To recognize and celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is hosting a free public open house on Friday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A new acquisition, a House Post entitled Kiss the Sky (2015) by artist Chris Paul, will be displayed in the lobby. Paul is Coast Salish from Tsartlip First Nation near Brentwood Bay and the piece was purchased with funds provided by the Art & Fare Fund for Indigenous Art in 2023.
Paul's inspiration comes from an Indigenous Pacific Northwest myth about a great fight between the Thunderbird and the Killer Whale.
"It was my first entrance into mythology in a profound way; it was really significant in my life," Paul said in a statement. "I remember seeing a picture when I was quite young. It was a crude drawing, but enough for me and my imagination to take off with and create a complete world around this great fight between the Killer Whale and the Thunderbird.”
Admission to AGGV is always free for Indigenous Peoples.
To help remove barriers to access, the gallery is offering Indigenous Pass cards for members of the Indigenous community to keep with them as a reminder and invitation to enjoy access to the gallery for free, the gallery said in a press release.
The passes will be available in the lobby at the AGGV on National Indigenous Peoples Day, and after at the gallery front desk, though free admission is accessible for Indigenous people with or without this card.
In continued celebration of National Indigenous History Month at the gallery, Coast Salish artist Virgil Sampson will share teachings on drum practices and traditional and contemporary techniques of drum making on Thursday, June 27, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Admission to this event is also free.
