First Nations art at National Gallery

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The first international exhibition of contemporary First Nations art to be organized by the National Gallery of Canada is open to the public until Nov. 22.

Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada presents 18 contemporary First Nation artists from Canada and the United States. Their work ranges from ceremonial masks to paintings, sculpture and installations, including new technologies such as virtual reality. It reflects the great strength and diversity of contemporary, North American aboriginal artists.

The artists in this exhibition have inherited a vital cultural, artistic and spiritual legacy from their elders and the antiquity of this hemisphere. The land, its spirit and the power it confers, symbolize the ancestral base which has survived the test of time. This complex heritage has shaped the artists' lives and work.

While they are deeply rooted in their own distinct culture, for example Haida, Amituqmiut, Cherokee, or Micmac, the artists play an integral part in the contemporary art world as a whole. Land, Spirit, Power is a celebration of this diversity.

Western artists with works in the exhibit include Dempsey Bob (Tahltan-Tlingit, lives in Prince Rupert, B.C.), Robert Davidson, (Haida, lives in South Surrey, B.C.), Dorothy Grant (Haida, lives in South Surrey, B.C.), Faye Heavy Shield, (Blood, lives in Calgary, Alta.,) Alex Janvier (Dene, lives in Cold Lake, Alta.) and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Cowichan-Okanagan, lives in Fort St. James, B.C.)