After being postponed for months due to COVID-19, a travelling exhibition featuring skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing-inspired art by a dozen indigenous artists from nations across Canada is finally coming to the Nanaimo Art Gallery.
Starting Sept. 18 and continuing until Nov. 15, the NAG presents Boarder X, a multidisciplinary exhibition organized by Winnipeg Art Gallery indigenous and contemporary art curator Jaimie Isaac. The NAG will allow 12 visitors maximum at one time and guests will be asked to wear masks and physically distance themselves.
NAG curator Jesse Birch said the gallery originally had plans for a grand opening – “We were going to close off Commercial Street and have this big opening where there were going to be professional skateboarders here and it was going to be the biggest party,” he said – but due to COVID-19 they will be offering programming throughout the exhibition instead.
This includes guided tours of the show, family activities and the opportunity to give skateboarding a try on the new halfpipe that has been installed in the ArtLab workshop studio.
“One of the thing that Jaimie, the curator, talks about in relation to the show is how for indigenous artists responding to land has a totally different resonance,” Birch said. “So when you’re riding your surfboard and responding to the waves, when you’re riding your skateboard responding to the land, or snowboard, you’re thinking about the land and your relationship with the land. And of course indigenous people have a deep relationship with this land that goes for millennia.”
Among the artists in Boarder X is Bracken Hanuse Corlett, who hails from the West Coast Wuikinuxv and Klahoose First Nations. This summer Hanuse Corlett collaborated with Snuneymuxw artist Joel Good to paint designs on the surface of the Harewood Centennial Park skatepark. The project was led by the NAG and was meant to coincide with the opening of Boarder X.
Hanuse Corlett’s piece in the show is a painted skateboard launch ramp called Potlatch or Die. Hanuse Corlett said skateboarding was one of his first anti-authoritarian acts, which he relates to the prohibition of the potlatch in Canada from 1885 to 1951 and those who defied it.
“The practice survived but it had to go underground or you had to find other ways to conduct the ceremonies,” Hanuse Corlett said. “Often they would happen in people’s houses and it was always under the nose of the Indian agents and the church.”
The potlatch, which Hanuse Corlett describes as a “complex ceremonial system,” is a gathering lasting a number of days that could include the handing out of ancestral names, marriages, dispute resolution, rites of passage for children entering adulthood and singing and dancing.
Hanuse Corlett said potlatching is still very important to people on the West Coast and his own family has started to place more value on it over the past 10 years. He described it as “reawakening.”
“Skateboarding is really about movement and when you’re skateboarding, if you take some time off, the muscle memory isn’t always there. You have to reawaken everything like you’re starting from Square One,” he said. “So those are just some of the relationships that I was thinking about as far as keeping something moving that might have been asleep or keeping energy moving in a positive way.”
WHAT’S ON …Boarder X comes to the Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial St., from Sept. 18 to Nov. 15. For more information about related programming, click here.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
