Indigenizing the (Art) Museum: Gerald McMaster In Conversation with John G. Hampton

Thursday, May 20th, 2021 at 1:00PM (EDT)

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Please join Onsite Gallery and Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge for an exciting virtual In-Conversation event featuring John G. Hampton as part of the Indigenizing the (Art) Museum series with Gerald McMaster. 

This event is one of many planned for Spring 2021 as part of the Indigenizing the Museum Project and the Virtual Platform for Indigenous Art. Each week this Spring, we will engage with a different curator from (art) museums around the world, with the aim of addressing questions around Indigenous curation, ceremony, and research in digital spaces.

How are museums Indigenizing their collections? 

Who are the curators shaping the future of (Art) museums? 

What are the new practices defining digital curatorial spaces?

Gerald McMaster, O.C., is one of Canada’s most revered and esteemed academics. He is a curator, artist, and author, and is currently professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice at OCAD University where he leads a team of researchers at the Wapatah: Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge. McMaster served as the curator for the 1995 Venice Biennale, artistic director of the 2012 Biennale of Sydney, and curator for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. He is nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) and a citizen of the Siksika First Nation. 

John G. Hampton (they/them or he/him) is a curator, artist, and administrator and current Executive Director and CEO of the MacKenzie Art Gallery. They hold a Masters of Visual Studies – Curatorial Studies from the University of Toronto, and a BA in Visual Arts from the University of Regina. John is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, the United States, and Canada, and grew up in Regina. They have previously held positions as Executive Director of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Artistic Director of Trinity Square Video, and Curator at Neutral Ground Artist Run Centre. In addition to his role at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Hampton holds an adjunct curator appointment at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, adjunct professorship at the University of Regina, and is the co-chair of the Indigenous Curatorial Collective board of directors.

Caption: Square bag with short rectangular flap decorated on one side with quillwork in a geometric design with human figures and edged with metal tubes (detail), Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Photograph by Dr. Gerald McMaster.

Wapatah Team Contributors

Gerald McMaster

Natalja Chestopalova

Brittany Pitseolak Bergin

Mariah Meawasige

Yiyi Shao

This event is hosted in collaboration with Onsite Gallery, with the help of Sayeda Akbary and Renzi Guarin from the OCADU Help Desk and A/V Support.