IN THIS ISSUE WHAT IS CANADA HISTORYWEEK? PG. 3 VISUAL ARTS PG. 4 STAGE AND SCREEN PG. 7 MUSIC PG. 9 LITERATURE PG. 11 EXPLORING CANADIAN ARTS AND HERITAGE PG. 13 GOVERNOR GENERAL’S HISTORY AWARDS PG. 14 (Bernard Breton/749253/Dreamstime.com). 2 ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᓪᓚᒍᓯᖏᑦ L I TTÉRATURES INUI TES INUI T L I TERATURES Imaginaire | Nord B D C Dictionnaire biographique du Canada Dictionary of Canadian Biography www.biographi.ca www.biographi.ca Content provided by:
#HISTORYWEEK2022 Canada History Week provides all Canadians with the opportunity to learn more about people and events that have shaped the country we know today. Canada History Week is a great time to discover more about our history. Explore some of our past themes to learn even more. • 2017: Human Rights in Canada: Challenges and Achievements on the Path to a More Inclusive and Compassionate Society. • 2018: Science, Creativity and Innovation: Our Canadian Story. • 2019: Working for the Future: a century of change in how Canadians work. • 2020: Exploring the History of Canada’s Environment and Climate. • 2021: Indigenous History: Learning about Indigenous Leaders, Language Revitalization, and Cultures. This year, Canada History Week highlights the history of arts, culture, and creators in Canada. The topics covered in this magazine, the videos, and the accompanying learning tool just begin to scratch the surface of the history of the arts in Canada, but we hope they can be used as a starting point for learning more about the rich cultural history of arts and culture in Canada. The week aims to encourage Canadians to reflect upon and engage with Canada’s past, and in doing so, to better understand diverse artistic expressions and their role in shaping our country. While there are many current Canadian artists and creators who have made a great impact nationally and internationally, this digital magazine focuses on artists and creators who made an impression earlier in our history. The range of incredible creators and their creations in our past defies inclusion in a single document, but we hope the topics in this magazine cover a wide range within the history of arts and culture in Canada. To explore more arts, culture, and creators in Canada, see our Visual Arts, Literature, Music, and Performing Arts collections, or search The Canadian Encyclopedia by theme, keyword, or article title. Post photos, videos, and messages and take part in the discussion using the hashtag #HistoryWeek2022. WHAT IS CANADA HISTORY WEEK? CANADA HISTORY WEEK 2022: THE HISTORY OF ARTS, CULTURE, AND CREATORS IN CANADA WANT TO SHARE ONLINE? 3
VISUAL ARTS PROFESSIONAL NATIVE INDIAN ARTISTS INC. battled racism, discrimination, and exclusion to fight for professional respect and political selfdetermination. The seven Indigenous artists who formed PNIAI are Daphne Odjig, Joseph Sanchez, Alex Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Eddy Cobiness, Carl Ray, and Jackson Beardy. Prior to the development of contemporary Indigenous art and the formation of PNIAI, Indigenous art had been viewed as artifacts, something of interest for anthropologists, but not for a fine art gallery. The group, formalized in 1972, would meet in Daphne Odjig’s printmaking shop, which by 1974 became the first Indigenous-owned art gallery in Canada. The group disbanded in 1975, but the collective’s legacy of bringing contemporary Indigenous art to the public’s attention continues to inspire Indigenous artists. The PNIAI collective came up with their name themselves, but it is important to note that First Nations peoples in Canada were erroneously called “Indians” by European settlers. This term is now recognized as derogatory and is rarely used, except in some legal and historical documents, including the name of the PNIAI collective. “Aboriginal” is a legal term that encompasses all Status and Non-Status First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Though “Aboriginal” and “Indigenous” are sometimes used interchangeably, we have used “Indigenous” in this magazine. Video Illustrator: Brent Hardisty is a Woodlands style painter who works in acrylics on canvas. His spiritual name is Niiwin Binesi, which translated roughly from Anishnaabemowin means Four Birds. He was influenced by graffiti sub-culture, and after making a name for himself within that scene, moved onto painting murals for organizations and businesses. His current style and medium were influenced by his upbringing in Sagamok First Nation. CHARLES EDENSHAW (TAHAYREN) was an Indigenous artist whose work remains important to understanding Haida culture. A large body of his work was done during a time when traditional Haida culture was at risk of disappearing due to ceremonial bans in the Indian Act. He was heralded during his lifetime by the Haida and by collectors as an accomplished carver, and continues to be among the best-known Haida artists. His early work carving totem poles still inspires carvers today. 4 Over the millennia, Indigenous art in Canada has varied in genre, style, function, imagery, and meaning from region to region. The oldest surviving visual artworks in what we now call Canada are around 5,000 years old, but the history of art in this land began long before that.
