and arts community at large.

• Committed to serving the needs of emerging, mid-career, and established Aboriginal artists through exhibitions and associated programming, workshops, residencies and curatorial initiatives.
• Dedicated to contributing to art historical and cultural critical discourses on a local, national, and international level.
• Committed to facilitating artistic production, education, and appreciation of contemporary art as an important and empowering tool for Aboriginal peoples.

Admission to the gallery is free.

Asiniy Iskwew

“My work explores the influence of popular media and culture (contemporary and historical) on Aboriginal self-identity, self-image, and self-definition… I deconstruct the images of the Indian Princess and the Squaw and reconstruct an image of absurdity, inserting these hybrids into the mainstream. The performance personas I have created refer to the damage of colonialism and to the ironic pleasures of displacement and resistance.”

This exhibition is a complex survey of past iconic works by the remarkable artist, Lori Blondeau. Throughout her extensive arts practice she has produced tough, powerful women personas, like that of Cosmosquaw (1996) to her stunning endurance performance project performed during Venice Biennial titled, Grace (2007), to which these past works continue to have an impact and influence Canadian art history today. The artist has recently taken a new direction in her process and created a photo-based series from her research around Plains Indigenous rock formations. These extraordinary rock formations can be found throughout the prairies in Canada and the United States. Some of these sites were created to record ceremony, vision quests, battles and histories, plus many of these spaces are held in high regard because of the spiritual medicines those great rocks embody. Sadly, some of these sites have been destroyed due to outside interests but the Indigenous communities that respect them have not forgotten them. One such destruction is well known in Saskatchewan, the site known as Mistaseni, which was a four hundred tonne sacred rock that lay in the flood path of what is now known as Lake Diefenbaker. In 1966 it was blown up and the debris from this rock still exists under the dam waters today. Blondeau grew up hearing stories of Mistaseni and its importance with her people (Cree/Saulteaux/Metis). The photos in this series also represent the resilience of Indigenous cultures and each image documents the strong connection between the individual and the land.

Biography
Lori Blondeau is a Cree/Saulteaux/Metis artist from Saskatchewan, Blondeau holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan, and has sat on the Advisory Panel for Visual Arts for the Canada Council for the Arts and is a co-founder and the current director of TRIBE, an Aboriginal arts organization. Her practice includes both visual and performance contemporary art.

AGM 2016

2016 Urban Shaman AGM Agenda
Saturday, 15 October, 2016 2:00 pm, 
203-290 McDermot Avenue. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0T2

Chair:
A     Introduction
B     Review of Procedures
C     Approval of Secretary
D     Adoption of Agenda
E     Approval of 2016 US AGM Minutes
F     President’s Report
G     National Director’s Report
H     Presentation of Financial Statements & Appointment of Auditor
I     Election of President
J     Presentation of Board of Directors
K     Other Business
L     Adjournment

For more info on our gallery please visit urbanshaman.org or contact Liz Garlicki Outreach Coordinator at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Don’t know if you are up to date with your membership? Contact Liz! Memberships can be purchased online…
http://urbanshaman.org/site/membership

Remember that your contributions to the gallery are valued and we would love to see you here supporting us. Thank you.


Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery
203 – 290 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0T2
T 204.942.2674
W http://www.urbanshaman.org