McMichael gallery to honour longtime supporter Norman Hallendy

yorkregion.com
April 21, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is honouring one of its longtime supporters at a special ceremony this weekend.

Over the past 35 years, Norman Hallendy, an award-winning Canadian ethnographer, photographer and author, has donated more than 70 works of art, 12,000 still images and nearly 47 hours of video revealing details of traditional life, communities and the environment of Southwest Baffin Island in Nunavut to the gallery, according to a news release.

Hallendy, 85, and his wife, Diana Cousens, along with McMichael executive director Ian Dejardin, and Andrew Dunn, board of trustees’ chair, will gather Sunday, April 23, to celebrate his generosity with a special tribute to be unveiled during the ceremony honouring Hallendy and his work.

“The McMichael is extremely grateful to be the recipient of Norman Hallendy’s treasured life’s work, which preserves an important body of traditional knowledge for future generations,” Dejardin said. “Originating from one of the world’s foremost Arctic ethnographers and experts on inuksuit and Inuit sacred sites, Hallendy’s documentary photography and ethnographic research have provided context for the McMichael’s Inuit art holdings, and have positioned the McMichael as a leading research and resource centre for Inuit culture in Canada,” he added.