SAVAC and the Glenhyrst Art Gallery present
Between Us: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue
Curated by Srimoyee Mitra
With Roy Caussy, Bonnie Devine, Afshin Matlabi, Ali Kazimi and Jeff Thomas, Greg Staats, Yudi Sewraj and Bear Witness,
Dates: 29th November 2009 to 22nd January 2010
Between Us: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue brings together dynamic and compelling works by contemporary artists of South Asian and Indigenous backgrounds who explore the complex relations between belonging and displacement in Canada. Emerging from concerns raised by the incipient discourses in social justice movements that explore the relations between migrant rights and Indigenous sovereignty, Between Us: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue facilitates alternate ways of engaging and interacting with one another that do not perpetuate structural biases, assimilation or class privilege. The exhibition aims to build greater awareness and understanding of the cultural differences and experiences of discrimination. Artworks in the exhibition rupture the stereotypical burden of authenticity and homogeneity associated with both cultures to draw out lesser-known narratives and encounters with questions of place, space and memory as it relates to the contemporary experiences of the artists. Questioning the responsibilities of migrants living on fraught lands and the ongoing ghettoization of different cultural communities, Between Us: A Cross Cultural Dialogue explores the possibility of developing integrated dialogue, which engage in the rich cultural diversity, multiple viewpoints and histories that constitute contemporary Canadian society.
Between Us: A Cross- Cultural Dialogue resonates deeply in the city of Brantford that is located right next to the Six Nations of the Grand River. In the last few decades, Brantford has also become home to a number of South Asian immigrants, who constitute the largest immigrant group in the city. Named after the Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, the history of Brantford is inextricably linked to the history of the Iroquois Confederacy. Brant led many from the Iroquois Confederacy to ally with the British during the US war of independence that lasted for seven years (1775 -1882), at the end of the war, he was granted land along Grand River for his loyalty to the British and also to compensate the Iroquois for the lands that they had lost during the war. In 1784, Brant moved his men from New York State to the land granted to them along the Grand River. Today, the city continues to be an important centre for Haudenosaunee culture (traditional name for Iroquois Confederacy which is made up of the historical alliance between Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Ondonaga, Seneca and Tuscarora) and co-exists along with the majority Caucasian Europeans and minority immigrant groups. In this context, Between Us: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue stresses the importance of cross-cultural conversations, education and exchange to overcome misgivings and misunderstandings and build mutual respect and trust.
The Iroquois and South Asians in Brant county both left their homes to move to another land almost two centuries apart from each other, in very different circumstances, eras and contexts. Referred to by the same name – “Indian”, a word fraught with its associations to histories of assimilation, colonization and indentured labour. It also suppresses the differences between and within the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and the South Asian diaspora. In Canada, the word bears the weight of the heinous exploitation of the First Peoples by legislated government policy. This exhibition explores how immigrant communities can engage with Canada’s vexed history in ways that do not perpetuate the “settler” mentality and assumptions of the dominant culture. In Between Us: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue artists experiment and examine the strategy of collaboration and working together as the first steps towards building solidarity and develop a deeper understanding of one another.
