Legacy Welcomes New Indigenous Curator

Legacy would like to officially announce that Lorilee Wastasecoot (Ininew/Cree) has stepped into the newly created position of Curator of Indigenous Art and Engagement. We are incredibly grateful to have her join the Legacy staff permanently thanks to funding established by the University of Victoria. Please join me in congratulating Lorilee on her new position!

We have other new and returning faces working at Legacy this summer too, reflecting Legacy’s goal of providing hands on experience to students and emerging professionals. Samantha Marsh has been hired as contract curator to work on an exhibition project called Out of Exile, working with Dr. Henry Shimizu who has created a series of paintings reflecting his time in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. Curatorial Interns Nicole Achtymichuk and Mel Granley are continuing their work with us, while we also welcome back LE,NOṈET program student Gabrielle Fournier and new UVic co-op student Mina Guan. 

Legacy extends gratitude to the following funders who have made these student and emerging professional positions possible: The Salish Weave Fund, BC Arts Council, Young Canada Works, Magnet Student Work Placement Program, and Canada Summer Jobs.

- Mary Jo Hughes, Director

 

imageLorilee Wastasecoot

Curator of Indigenous Art and Engagement

Lorilee Wastasecoot identifies as an Ininew iskwew (Cree woman) with ancestral roots stemming from Peguis First Nation, York Factory in northern Manitoba and in the Red River. She grew up in Winnipeg. Lorilee re-located to Victoria in 2010 with her daughter to continue her education at Camosun College and the University of Victoria. She is UVic Alumna with a degree in Political Science.

Lorilee has worked at Legacy for more than four years in various grant funded positions during which she has contributed much to the gallery and our efforts to decolonize our programs and practices. She has collaborated on numerous school tours focusing on educating school-aged and post-secondary students about Indigenous knowledge and residential schools, curated major exhibitions such as We Carry our Ancestors (2019) and On Beaded Ground (on now), and curated the UVic Indigenous Art on Campus Tour and website, among many other things. In her new position, Lorilee will continue her good work with Indigenous artists and communities to build strong relationships with Indigenous partners and mentoring the students who work at the gallery while raising up Indigenous culture and knowledge through art.

imageSamantha Marsh

Guest Curator

Samantha Marsh is a hapa yonsei cultural organiser and emerging curator. Since completing her Msc in Museum Studies from the University of Glasgow, Samantha has worked closely with the Powell Street Festival Society and the Japanese Canadian community. Both within her personal and professional life, Samantha aims to uplift underrepresented voices through arts and culture. She is thrilled to be working with the Legacy Art Gallery to curate the powerful artwork of Dr. Henry Shimizu and honoured to have the mentorship of Bryce Kanbara on this project. 

 

imageNicole Achtymichuk

Curatorial Intern

Nicole Achtymichuk (UVic BSc. ‘20) (she/her) was born on Treaty 7 territory and moved to lək̓ʷəŋən territory to begin her Anthropology degree at UVic in 2016. She began working with Legacy as a co-op student and currently holds the role of Curatorial Intern. This year, she developed a new gallery space at Legacy Downtown known as the Sidewalk Gallery. The gallery utilizes the windows on Broad Street to make art more accessible to the public.​

 

 

imageMel Granley

Young Canada Works Curatorial Intern

Mel Granley is a Métis co-op graduate student, who is getting their masters in Art History and Visual Studies at UVic. They completed their undergraduate degree at UVic in 2019 with the Art History department, and then worked at Legacy as a Young Canada Works Curatorial Intern until May of 2020. Mel returned to Legacy as a co-op student in January 2021 to help with the curation of the exhibition On Beaded Ground and is now working on an exhibition of their own and facilitating small tours at Legacy.

 

 

imageGabrielle Fournier

LE,NOṈET summer student

Gabby is Métis on her Mother’s side and her Father’s side is French, Quebecois. She arrived on Vancouver Island in 2018 and currently is an undergraduate student at UVic majoring in Indigenous Studies with a minor in Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts. Gabby's role at the Legacy Galleries involves visitor engagement as well as other administrative tasks involving website design and working with the university's art collection.  

 

 

imageMina Guan

Collections and Engagement Assistant

Mina Guan is this summer’s Collections and Engagement Assistant at the Legacy Art Gallery. She is currently pursuing a BA in Linguistics, a Minor in French, and a Certificate in Chinese Culture and Language at the University of Victoria. In her position, Mina will be engaging with visitors at the front desk and assisting with the consolidation of images in the gallery databases. She is looking forward to interacting with the Legacy community!