An internationally-celebrated exhibit featuring the work of 18 Indigenous architects from across North America is finally in Edmonton, after debuting in Venice in 2018.
UNCEDED: Voices of the Land is described as “the first Indigenous-led contemporary architecture exhibit ever presented on the world stage,” according to a news release.
The Edmonton debut was postponed by Covid-19, and organizers have also said they had to fight for their vision of Indigenous people and art in creating the exhibit.
The exhibit is presented by famed architect Douglas Cardinal, who was emotional at the news conference announcing the opening of the exhibit.
“Many people tried to change this vision,” he said at Edmonton City Centre which is housing the multi-media exhibit until June 21.
Cardinal said he was grateful to the team who supported his vision including Stan Olthuis, creative producer for the exhibit.
“They kept that vision solid, even though they were under terrible pressure and it cost them a lot,” Cardinal said before receiving a hug from Olthuis.
“When I first met Douglas, when he spoke to me about what his hope was,” said Olthuis, who is not Indigenous.
The process of working with Cardinal was transformative, he added.
“This [exhibit] is an experience for the heart.”
UNCEDED opens to the public on March 8 — one day after Cardinal celebrates his 91st birthday. Cardinal designed iconic buildings like the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., First Nations University in Regina, and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Tickets are available online starting Feb. 19. Organizers said they are in talks to bring the exhibit to Australia and Switzerland after it leaves Alberta.
Cardinal said his goal with the exhibit was to share a vision of Indigenous people and architecture beyond victimhood but that others failed to see that.
“They wanted to present just the horrors of the residential schools and just the hardship,” said Idoia Arana-Beobide, who is the managing director of the exhibit and Cardinal’s wife.
The exhibit first debuted at the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018 — which Olthuis called the most important exhibition for architecture in the world — where it was well-received.
Arana-Beobide described the process as controversial, adding that it challenged Europeans’ view of Canada and its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
“We want the exhibit to say, ‘No matter what you throw at us, we’re going to be joyful and happy and we’re going to remain powerful,'” Cardinal said.
The exhibit is meant to show the power and beauty of Indigenous people, he said.
The multimedia experience includes vocal performances and dancing which Cardinal describes as victorious.
The final space you walk into is a circle, Cardinal said, that “will blow your minds with how powerful we are.”
“You walk into that space and you will walk out of there with humility because you’ve confronted a very powerful people.”