FRANCES LORING and FLORENCE WYLE, collaborators and lifelong partners, were founding members of the Sculptors Society of Canada. Loring worked on fostering a climate to make sculpture possible for others. She was a chief organizer of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Canada Council for the Arts. Wyle was the first woman accorded full membership in the Royal Canadian Academy of Art. Her public art commissions were frequently sculptures of women and tended to have an intimate style. Both Wyle and Loring died in 1968; in their wills they donated the proceeds of their work to a fund set up to purchase pieces by young sculptors to have them exhibited in public galleries across Canada. KENOJUAK ASHEVAK was an Inuit artist and the first woman involved in the famed co-op printmaking shop at Kinngait (Cape Dorset). Her most well-known print, The Enchanted Owl (1960), was used on a postage stamp to commemorate the centennial of the Northwest Territories. Although her drawings and prints gained the most praise, she was also a carver, designed blankets, and created a mural at the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. Watch the Heritage Minute on Kenojuak Ashevak to learn more. YOUSUF KARSH came to Canada as an Armenian refugee in 1924, studying photography with his uncle, and later moved to Boston to study portrait photography with John H. Garo. In 1932, Karsh opened a portrait studio in Ottawa. Known as the twentieth century’s portrait photographer, he would go on to take photographic portraits of major international figures such as Portia White, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, and Marshall McLuhan, to name a few. Karsh’s 1941 portrait of Winston Churchill, which appeared on the cover of Life magazine, remains one of his most well-known. VISUAL ARTS 5 Yousuf Karsh, June 1936 (Joseph Alexandre Castonguay/ Library and Archives Canada/e010683549). Kenojuak Ashevak (Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board fonds/e011177387). Mural in Victoria (Meunierd/Dreamstime.com).
Nova Scotia’s MAUD LEWIS transformed the mundane into the magical with her unique artistic vision. Maud wasn’t taken seriously as an artist during her lifetime, although a few people in the art world recognized her talent. In 1965, she was featured in a CBC documentary, leading to a flood of requests for her work during the last years of her life. She became much more famous after she died in 1970, with her talent as an artist eventually recognized more widely. GUSTAVO URIEL DA ROZA II was an architect of Chinese and Portuguese descent who moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1960. He is most recognized for his design of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, as well as his design of the Chatelaine Expo Home, which was exhibited at Expo 67. Modernism was widely practiced in Canada during the 1960s and 1970s, and da Roza’s practice contributed significantly to Winnipeg’s architectural style. In 2003, he served as a member of the panel for the architectural design of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. 6 As leader of Les Automatistes, PAUL-ÉMILE BORDUAS had a profound influence on the development of the arts and on thought, both in the province of Quebec and across Canada. Refus global, a collectively published manifesto with Borduas as principal author, challenged traditional values in Quebec. The manifesto was harshly criticized by the press and the government, causing him to be removed from his post at the École du Meuble. Though he was essentially exiled from Canada after the manifesto’s publication, Borduas remains one of the most important painters in contemporary Canadian art. VISUAL ARTS Paul-Émile Borduas (Library and Archives Canada/Ronny Jaques). Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg (wwphoto/Dreamstime.com). Art with Heart: Maud Lewis (Hannah Teakle).
