In 2018, I was given an opportunity to analyze visitors’ responses to Every. Now. Then: Reframing Nationhood, a major exhibition at the AGO. Note: my views expressed below are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the AGO or any other entities. https://ago.ca/exhibitions/every-now-then-reframing-nationhood

Toronto, Ontario

From the beginning, the Art Gallery of Ontario allotted a significant piece of exhibition real estate for visitors to leave comments after seeing Every. Now. Then: Reframing Nationhood.

The large exhibition in Toronto during Canada’s sesquicentennial featured “Postcards to Canada,” a  visitors response centre with large metal bulletin boards. Postcards were made available which prompted guests with a few questions. “What is your message to Canada? Is it a question? Advice? A memory?”

Well over 10,000 visitors from across Canada and around the world replied. They wrote, scribbled, doodled, and posted their responses. 

What did they have to say? A recent study of these responses to Reframing Nationhood reveal only 16 per cent of visitors who left a comment suggests Canada can do better when it comes to our Colonial relationships with Indigenous Peoples and racialized groups.

The overriding ambition of Reframing Nationhood was to give voice to Indigenous artists, Black-Canadians, and racialized groups. Curated by Andrew Hunter with Quill Christie-Peters and Anique Jordan, the exhibition ran from just before Canada Day 2017 until February 2018. The exhibition included works by established artists such as Robert Houle, Bonnie Devine and Barry Ace as well as emerging talents such as Esmaa Mohamoud.

Regardless of Reframing Nationhood’s potential short comings, the content of the art, interpretive texts, and exhibition publications overwhelmingly encouraged visitors to reflect on Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples and racialized groups.

AGO Director and CEO Stephan Jost, in his foreword to the exhibition catalogue, writes, “My hope is that this exhibition will contribute to more complex and inclusive narratives of Canadian nationhood and art history.” Hence, presumably, the desire to encourage visitors to leave responses to the exhibition.

Even after removing responses from the study which were entirely unrelated to anything the exhibition had to offer (say, a comment such as “I love Justin Bieber”), fewer than 25 per cent of responses seem to align with a desire for Canada to seek “more complex and inclusive narratives” of this country’s nationhood.

(Completed in summer 2018, my study looked at a random sample of response cards to be 95 per cent confident findings accurately represent the number of responses received within a five per cent margin of error. I received support from several mentors with advanced academic standing in program evaluation methodology to design my methodology.)

Fewer than four per cent of visitors leaving a comment explicitly express regret about Canada’s colonial relationship with Indigenous Peoples. These visitors use words such as Indigenous, settler, Indian (Act), and similar vocabulary which suggests more awareness about the country’s history. For example, one visitor states, “I will work toward a future where my children receive a critical, nuanced education about our complex history; one that decolonizes and brings us closer to justice for all.”

In contrast, almost half of visitors who left a comment at Reframing Nationhood embrace Canada’s sesquicentennial without reservation and simply wish the country a happy birthday.

Another third express sentiments categorized as “the world needs more Canada,” often based on visitors’ own experiences as newcomers to this country. A number of these visitors write deeply personal messages and express thankfulness on being here for decades, for building a good life in this country.

“From the moment I landed in Canada I’ve felt a sense of calm. Thank you for that,” writes one visitor. Others thank Canada for peace and offering a place where they felt welcomed. “This March I became a Canadian Citizen. I’m greatful (sic) to be a Canadian and more my future within this country (sic),” wrote one visitor. A third guest simply writes: “Thank you Canada for protecting us!”

In so far as Canadian AGO visitors may represent the attitudes of the general Canadian population, study findings suggest Canadians hold deeply entrenched views about this country’s dominant historical narratives. And, many seem to have internalized “brand Canada,” feel good slogans. Again and again, visitors scribbled the comment “The world needs more Canada,” the trademark owned by Indigo Books and Music Inc. and loved by politicians.

Even as Reframing Nationhood was opening its doors, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a news release issued on Canada Day 2017 applauded this country for preserving Indigenous institutions, languages, cultures and faiths.

In this context, it hardly comes as a surprise that exposure to art by some of Canada’s renown artists – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – seems unable to sufficiently engage visitors to help them think more broadly about our country’s nationhood.  

So, what would? Canada’s 20-dollar bill issued in 2004 features an artwork by Indigenous sculptor Bill Reid and a quote by novelist Gabrielle Roy from Quebec. “Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?”

Unfortunately, as responses to Reframing Nationhood suggest, art on its own may not be able to open minds when views are deeply entrenched and perpetuated by government-endorsed, feel good slogans.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 concluded that Canadian school curricula must be re-written to offer a more complete picture of Canada’s history. Visitor responses to Reframing Nationhood confirm the urgent need for school boards, educators and politicians across Canada to heed this recommendation.