National Aboriginal Day

On June 21, for National Aboriginal Day, the AGA will be offering FREE admission all day long, 2 special exhibition tours, a beading workshop and a film screening. See below for more details.

ATB Financial is proud to support National Aboriginal Day at the AGA.

Beading workshop

Wednesday, June 21, 11am–1pm and 5–7pm
Meet in the exhibition for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art on Level 3 (3rd floor)

Inspired by the collaborative artistic labour undertaken by Alberta Biennial artists, the Art Gallery of Alberta invites you to join us in a community beading circle led by Cassidy Halcrow of the University of Alberta Native Studies Students’ Association.

All materials and instructions to be provided.

Exhibition tour with Tanya Harnett

Wednesday, June 21, 12 pm and 6 pm
Meet at the entrance of the exhibition Past Imperfect: A Canadian History Project on Level 2 (2nd floor)
Free (maximum tour capacity 30 people)

Past Imperfect: A Canadian History Project tells the stories of the people, places and events that have shaped Canada over the past 150 years, showcasing artwork from the AGA’s permanent collection. On this occasion, the AGA invited esteemed guest and art community member, Tanya Harnett, to share her perspective and experience of Canada through a unique interpretation of selected pieces. The tour will end with a stop in the 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art currently on display, opening the dialogue between past narratives and contemporary indigenous practices.

Tanya Harnett is a member of the Carry-The-Kettle First Nations in Saskatchewan. She is an artist and an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta in a joint appointment in the Department of Art and Design and in the Faculty of Native Studies. Harnett is an avid community supporter for contemporary Aboriginal artists and her studio practice engages in the notions about politics, identity, history, spirituality and place, which find an echo in this recently opened exhibition.

Learn more about Tanya Harnett.

Film screening

Wednesday, June 21, doors at 7:15 pm, film at 7:30 pm

Ledcor Theatre on the lower level (L1)

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (119 min)

For 78 days in the summer of 1990, a land dispute broke out between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec. Director Alanis Obomsawin filmed the armed stand-off between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian army day and night. Her documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance takes you behind the barricades and offers insight into this internationally publicized conflict.

This film is screened in honour of National Aboriginal Day and in connection with the exhibition Past Imperfect: A Canadian History Project, where you can find a brief introduction to the Oka Crisis.