To Reunite To Honour To Witness: Legacy Art Gallery exhibit

A unique exhibit of children’s paintings opens May 8 at the Legacy Arty Gallery, “To Reunite To Honour To Witness.” The exhibition is a collection of paintings created by children who attended the Alberni Indian residential School in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The vibrant and powerful paintings were created in an extra-curricular art class run by artist Robert Aller. The paintings, part of Aller’s art collection bequeathed to the University of Victoria, has become the focus of an ongoing Elder, survivor and community-led research project through UVic’s Department of Anthropology.

In March, Alberni Residential School survivors, families and community members came together for a traditional feast and ceremony to honour the return of the children’s paintings. The feast and ceremony were an opportunity for residential school survivors and their families to witness these works of art and find some healing and reconciliation with the past.  

“The return of the paintings to survivors and their families, and their being honoured as special objects of culture and history, is very meaningful to us,” says Wally Samuel, residential school survivor. “It is about reclaiming these lost pieces and reuniting them with their creators, and celebrating this reconnection.”

The families continue to work with UVic faculty to document the role of art in residential schools through individual stories and works of art. The Legacy Art Gallery will host the survivor’s paintings at the gallery from May 8 to June 15. The guest curators are Dr. Andrea Walsh (anthropology) and Dr. Robina Thomas (social work). The exhibition asks viewers to consider the role of this art today at a time when Canada is attempting reconciliation around this history with Indigenous peoples.

Legacy Art Gallery is located at 630 Yates Street, Victoria, BC.

Legacy Gallery website