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Kleinburg’s McMichael Canadian Art Collection offers retrospective look at Canadian identity

Yorkregion.com
March 9, 2023

Largely hidden in the quietude of Kleinburg is an art museum dedicated to preserving Canadian art, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

The museum focuses largely on the works of Canada’s Group of Seven, which helped picture and preserve the beauty of the Canadian landscape.

This is also reflected by Group of Seven associates like Emily Carr, whose work is also featured prominently in the museum.

“They are an example of what we would consider environmentalism today,” said Samson Cheung, communications co-ordinator for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

The surrounding area of the museum itself feels like it’s part of a place where time forgot. An imagined northern landscape untouched by urban life.

While the museum’s primary focus is on the Group of Seven, it has since expanded to include works of Indigenous artists that challenge a Canadian settler approach.

One example of this is the Conversations gallery that features intergenerational dialogues between artists. The exhibit features artists’ paintings and sketches juxtaposing disparate art works.

The works of the museum largely explore different elements of Canadian identity, whether it be the immigrant diaspora or the Indigenous Peoples living in Canada or English colonial settlers.

The museum is actively trying to acquire more artwork from people of colour like the late Denyse Thomasos, a Trinidadian-Canadian painter, Cheung told the Vaughan Citizen.

The McMichael is on a mission to help challenge presuppositions of what Canadian identity is. For a lot of the Indigenous artists, residential schools and addressing Canada’s history of violence and systemic oppression against Indigenous Peoples is a major theme.

In keeping with the theme of Canadian identity, in the past they have even held Canadian citizenship ceremonies for new Canadians, according to Cheung.

Two new exciting exhibits on display are “Futures” by Rajni Perera and “Bloodline” by Meryl McMaster.

The former is a presentation of diasporic influences on feminism and an imagined future where people feel the effects of environmental degradation, while the latter is an incisive look at the legacy of colonialism.

A feature of “Bloodline” is the collection of personal items from McMaster’s own grandmother, such as her treaty ticket and railway travel card.

All of the exhibitions are planned years in advance, except for one display meant to showcase newer art.

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an experience in Canadian identity. For those wanting a further look at what the museum has to offer, visit mcmichael.com for further information.