Kuluta and the Professor: The Friendship of Henry Hunt and Peter Smart

In the Small Gallery
October 8 to November 26, 2011

K'ulut'a and the Professor: The Friendship of Henry Hunt and Peter Smart celebrates the art and legacy of famed Kwakiutl artist Henry Hunt (K'ulut'a). The exhibit includes the entirety of a significant collection of Henry Hunt's masks, carvings and serigraph prints compiled by Dr. Peter Smart. Numerous native artists today pay tribute to the influence on their work of Hunt's pivotal carvings and teachings. The Henry Hunt artworks in the exhibit trace the central role he played in the resurgence of First Nations art and carving in the late 20th century.

K'ulut'a and the Professor is dedicated to the memory, art and accomplishments of Henry Hunt and to the enduring strength of his friendship with Peter Smart.

In Her Own Words: Emily Carr, Myfanwy Pavelic, Katharine Maltwood

October 5 to November 26, 2011

This exhibit examines the art of these three unusual women whose lives and art intersected while living in Victoria, BC. Using their own writings and reminiscences, it also allows for expression of their authentic perspective on their art.

In Her Own Words is part of Tourism Victoria's "Season of Emily" in 2011 and includes concerts at the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium. The Victoria Symphony will present two concerts that explore Emily Carr's painting, poetry and connection to the people of the First Nations. These concerts will include the world premiere performances of several new works by Canadian composers and feature video presentations of Emily Carr's artwork. http://www.tourismvictoria.com/seasonofemily

Convergence/Divergence: Landscape and Identity on the West Coast

August 17 to October 1, 2011

The depiction of the Canadian landscape has always been central to our national and regional identities. This exhibit explored how a selection of West Coast Canadian artists from diverse cultural backgrounds have used landscape painting as a means of defining a sense of self, a sense of community or collective identity and a sense of place. The selected works showed contrasting cultural beliefs and ways of relating to the land, focusing particularly on the works of First Nations and settlers on the West Coast of Canada.

Out of the Vault: Rarities from the Michael C. Williams Collection

February 9 to 20, 2011

Out of the Vault: Rarities From the Michel C. Williams Collection featured a vibrant selection of works by Glenn E. Howarth, Charles Malinsky, Noah Becker, Phyllis Serota,  Rus Kim, Ari Kattan, Duane Pasco and Norval Morrisseau.  This show was the Legacy Gallery’s last exhibition before closing on February 21 for renovations. The Legacy Gallery reopened on August 17, 2011.

Michael C. Williams generously bequeathed his vast collection of over 1000 paintings, sculptures and antiques to the University of Victoria in 2001.  Williams’s vision included the establishment of a space devoted to the work of contemporary Victoria artists. Since its opening in 2007 the Legacy Gallery has become a vibrant meeting place for artists and non-artists alike to discuss their views and view one of a kind art work.

This exhibition highlighted some of the larger and rarer pieces from the Williams Collection and allowed the public to get a sneak peak of the exhibitions to come after the Legacy Gallery’s reopening in the summer of 2011.

Connect the Blocks

In the Small Gallery
January 26 to February 20, 2011

Connect the Blocks was a community-based exhibit that invited you to map your connections to other community members by drawing or writing on one of our colourful paper blocks. We invited you to create and then display your block alongside those produced by other community members. It was our to goal to bring into being a community-created mosaic.

Connect the Blocks provided an opportunity for the community to collaborate, connect through creative expression and facilitate a place for shared experience through discussion, participation and reflection upon how the activities of one individual touch upon the community as a whole. Connect the Blocks was an outgrowth of a course highlighting the practices of community-based exhibit design led by the Williams Legacy Chair, Dr. Carolyn Butler-Palmer, of the History in Art Department at the University of Victoria.