Just some of the photos and art that sit in the newly opened Peserving Sacred Landscape: Blood Memory as Justice art exhibit, which opened on Saturday on Central Avenue. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Art exhibit

Indigenous art exhibit helps youth, Elders connect with land and body reclamation

Jun 30, 2024 | 12:00 PM

A new art exhibit in downtown Prince Albert is showcasing the process of how Indigenous youth and Elders are connecting with the land and their own identities.

The exhibit, which opened on Saturday, is called Preserving Sacred Landscape: Blood Memory as Justice and is part of a nationwide research project led by Dr. Margaret Kress of the University of New Brunswick.

Kress spoke about the project and explained that it’s more than just about art.

“It’s about creating a safe space to allow youth and elders to come together and engage in a process of learning that encompasses this notion of wellness through a landscape that is physical, spiritual, emotional and social.”

One of the pieces that was on display. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

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The research came from her dissertation work summarized by Elders in other work she did for her PhD.

The project included 13 Two Spirit people, which is a term used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity. They participated in reflexive gatherings and learned about land, water, ceremony, and traditional arts, along with learning from Elder Marjorie Beaucage, the land, and one another to enrich their spiritual and psychological well-being. In total, the whole project lasted nine months and all participants were from communities across Saskatchewan.

One of the main pieces of the exhibit was photos hanging from an island of mycelium, which is meant to show that you’re more than just what people see on the surface. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

Alex Powalinsky and Lisa Halsal were both lead artists in the project and were part of the process in helping the participants in their journey.

“It’s about them sharing this inward journey that they’ve experienced through connecting with the land themselves and one another and then expressing that through the arts to share with the community. It’s really about exploring yourself within that interconnected web of relationships,” said Powalinsky.

“With this exhibit, we wanted to highlight the process because it wasn’t just about the pieces of art that they’ve created, but the process of the way that this group has come together. Most of them are strangers at the beginning and we’ve ended with a family, and they call themselves the Wolf Pack. The process and the way that the group has formed has been a work of art.”

Many photos are on display, along with a few paintings. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

Halsal mentioned that the whole experience for her was one of coming together with herself and the community.

“For me, it was like melting into my community. That’s the sense that I got was really the notion of being interwoven at that deep level where all that work happens, the networking, the community, and supporting one another.”

The exhibit is open for six more viewings, with the next being on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at All My Relations Creative Connections on Central Avenue.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com