Video Illustrator: Audrey Malo lives and works in Montreal. Her work explores contrasts of shapes, colours, and compositions. She illustrates books for a young audience and designs editorial and advertising illustrations. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Globe and Mail. ROSE OUELLETTE, known more commonly by her stage name La Poune, had a diverse career spanning over seven decades. As a pioneer of burlesque theatre and comedy in Quebec, Rose influenced generations of francophone performers and comedians. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman in North America to serve as artistic director of two separate playhouses. STAGE AND SCREEN 7 LÉO-ERNEST OUIMET was an early director, producer, and distributor of Canadian film. In 1906, he opened the Ouimetoscope, the first permanent cinema in Montreal. He made shorts based on his family and current affairs to add local flavour to his programs, making him one of the most notable Canadian film producers prior to the First World War. Ouimet built a career on creating local cultural products despite Hollywood’s dominant cultural influence. MICHEL TREMBLAY is an influential Québécois playwright and novelist. His early plays, such as Les Belles-Soeurs, show a realistic representation of the working-class neighbourhood where Tremblay was born. Controversial at the time, he is well-known for his use of Montreal’s working-class language known as joual. Tremblay’s early plays were significant for his representation of working-class women and queer characters. Some of his notable theatrical works include Hosanna and For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, and his plays contributed significantly to the development of alternative theatre in Quebec. Michel Tremblay (Wikimedia Commons/ Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf).
8 JENNIFER HODGE DE SILVA was a pioneering filmmaker in the 1970s and 1980s, and the first Black filmmaker to work consistently with the National Film Board and the CBC. Her documentaries, including her signature film, Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community (1983), explored complex social conditions in Canada. DAN GEORGE was an actor, poet, and public speaker from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Born Geswanouth Slahoot, George began acting at the age of 60. His role as Old Lodge Skins in Little Big Man (1970) earned George an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, the first time an Indigenous actor was nominated for an Oscar. He often acted alongside other Indigenous actors such as Jay Silverheels. George refused to play roles or be in films that demeaned Indigenous peoples and culture. For some First Nations in the prairies, the Sun Dance is an annual sacred ceremony used to reaffirm spiritual beliefs about the universe. The Sun Dance was, historically, an opportunity to renew kinship ties, arrange marriages, and exchange property. The ceremony was banned under the Indian Act of 1895, along with several traditional Indigenous ceremonies, dances, and festivals. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1951 dropped the ban on the Sun Dance, and some groups continue to celebrate today. BRIANMACDONALD became one of the most prolific and internationally renowned directors and choreographers in Canada in his 50-year career. An original member of the National Ballet of Canada, he went on to establish an international reputation as a choreographer, and later as a director of opera and musicals. Macdonald also directed 19 stage productions as an associate director of the Stratford Festival. MENAKA THAKKAR was a dancer, choreographer, director, and teacher who had a profound influence on the development of Indian classical dance in Canada. Although noted as a distinguished performer of classical styles of Indian dance, she drew critical attention for her innovative development of these forms. STAGE AND SCREEN A woman dancing Bharatanatyam, one of Thakkar’s styles (Howesjwe/Dreamstime.com). National Film Board of Canada (Michel Bussieres/Dreamstime.com). Chief Dan George (Too Tall Paul/Flickr).
9 MUSIC VIDEO 3 PORTIAWHITE rose to fame in the 1940s. A contralto, she was celebrated as Canada’s singing sensation. White was the first AfricanCanadian concert singer to win international acclaim. A native of Nova Scotia, she was considered one of the best classical contraltos of the 20th century. Video Illustrator: Raoul Olou is a multidisciplinary artist who grew up as a Beninese national in Senegal. He has spent the last nineteen years as an immigrant living and working in six different cities. Concepts of nationality, citizenship, race, identity, and archiving the mundane are core themes that Raoul explores in his work. EMMA ALBANI was recognized for her work both in large concerts and in private recitals, and had a repertoire that included 43 roles in Italian, French, and German operas. One of the leading opera stars of her generation, on an equal footing with her contemporaries Jenny Lind, Adelina Patti, and Nellie Melba, she had a dazzling career for nearly 40 years, winning the admiration of the international musical world. BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE is a singer, songwriter, and social activist best known for her politically focused music. Beginning as a folk singer, she used her fame to bring Indigenous issues and anti-war activism to public attention through her songs. Her songs, such as “Universal Soldier” and “A Soulful Shade of Blue,” have been covered by many artists including Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Cher, and Neil Diamond. Dame Emma Albani (Robert James Manion/Library and Archives Canada/C-003307). Buffy Sainte-Marie (Ken Sterzuk/flickr).
