A retrospective of the late Inuk artist Nick Sikkuark (1943–2013) opened at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) last November, falling between pivotal events pushing institutions into the spotlight about what is—or what is not—being done regarding decolonization. “Nick Sikkuark: Humour and Horror / ᓂᑯᓚ ᓯ ᑯ ᐊ . ᐃ ᒡ ᓚ ᕐ ᓇ ᖅ ᑐ ᑦ ᐊ ᒻ ᒪ ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓇᖅᑐᑦ” was conceived over a decade prior, at a time when decolonizing was surfacing in institutional speak, years before the 2022 implementation of the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization (IWD) department at the NGC, a decision that has caused much controversy. Reverberations have reached across the border. In October, the New York Times’s “Turmoil Engulfs Canadian Art Museums Seeking to Shed Colonial Past” included statements from previous (Marc Mayer) and new (Jean- François Bélisle) NGC directors. Regarding arts institutions Mayer stated, “Their job is not to either decolonize or to make Canada a less racist place.” The Times noted Bélisle’s avoidance of the word, “a term he described as ‘very loaded.’” In a November interview, “The National Gallery’s Fix-It Guy,” with Canadian journalist Paul Wells, Bélisle commented, “I’m not even sure I’m interested in thinking about it. I’m interested in building something, not de-building it.” Only just stepping into the role in June, he came under fire; a press release followed, addressing the fumble. With the sudden 2022 departure of Sasha Suda, the NGC director responsible for IWD and the strategic plan “Transform Together (2021–2026),” the internal malaise, at least in Ottawa, is perceivable from the outside: staff trying to hold it all together. Into this structural fragility arrived Sikkuark’s exhibition.

Read full article at Border Crossings Magazine.

Image: Leah Snyder