Interview with Wanda Nanibush, curator of Sovereign Acts

by Gloria Bell

Interview with Wanda Nanibush, curator of Sovereign Acts, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House, Toronto, On view from April 18th – May 27th, 2012.
Brought to you by the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective (Gloria Bell).

Music credit –
Salted Caramel (Black Twig Pickers and Steve Gunn) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Listen to the Interview with Wanda Nanibush here:

Wanda Nanibush, an Anishinaabe curator from Beausoleil First Nation, holds a Master of Visual Studies (2012) and serves as the Art Gallery of Ontario’s (AGO) first Curator of Indigenous Art. In her inaugural exhibition, Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971–1989, Nanibush emphasized Toronto’s Indigenous roots by commissioning interpretative wall texts in Anishinaabemowin, French, and English. The exhibition showcased the experimental art scene of the ’70s and ’80s through the works of 65 artists and collectives. As the Assistant Curator of Canadian and Indigenous Art, Nanibush is dedicated to expanding the collection inclusively, focusing on artists historically marginalized due to racism, colonialism, sexism, and homophobia. Her approach ensures that diversity and thoughtful integration are at the forefront of her curatorial practice.

Gloria Bell’s research and teaching examines visual culture focusing on Indigenous arts of the Americas, primarily from the nineteenth century through to contemporary manifestations. Currently, her research focuses on exhibition histories of First Nations, Métis and Inuit arts in the early twentieth century in Italy, Global Indigenous studies, decolonizing and anti-colonial methodologies, materiality studies, global histories of body art, and the importance of art as living history.