James Nicholas and Sandra Semchuk: We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān

This exhibition traces the 15-year creative collaboration between artists James Nicholas and Sandra Semchuk, beginning from their encounter in 1993 until Nicholas’s accidental death in 2007.

Through photo installations and videos, the exhibition delves into the impact of colonialism, viewing it through the prism of their intercultural marriage. It unveils a commitment to dialogue, where Semchuk’s identity as the child of Ukrainian-Canadian settlers from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, intersects with Nicholas’s experiences as a Rock Cree man from Manitoba.

The questions posed by Nicholas and Semchuk to each other range from personal and humorous to painful. Whether grappling with the marginalization of Ukrainian-Canadian settlers or delving into Nicholas’s experiences as a residential school survivor, their aim, in Semchuk’s words, is “to acknowledge the truths in each other’s narratives.”

We Are Here / Ōta nitayānān contributes to our museum’s ongoing exploration of the connections between Ukrainian Canadians and Indigenous peoples, as well as the involvement of Ukrainian settlers in colonization processes.

Related Events:
Conversation with Sandra Semchuk, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Joan Borsa, Elvis Thomas, and Gladys Linklater
Saturday, June 29 at 2 PM
Free, everyone welcome.

Reception
Saturday, June 29 at 3 PM
Free, everyone welcome.