44 Governor General Award Winners Protest Forced Departure of Wanda Nanibush from AGO

The Embassy Cultural House continues to give attention to the tragedy unfolding in Gaza and joins with hundreds of thousands of protesters who demand a permanent ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation. Attempts to silence those who support Palestinian rights are front and centre. Craig Mokhiber, the former Top U.N. Official on Human Rights in the New York office, recently resigned, denouncing Israeli bombardment of Gaza and describing it as a “text-book case of genocide". Closer to home, cultural workers are being punished for their support of Palestinians. A recently circulated letter from the Israel Museum and Arts Canada (IMAAC) addressed to Stephen Jost, Director of the AGO, concerning Anishinaabe-kwe curator, artist and organizer, Wanda Nanibush is a case in point. One of the demands in the IMAAC letter was that she engage in “anti-semitism training" as a response to her empathetic work on Palestine. News of Wanda's forced departure from the AGO has provoked cultural workers from across the country to protest this public institution's failure to protect a member of their curatorial team from external pressures. Wanda, who is known for her critical and compassionate work as the AGO's inaugural curator of Indigenous Art is respected far beyond the walls of the AGO and we will support her in whatever way she decides to move forward.

In this spirit, we are sharing Wanda's article “About Land" which was published in Canadian Art in Fall 2016, and was removed from the Canadian Art website shortly after it appeared. This article is an important example of Wanda's vital work. To download the article, please click the button below.  

The Embassy Cultural House will continue to keep our focus on Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, and the severe consequences on individuals and communities who are profoundly affected by the traumatic events that are unfolding. While moving forward with our programming and publishing schedule, upcoming is ECH's participation in the next iteration of the international program Queer Cinema for Palestine (QCP), which will coincide with Human Rights Day on December 10, 2023. More information on this event can be found in this newsletter. 

Download "About Land" by Wanda Nanibush

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44 Governor General Award Winners Protest
Forced Departure of Wanda Nanibush from AGO

(Le texte en français suit)
 
In an open letter released today, 44 recipients of Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts condemn the forced departure of Curator of Indigenous Art Wanda Nanibush from the Art Gallery of Ontario last week.

After noting her outstanding accomplishments, they call her exit “shocking."  Their letter states: “The forced departure of Wanda Nanibush is an act of political censorship with shades of a new McCarthyism."

Co-signators are drawn from coast-to-coast, and include such celebrated artists as Ruth Cuthand, Paul Wong, Jamelie Hassan, Vera Frenkel, Robert Houle, Louise Déry, Jayce Salloum, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, and Deanna Bowen. 

They continue: “Wanda Nanibush’s forced departure severely damages the reputation and credibility of the AGO and sets a dangerous precedent in Canadian art that demands protest."
 
View the full letter and signatories by clicking the button below.
 
Dans une lettre ouverte publiée aujourd'hui, 44 lauréat.e.s des Prix du Gouverneur général en arts visuels et en arts médiatiques condamnent le départ forcé, la semaine dernière, de la conservatrice des arts autochtones, Wanda Nanibush, du Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario. 

Les lauréat.e.s jugent son départ « choquant », alors même que la direction du Musée reconnait les réalisations  et l’apport exceptionnels de Wanda Nanibush].  

La liste des cosignataires inclut des artistes d'un bout à l'autre du pays, parmi eux et elles des artistes aussi connu.e.s et célébré.e.s que Ruth Cuthand, Paul Wong, Jamelie Hassan, Vera Frenkel, Robert Houle, Louise Déry, Jayce Salloum, Cheryl L'Hirondelle et Deanna Bowen. 

​Leur lettre ajoute ajoute que : « Le départ forcé de Wanda Nanibush porte gravement atteinte à la réputation et à la crédibilité du Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario, et crée un dangereux précédent dans le domaine de l'art canadien qui exige protestation » .
 
Consultez la lettre complète et les signataires, joints à cet e-mail.

Download Full Letter and Signatories PDF

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Open Letter to the AGO from Artists, Writers, Curators,
​and Cultural Workers

An open letter to the Art Gallery of Ontario is being circulated by artists, writers, curators, and cultural workers, expressing concerns about the situation regarding Wanda Nanibush's forced departure from the institution. Currently, the letter has generated more than 1,000 signatures from individuals in the arts and cultural community in Canada. We are sharing this letter with the Embassy Cultural House community, and encourage anyone who is interested in signing, to do so. Many ECH members have already signed this letter and the signatories can be viewed at the bottom of the letter. To sign and view the open letter, please click the link to the Google document below. ​

Link to the Open Letter to the AGO

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Queer Cinema for Palestine: No Pride in Genocide

As part of Queer Cinema for Palestine: No Pride in Genocide, the Embassy Cultural Houseis proud to present a screening of the powerful, experimental documentary, Photo Booth (2022) by Canadian director, activist, and artist John Greyson. To follow is a conversation between Greyson and Michael Lynk, Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Law at Western University and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories from 2016 to 2022. The program will also include a screening of Montreal-based, Palestinian artist and teacher, Razan Al Salah’s 2017 short film, أبوكي خلق عمره ١٠٠ سنة، زي النك your father was born 100 years old, and so was the Nakba.  
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John Greyson’s ability to weave a tapestry of ideas, histories, emotions and potentials and Michael Lynk’s knowledge of and experience with Palestinian human rights issues will ensure both a compelling and critical discussion. In the words of the respected Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, “he thinks of the journey of thought across borders,” and we hope that this event will inspire further conversation of Palestine in London, Ontario, and abroad. 

This event has been organized by ECH Co-founder Jamelie Hassan and ECH Contributing Editor Ira Kazi in collaboration with Queer Cinema for Palestine. For this event, our partners include Film Studies and Visual Arts at Western University, People for Peace in London, ON, Independent Jewish Voices in London, ON, and London’s Queer Muslim Association (LQMA). ECH/QCP poster design by Aronno Kazi.

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Relevant and Related Links

• Story from Democracy Now!: “Text-Book Case of Genocide': Top U.N. Official Craig Mokhiber Resigns, Denounces Israeli Assault on Gaza."
• From Hyperallergic: “Questions Arise as Indigenous Curator Suddenly Departs Toronto Museum" by Maya Pontone
• From The Globe and Mail: “Indigenous curator’s departure from AGO underscores tensions over Israel-Hamas war at art institutions" by Josh O'Kane
• An important opinion piece in The Guardian: “Is it too much to ask people to view Palestinians as humans? Apparently so" by Arwa Mahdawi
• From the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations: ​“NCCAR Condemns the Tragic Killing of Reporters in Lebanon" by Rania Hamdan

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