Indigenous contemporary artworks on display at UBC Okanagan Gallery

British Columbia’s UBC Okanagan Gallery has opened the new year with an exhibition highlighting recent additions to its Public Art Collection, bringing together contemporary Indigenous works from across multiple mediums.

The exhibition, “Medicine Prints, Whale Dreams, and Dancing Coyotes: New Works from the Public Art Collection,” opened January 5 and features artworks acquired or donated over the past year. The works focus largely on contemporary printmaking and lens-based practices by Indigenous women, examining connections between land, culture and photography.

The show includes printmaking, photography, carving and video by Indigenous artists who address social issues while sharing ancestral stories and knowledge. According to gallery director Tania Willard, the exhibition reflects how artists use these practices to connect cultural continuity with contemporary concerns.

Curated by Willard and curatorial assistant Ryan Trafananko, with additional support from programming assistant Kelly Yuste, the exhibition introduces new acquisitions by Michelle Sound, Taylor Baptiste, Krista Belle Stewart and Nadya Kwandibens.

Also featured are contemporary prints by Chief Henry Speck, Jim Johnny, Lyle Wilson, Robert Davidson, Roy Henry Vickers, Trevor Angus, and brothers Rupert and Barry Scow. These works, representing artists from several West Coast Nations, were donated last spring by Milton and Della McClaren.

UBC Okanagan’s Public Art Collection includes more than 800 works installed across campus, both indoors and outdoors. The collection is used for teaching, exhibitions and public engagement, and is intended to encourage discussion about the role of art in shared spaces.

“Medicine Prints, Whale Dreams, and Dancing Coyotes” runs until January 27. A public reception is scheduled for Friday, January 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., and featured artist Michelle Sound will give an online public talk on Monday, January 19, from 3 to 4 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

For more information, go here.