We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān | Reception and Conversation

We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān | Reception and Conversation
Conversation with Sandra Semchuk, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Joan Borsa, Elvis Thomas, and Gladys Linklater - Saturday, June 29 at 2 PM
Reception - Saturday, June 29 at 3 PM
Free, everyone welcome.

This exhibition traces the 15-year creative collaboration between artists James Nicholas and Sandra Semchuk, beginning from their encounter in 1993 until Nicholas’s accidental death in 2007.

Through photo installations and videos, the exhibition delves into the impact of colonialism, viewing it through the prism of their intercultural marriage. It unveils a commitment to dialogue, where Semchuk’s identity as the child of Ukrainian-Canadian settlers from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, intersects with Nicholas’s experiences as a Rock Cree man from Manitoba.

The questions posed by Nicholas and Semchuk to each other range from personal and humorous to painful. Whether grappling with the marginalization of Ukrainian-Canadian settlers or delving into Nicholas’s experiences as a residential school survivor, their aim, in Semchuk’s words, is “to acknowledge the truths in each other’s narratives.”

We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān contributes to our museum’s ongoing exploration of the connections between Ukrainian Canadians and Indigenous peoples, as well as the involvement of Ukrainian settlers in colonization processes.

Conversation | Sandra Semchuk, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Joan Borsa, Elvis Thomas, and Gladys Linklater: Where is Here?

This public dialogue locates itself within the space of the collaborative exhibition by James Nicholas and Sandra Semchuk, We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān. It brings together artists, writers, and cultural workers from Cree, Métis and Ukrainian Canadian backgrounds to consider Reconciliation and address questions raised by the exhibition: What shared cultural, political, and historical experiences can we use to understand what has happened in Canada? What are the limits of empathy and the possibilities of Reconciliation? How do we cross cultural and historical boundaries to negotiate peace individually and collectively?

William Elvis Thomas is an Elder, Leader and Director of the Heritage, Language and Culture Program, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, who has worked for his People his entire life.

Gladys Linklater is a Grandmother and a Cree language expert who works with the Knowledge Keepers for the Heritage, Language and Culture Program, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

Sandra Semchuk is a second-generation Ukrainian Canadian photographer, teacher and scholar. In 2018, Sandra received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle is a multidisciplinary media artist, performer, and award-winning musician. She is of Métis/Cree (non-status/treaty), French, German, and Polish descent.

Joan Borsa is a second-generation Ukrainian Canadian curator, art critic, interdisciplinary scholar, and retired professor of both Art and Art History and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.