Guide to Powwow Country: Blue prints for a long walk - Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Winnipeg

BLUE PRINTS FOR A LONG WALK
Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba
May 30 - June29

A walk of almost 250 kilometres retracing steps her grandfather took when he ran away from a residential school is the inspiration for an Ontario-born artist who has an exhibition in Winnipeg.
Lisa Myers, who has Anishinaabe ancestry from the Shawanaga and Beausoleil First Nation, has produced a collection titled Blueprints for a long walk. It will be on display at Winnipeg’s Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art from May 30 through June 29. Myers and two other relatives undertook a lengthy journey in the summer of 2009 in northern Ontario, walking from Sault Ste. Marie to Espanola. The walk retraced the path Myers’ grandfather took when he ran away from the Shingwauk Residential School. He survived that trip by eating blueberries from plants located along the train tracks. The theme of blueberries is  evident in many of Myers’ works in this exhibition. Not only does Myers’ art draw upon her grandfather’s story but it also reflects on how her own experiences have been affected by her family history. Some of the artwork in the exhibition reflects images from maps that were secured ahead of Myers’ walk. Sound and video documents obtained during the walk are also displayed in the exhibition.
The Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art is one of the top venues and voices for Aboriginal art in Canada.Works from Blueprints for a long walk will be on display in the Urban Sharman’s main gallery as well as its Marvin Francis Media Gallery.The gallery is open five days a week, from Tuesday through Saturday. Daily gallery hours are noon through 5 p.m.
For more information check out http://urbanshaman.org/index.php