Metis culture on display in St. Albert

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In welcoming the millennium, St. Albert is celebrating its Metis history and origin. The St. Albert Heritage Museum is inviting the public to view Proud Traditions: Metis Culture and Heritage from June 2 to Oct. 28. To coincide with the museum's exhibit, Profiles Public Art Gallery showcased the work of four Metis artists from June 7 to July 29.

"We have had Aboriginal artists and group shows in the past but this is the first specifically planned for celebrating the talents of Metis artists," said Candace Makowichuk, curator of Profiles art gallery. "It's part of our millennium year, and we did it in conjunction with the heritage museum's exhibit of the Metis history they have on.We wanted to do more of the visual contemporary work that Metis artists are doing."

The four Metis artists who were selected to display their work answered the call for submissions that went out across Alberta. St. Albert artist Gary Pruden along with Marcel Fayant and Dean Cardinal from Edmonton, and Theresa Towers-Rickard from Red Deer were selected based upon the originality and quality of their work.

"We got a fair amount of artists who responded to the call," said Makowichuk, "so we had a good group to go through for the selection process."

The gallery, which focuses on diversity, has been operating for the last 15 years and has received excellent reviews for the exhibition.

Those who were unable to view the Metis art showcase still have an opportunity to experience Metis history at the museum.

"Because this is the millennium year we wanted to focus on the founding families of St. Albert," said Jean Leebody, Heritage Museum exhibition co-ordinator. "And those families were the Metis families and that is what spurred the decision for the exhibit."

To accurately relate the Metis history of the St. Albert area, the museum spent a full year-and-a-half researching and planning the exhibit. The presentation thoroughly covers the history from the mid-1800s when the Metis settlement was first established.