The Archives and the Newspaper

Print 1 - The Archives and the Newspaper

A season of historical reckoning

I begin with the archives and the newspaper itself – the starting point for this project. I visited the archives at the Legislative Library where physical copies of the early editions of the Manitoba – and Winnipeg Free Press are held. I have included some photos of the storage area in this print. The grid I'm using throughout the series also fits here as an organizational tool - to organize and categorize and store information and collective knowledge of history based on a euro-centric knowledge system. I populated the print with figures that signify settlers and Indigenous community members, because the access to our archives is public and part of our shared history, with all its inclusions and omissions of information, it is also a reclaiming of space and diverse voices. The Free Press claims in an advertisement from 2022, “The Winnipeg Free Press has faithfully recorded the evolution of our province and shared the stories of its readers for over 145 years. Discover your family's history as you search through newspaper pages dating back to 1874.” By including the ad in this context, I put this claim into question since there are so many angles and histories missing. While I, as a descendent of settlers, was able to find traces of my community's history dating back to 1874, I doubt a person with a BIPOC background might be able to say the same.

Archives and newspapers give us access to parts of our history, evidenced in the reporting, but also in the omissions in that same reporting. I am interested in the language and tone that is used in the reporting and how it has changed over the years, particularly in the way Indigenous and Métis people, as well as settlers, are represented. On the one hand, these representations are a reflection of the perception of racial differences in their time. On the other hand, they have played (and continue to play) a critical role in shaping public opinion.

To set up my narratives, I pull direct quotations from news stories dating as far back as 1874 and following their chronological trajectories to recent times. Each page then becomes its own self-contained summarized narrative representing various perspectives of each theme.

The format of the prints and layout of the text resembles the format of newspaper pages, highlighting the importance of the role newspapers play in shaping our narratives and perceptions. The inclusion of digitally printed maps, contemporary satellite imagery and grids represent the settler practices of land surveying, mapping, organizing, privatizing, and settlement, as well as the colonial imposition of a certain kind of order, of will, a way of life, and a way of thinking. 

For digital access to the book please click here. 

Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg

Over the course of the next week or two, I would like to post all of the prints I made for this artist's book. This series of prints is currently on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery until May 21, 2023.

I'll start with the cover page today as an introduction.

Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg is an artist's book exploring segments of the colonial and racial history of settlement in Manitoba and Winnipeg through the use of layered etchings that recall the diverging narratives of experiences. These histories have been sourced from local newspaper archives and from various accounts of Indigenous people, Métis people, and Mennonite settlers.

This project gave me the opportunity to learn more about the colonial history of Winnipeg. It also allowed me to further explore the colonial history of my own roots and challenge the settler narratives I grew up with. My maternal great great great grandparents were among the early Mennonite settlers that migrated to Manitoba between 1874-1877. They settled in the East and West Reserves on land granted to them by the Canadian government, but which had already been at least partially requested by local Métis residents.

As part of my research, I accessed the archives of the Winnipeg Free Press both online and at the Legislative Library. I also visited the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives. I read articles and books by local historians and Indigenous authors that offer new and critical perspectives on many of the city's developments. I chose to work with a cross-section of themes from the past 150 years where colonization histories of the province or the city intersect in some form with Mennonite history, either in the context of Indigenous or Métis dispossession or the support of reconciliation efforts.

What I noticed (unsurprisingly) in my research, was the absence of Indigenous or Métis perspectives until more recent years, and the use of racist and derogatory language that reflected the settler sentiments and supported settler interests, which is why it was important for me to look for information sources beyond the Winnipeg Free Press. As Riva Symko, the curator of this exhibition, sums it up in the exhibition catalogue: “... news coverage influences who and what is important enough to be part of local, national, and international dialogues and, by extension, histories.”

For digital access to the book please click here. 

Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg - Digital Access

You can access Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg digitally here.

I realize there is a lot of (very interesting!) text on the text pages that not everyone might be able or want to read standing in the gallery. For your convenience, you can access a digital document of the artist's book through the above link.

