WINNIPEG.- The Winnipeg Art Gallery presents Boarder X and Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant, two exhibitions demonstrating how Indigenous art, culture, and land intersect. Boarder X reveals skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing as vehicles that challenge conformity and status quo. Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant, organized by the National Gallery of Canada, connects surfboards and video to Australian Aboriginal territory. Both exhibitions are on view until spring 2017.

“The Winnipeg Art Gallery is working to embrace reconciliation, Indigenous communities, and their art,” states Dr. Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO. “Boarder X and Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant support this mission by promoting a greater understanding of Indigenous culture, while tapping into the energy of boarding.”

Boarder X features work by contemporary artists from Indigenous nations across Canada: Jordan Bennett, Roger Crait, Steven Davies, Mark Igloliorte, Mason Mashon, Meghann O’Brien, and Les Ramsay. The exhibition reflects cultural, political, environmental, and social perspectives related to the landscapes and territories we occupy. Examining contested spaces, political borders, hybrid identities, and traditional lands, the artwork draws parallels to urban areas prohibiting skateboarding, ski runs unwelcome to snowboarders, and surfers’ constant search for uncrowded waves.

Presented alongside Boarder X, Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant connects Indigenous identities to disputed territory around Australia’s beaches as it relates to ownership, conflict, and land claims. Ah Kee’s boards incorporate traditional shield designs in the colours of the Australian Aboriginal flag, and on the flip side, beautifully drawn portraits of family. The critically acclaimed work was selected as Australia’s entry to the 2009 Venice Biennale.

Both exhibitions are curated by Jaimie Isaac, the WAG’s Canada Council Curatorial Resident of Indigenous & Contemporary Art, who herself enjoys snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. “Boarder X has created a space for active engagement through art, culture, and boarding at the WAG,” says Isaac. “The interdisciplinary art produced embodies how the artists relate to the environment and cultural landscapes. Working with these artists and Vans has been an amazing experience.”

Launched in 2013, the NGC@WAG partnership has resulted in the production of over ten exhibitions, bringing to Winnipeg some of the finest works from the national collection.