10 SOUNDS LIKE HISTORY is a podcast exploring the Virtual Gramophone collection from Library and Archives Canada. It is produced by Canada’s History Society in both official languages. Brought to North America by Europeans during early contact and colonization, fiddling is an instrumental folk tradition. Fiddling styles and songs have been influenced by different communities, such as the Métis, Irish, French, and English. The advent of recording and radio brought dramatic changes to regional music. Don Messer and His Islanders had wide exposure on the radio and television, causing his smoother style of fiddling to become the dominant style today. The banjo, used by fiddling bands, was popularized by the Bohee Brothers of Saint John, NB, who took the African-descended instrument to England. The earliest jazz musicians in Canada appeared in the midto-late 1910s, though there is little surviving evidence of the first Canadian jazz bands and musicians. Although Vancouver’s Patricia Cafe boasted jazz acts as of 1917, Montreal’s Black population led the development of an enduring jazz scene, and by the mid-1940s Canada had its first jazz star: Oscar Peterson. Charlie Biddle was an important jazz promoter in Montreal. His organization of local festivals in the late 1970s and early 1980s helped lead to the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Canada’s largest music festival. CHICHO VALLE was a pioneer and popularizer of LatinAmerican music in Canada. He began singing in Cuba at the age of nine. In 1946, he was invited to Toronto to sing by CBC radio. Afterwards, he remained in Canada, and formed a group called Chicho Valle y los Cubanos. The group grew from a trio to 10 musicians by 1956, and, at some points, included a 20-piece concert orchestra. Music is a universal language. When words aren’t enough, music can bring people together, share powerful messages, and be part of healing. Face the music: Canadian musicians and human rights explores how musicians have broken down barriers with music. (Canada’s History Society/AndrewWorkman) Playing Inuit Drum (Howard Sandler/Dreamstime.com). Sainte-Catherine Street during the annual Montreal Jazz Festival (Paul Mckinnon/Dreamstime.com). MUSIC
11 LITERATURE GABRIELLE ROY’s literary reputation has remained constant since the publication of Bonheur d’occasion (1945), making her one of Canada’s most highly respected, widely read, and most studied authors, here and abroad. A three-time winner of the Governor General’s Award and a member of the Royal Society of Canada, her materials from 1940 to 1983 are now preserved at Library and Archives Canada. LUCY MAUDMONTGOMERY has influenced people around the world through her novels, most notably Anne of Green Gables. She coped with a lonely childhood by escaping into her imagination through reading and writing. Her works and her journals describe continuity and change in Canadian life and society, the status of women, the authority of religion, the development of professions, the impact of the First World War and the Great Depression, the evolution of international publishing, and the massive shift from an agrarian world to an industrialized one. She was the subject of a Heritage Minute released in 2018. LOUIS HÉMON’s novel Maria Chapdelaine has been translated into more than 20 languages, and by the late twentieth century had gone through nearly 150 editions, with more than 10 million copies distributed worldwide. The novel’s account of Quebec peasant life “brought Canada into world literature.” The novel has also been adapted into 3 different films. Gabrielle Roy (Wikimedia Commons). Louis Hémon (Université de Montréal/Division des Archives/P0109.F1.0086). Snowdon Theatre in Montreal (Michel Bussieres/Dreamstime.com).
