CAN410 Trip by Katarina Ohlsson | Faculty of Arts

Hi FOA,

I'm just letting you know that some CAN410 students and I went to see the work of Jane Ash Poitras the Cree printmaker and mixed-media artist at the ROM this past Saturday. Her work is being exhibited within the larger Indigenous gallery at the ROM and this gave us the opportunity to have important discussions around how museums acquire artifacts and at how they represent those and what decolonizing a space like a public museum might look like. 

Students commented on how visitors without the knowledge of someone in CAN410 might problematically situate this exhibit after having seen dinosaurs and an Egyptian mummy and how the museum has a responsibility to ensure that visitors leave the exhibit with a current understanding of Indigenous voices and communities within Toronto. This trip really gave students the opportunity to put their knowledge into action - it was very rewarding to see. 

On a fun sidenote, the security guard at the entrance that we used was a Seneca alum and he spoke to me so fondly about his time here and especially the coordinator of his security program 'Nancy' - my work this week is to track her down! 

I've included a photo of the students in front of one of Jane Ash Poitras' work. 

Thanks, 

Katarina