Why Did Canada's Top Art Gallery Push Out a Visionary Curator?
The Walrus, August 28, 2024
Toronto: The Walrus, 2024
A detailed description of the circumstances surrounding Wanda Nanibush's ousting from her position as the curator for Indigenous art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The article takes testimony from Nanibush herself, the AGO's museum director Stephen Jost, and anonymous staffers, artists, committee members and curators to piece together the story. McBride outlines the AGO's decision, prompted by its trustees' discomfort with Nanibush's pro-Palestinian activism, and the effects Nanibush's departure had on the AGO's reputation and relationship with with its Indigenous artists and curators. This article also contains a short biography of Nanibush's life path, and descriptions of the work she did for the AGO.
ITEM 2024.021 – available for viewing in the Research Centre
Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited
Moving the Museum – Wanda Nanibush
Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries – Wanda Nanibush
Moving the Museum – Georgiana Uhlyarik
Indigena – Erla Boyer
Photo of Wanda Nanibush – Robin Gartner
Indian Church as Church in Yuquot Village – Emily Carr
Land, Spirit, Power – Robert Houle
Land, Spirit, Power – Diana Nemiroff
Land, Spirit, Power – Charlotte Townsend-Gault:
Joane Cardinal-Schubert
Jamelie Hassan
Rebecca Belmore
Norval Morrisseau
Lillian Allen
Jeff Thomas
Sarah Polley
Even Robert Houle
Kerry Swanson
Jason Ryle
Stephan Jost
Sara Angel
Eli Hirtle
Jean-François Bélisle
Jennifer Smith
Nasrin Himada