Gallery 1C03’s summer camp for youth brings skateboard culture and the revitalization of Indigenous language to life through fun and art.
After a four-year absence, Gallery 1C03 is pleased to resume its summer art camp in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg’s Community School Investigators (CSI) program, The University of Winnipeg’s Let’s Talk Science, and Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre’s STEAM Camp.
Camp participants tour Gallery IC03’s Mark Igloliorte’s exhibition, katinngak, which features a series of skateboard decks painted in various colours and stencilled with lettering that spells out words in Inuktitut, the language of Igloliorte’s ancestors. As a Nunatsiavut artist and educator, Igloliorte weaves together concepts and themes that include skateboard culture, observational engagement, public space, and language.
After a tour of the exhibition, youth participants are encouraged to respond to the art by painting and creating their own paper skateboard decks in colours and words that reflect their identity, while learning about colour theory and symbols of one’s culture along the way.
Exhibit curator Franchesca Hebert-Spence explained that Igloliorte’s art emphasizes process, repetition, and experimentation. He combines his love of skateboarding with his journey to learn his ancestral Indigenous language.
“We are excited to see the kids engaging with our exhibitions on campus again and they bring so much energy and enthusiasm for learning to the gallery,” said Jennifer Gibson, Gallery 1C03 Director/Curator. “Our goal is to provide a fun and creative learning experience at the university that the participants will remember. We want them to be comfortable on our campus and to consider themselves as potential future University students here.”
The art program has been planned in consultation with Gibson and the gallery’s summer intern, Herlinda Dalayoan. This internship is funded by the federal government’s Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations.
More than 250 children from six inner-city schools will visit campus through the CSI Summer Learning Enrichment Program to explore various science and art concepts through their participation with Let’s Talk Science and Gallery 1C03. A further 200 students with Wii Chiiwaakanak’s STEAM Camp will also take part in gallery visits and creative activities.
