Sister MacNamara students showcased at WAG

​A group of Sister MacNamara School students recently had the thrill of opening their own exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

The WAG was looking for students to experience its new exhibition Insurgence/Resurgence, the gallery's largest-ever showcase of Indigenous artwork.

"The WAG contacted us as they were looking for students to explore and react to the exhibition," said Sister MacNamara art teacher Brenna Bacchus. "The class we brought here had a great time. It was wonderful…we wanted our students to see examples of Inuit art, because we were going to do our own Inuit art project at Sister MacNamara."

Students created Inuit story quilts and thought up of oral stories to accompany their visual art. The class had been hard at work on the project since February.

The Sister MacNamara project piqued the interest of WAG Youth Programs Coordinator Allison Moore, who invited the class to hold their own exhibition at the gallery on March 20.

"Our Inuit Art Centre is in the process of being built and we thought it would be really great to have more relationships with schools in the area," Ms. Moore said.

"The Sister MacNamara project was perfect as it focused on Inuit art and oral storytelling."

Student Lori-Ann Scott said students either told their stories orally to guests, or played recordings on tablets or other digital devices.

Lori-Ann and her classmates Ryan Peters and Jewel Mamaradlo all created shapeshifting myths for their quilts and oral stories. Lori-Ann's featured a girl who wanted to become a bear, while Ryan had a shapeshifting cheetah. Jewel's story featured a girl who becomes a werewolf.

Students said they were proud to have their work on display at such a prestigious venue.

"I feel very happy, we're one of the only schools in Winnipeg to have our artwork here," Lori-Ann said.