12 Example of a webpage from the Inuit Cultural Timeline interactive tool, which illustrates here the birth of the playwright, writer, poet, and essayist Minnie Aodla Freeman. The Inuit have been living in the Circumpolar Arctic for millennia. Their presence throughout the territory, from Siberia to Alaska, in Inuit Nunangat (ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᑦ, lands, waters and ice of the Inuit people) in Canada, as well as in Greenland, gave rise to different forms of cultural and literary expression. The trilingual site Inuit Literatures explores authors, their works, and the history of this expression through an interactive timeline of Inuit literary facts. Graphic novels can tackle human rights issues by using creative and compelling visual storytelling. Authors and illustrators work together to share truths about Canada’s history. In the web story Graphic truths, new ways of learning about Canada’s complicated history with human rights are examined. PAULINE JOHNSON (Tekahionwake) was a gifted writer and orator of Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) and European descent. Best known for her portrayals of Indigenous women and children, and her use of environmental themes, her poetry was published in newspapers and magazines in the early years of her career. From about 1884 to 1909 she pursued a career as an actress and performer, and was known for performing her work first in traditional traditional Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) dress, then in European-style clothing. She made important contributions to Indigenous and Canadian written culture, navigating racial and gender categories as she moved between Indigenous and European identities. MARY ANN SHADD was an educator, publisher, and abolitionist, and the first Black female newspaper publisher in Canada. On 24 March 1853, Shadd published the first edition of her weekly newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. The newspaper publicized the successes of Black people living in Canada, to promote immigration from the United States. Learn more about Mary Ann Shadd on the Strong and Free podcast. WAYSON CHOY was an influential Chinese-Canadian novelist, memoirist, and shortstory writer. In 1996, his novel The Jade Peony won the City of Vancouver Book Award and the Trillium Book Award. The novel tells the story of an immigrant family living in Vancouver during the Second World War. The intimate portrait captures the lived reality of Chinatown from the perspective of first-generation Canadians. Choy also advocated for 2SLGBTQ+ rights. LITERATURE Tekahionwake (Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board fonds/e011177518).
13 The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collection, assembled over the last 150 years, includes millions of literary works, thousands of films and musical recordings, and the world’s largest collection of Canadian sheet music. The comprehensive visual arts holdings consist of artworks in various media: a notable highlight is the diverse works of portraiture, ranging from 17th-century oil paintings to contemporary photography. Additionally, LAC hosts thousands of unique personal files, such as draft manuscripts and notebooks, which allow Canadians to explore the remarkable careers and fascinating creative processes behind influential artists like Gratien Gélinas, Celia Franca, Tomson Highway, Dionne Brand, and Gabor Szilasi. Visit the brand-new LAC website to access and discover thousands of digitized documents and recordings. What did arts and heritage consumption look like during the pandemic? The Association for Canadian Studies offers evidence-based insights into the effects of the pandemic on arts attendance and engagement. The article looks at arts and heritage consumption habits of minorities, newcomers, and Indigenous peoples, and the impact on arts expression arising from the aforementioned groups. It includes results from a national survey that looks at how knowledgeable Canadians consider themselves when it comes to arts and heritage in Canada. Read more here. EXPLORING CANADIAN ARTS AND HERITAGE Women’s violine quartet, Toronto Conservatory of Music, 1888 (Simpson Bros./Library and Archives Canada/PA164643). Portrait of Celia Franca on pointe (Library and Archives Canada). Put your arts and culture knowledge to the test! Take the Citizenship Challenge Canadian Arts and Culture quizzes to see how much you know. Test yourself with the Easy, Medium, and Hard editions!
GOVERNOR GENERAL’S HISTORY AWARDS Canada’s National History Society is proud to introduce the recipients of the 2022 Governor General’s History Awards. The awards are an annual recognition of the achievements of individuals and organizations that make the past relevant, empowering, and accessible. COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING Administered by Canada’s National History Society Live Our Heritage / Vivre notre héritage Heritage Lower Saint Lawrence Métis-sur-Mer, Quebec Sur les traces de Dubuc La Pulperie de Chicoutimi / Musée régional Chicoutimi, Québec MUSEUMS Administered by the Canadian Museums Association with the support of Ecclesiastical Insurance Voix autochtones d’aujourd’hui : savoir, trauma, résilience Musée McCord Stewart Montréal, Québec POPULAR MEDIA Administered by Canada’s National History Society Thomas King, Guelph, Ontario SCHOLARLY RESEARCH Administered by the Canadian Historical Association A Line of Blood and Dirt: Creating the Canada-United States Border across Indigenous Lands Benjamin Hoy, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TEACHING Administered by Canada’s National History Society Cynthia Bettio, Our Lady Queen of the World Catholic Academy, Richmond Hill, Ontario Natasha Camacho, École St. Catherine’s Elementary School, Halifax, Nova Scotia Carla Cooke and Tracey Salamondra, Hartney School, Hartney, Manitoba Luisa Fracassi, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Academy, Toronto, Ontario Barbara A. Giroux, Holy Family School, Ottawa, Ontario Jennifer Maxwell, W.J. Mouat Secondary, Abbotsford, British Columbia 14
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