Headlines - in Galleries West

Headlines: Artists recycle and rethink the daily news cycle.

https://www.gallerieswest.ca/.../headlines-the-art-of.../...

"It’s been said that nothing is older than yesterday’s newspaper. Art, however, has a different timeline, and in that gap – between the rush and crush of daily news and the longer, slower perspectives of art – you can see the smart, sneaky power of this group show at the Winnipeg Art Gallery."

- Alison Gilmour in Galleries West

Artist Talk at the Winnipeg Art Gallery - Jan. 13

The Canadian Pacific Railway Yards in Winnipeg - Detail. Intaglio, Digital Satellite Print. 12"x21". 2022.

I would like to invite you to an artist talk I will give at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on January 13, at 7pm about my work Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg that is part of the exhibition Headlines: The Art of the News Cycle in celebration of the 150 anniversary of the Winnipeg Free Press. You can attend the artist talk with a general admission ticket to the gallery. I will talk about the process of making the prints and of course what they are all about. You can read more about my artist's book on the WAG website in a thoughtful article by Hanna Waswa. 

Storied Land: (Re)Mapping Winnipeg is an artist's book exploring segments of the colonial and racial history of settlement in Manitoba and Winnipeg through the use of layered etchings that recall the diverging narratives of experiences. These histories have been sourced from local newspaper archives and from various accounts of Indigenous people, Métis people, and Mennonite settlers. This collection of prints and texts emerged as an invitation from the Winnipeg Art Gallery to create a series of prints for this exhibition. While I have mapped parts of the city in my artworks for more than a decade with a focus on landmarks and the neighbourhoods I commonly frequent as part of my search for connection and belonging, this project gave me the opportunity to learn more about the colonial history of Winnipeg. It also allowed me to further explore the colonial history of my own roots and challenge the settler narratives I grew up with. My maternal great great great grandparents were among the early Mennonite settlers that migrated to Manitoba between 1874-1877. They settled in the East and West Reserves on land granted to them by the Canadian government, but which had already been at least partially requested by local Métis residents.

Archives and newspapers give us access to parts of our history, evidenced in the reporting, but also in the omissions in that same reporting. I am interested in the language and tone that is used in the reporting and how it has changed over the years, particularly in the way Indigenous and Métis people, as well as settlers, are represented. On the one hand, these representations are a reflection of the perception of racial differences in their time. On the other hand, they have played (and continue to play) a critical role in shaping public opinion. This artist's book invites us to question our biases, our perceptions, and our understandings of history, and challenges us to decolonize our thinking.

My Winnipeg VII

My Winnipeg VII. Linocut. 24"x36" image size, 30"x42" paper size. 2023.

With much delay I finally finished My Winnipeg VII. I was so bogged down with recurring colds before the holidays that I had fallen behind schedule, plus I wasn't entirely happy with the plate yet either. I actually started printing the edition before Christmas, but when I finally saw the solution to what I didn't like after print number six, I went back to carving some more on the plate and replacing one of the buildings entirely. I was so relieved when the initial deadline of late November was postponed to the new year, which gave me the extra time I needed to rework the printing plate and make a print I am happy with. 

My Winnipeg VII was in part commissioned by the Winnipeg Art Gallery in connection with the exhibition about the Winnipeg Free Press, News and Media. I was asked to somehow include the historic Winnipeg Free Press building on Carlton Street in the piece. With the entire print, I put a focus on media and educational institutions in downtown Winnipeg: there is the CBC on Portage Avenue, the UofW Wesley Hall, the Adult Education building (Isbister school), the Winnipeg Free Press building, the APTN building, the WAG and Qaumajuq, (the former Bay building), the Millenium library, and more. As usual, I have taken some liberties to arrange the buildings in a way that works for my map and does not represent the exact location of all buildings. 

Exhibition Preview at the WAG

There is a thoughtful article about my work on the Winnipeg Art Gallery website written by Hanna Waswa. Check it out here: https://www.wag.ca/art/stories/storied-land-remapping-winnipeg/