The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MJMAG) plays an important role as Moose Jaw’s primary forum for making art, culture, and local history accessible, relevant, and inspiring for the community.
The MJMAG has five exhibitions on display, with three featured in the Norma Lang Gallery, one in the art gallery’s lobby, and one on display near the computer station in the library.
Extended Wakšúpi beadwork exhibit
“Wakšúpi is an exhibit that opened in the fall, and we’ve extended its stay,” explained Jennifer McRorie, museum director and curator.
“We’re actually looking at extending its stay even further, because there’s just been such a great response… and there was so much research that was put into it…”
Wakšúpi is Lakota for “beadwork,” and the exhibit features historic Lakota pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. The naming convention follows an agreement with the Indigenous Advisory Committee who asked the MJMAG to present Indigenous objects in their intended language.
“Through the different beaded objects… it tells the history of the Lakota in Moose Jaw and in Wood Mountain,” she said.
The exhibit has now been extended until Sept. 1.
Dana Claxton
“To complement (the Wakšúpi exhibition), we have the work of our Lakota artist Dana Claxton (also on display),” McRorie said.
Claxton’s work follows a contemporary style, and beautifully complements the Wakšúpi show because of her video installation called “Sitting Bull and the Moose Jaw Sioux,” McRorie said.
The video features interviews with Lakota elders and knowledge keepers who talk about the history of the Lakota in and around Moose Jaw and Wood Mountain. Her work also features a discussion of some of the beadwork currently showcased in the Wakšúpi exhibition.
A number of her photographs were recently lent to the MJMAG from the Remai Modern art museum in Saskatoon.
“The Remai (Modern) sent them to us because… (Claxton) was born and raised in Moose Jaw and she wanted to have more of her work in the collection here. We were very honoured to receive them.”
Illuminated Collapse
Jude Griebel’s work, “Illuminated Collapse,” is currently being showcased in the Norma Lang Gallery from Feb. 2 – May 5.
“It features seven sculptures that are dioramas, and it speaks to… the climate crisis and the artist’s anxieties about human impacts on the natural world,” McRorie explained.
“I know families will really enjoy that exhibit, because the dioramas look like little model train worlds.”
Everything is hand-crafted, accessible, and playful, and yet it speaks to very serious global issues.
Prairie Dreaming
The “Prairie Dreaming: Folk, Funk & Their Connections (Part 1)” exhibit featuring numerous artists from the museum’s permanent collection is currently on display in the front lobby until May 5.
“(The exhibit) looks at the connection between folk art and what is known as funk art in Saskatchewan,” McRorie said.
The exhibit explores a unique way to approach the theme of life on the prairies and incorporates a large amount of humour to deliver the artists’ messages.
Library exhibit
Currently, the MJMAG has an exhibit showing in the public library titled “Elements of Landscape” and features three historic Saskatchewan artists from the Government of Saskatchewan collection.
“The three of them were known for their abstract works, but these pieces are actually landscapes that have elements of abstraction,” McRorie explained. These artists are Kenneth Lochhead, Ted Godwin, and Arthur McKay.
“We’ve been starting to do rotating exhibits up there… (it) enhances the space, and is a nice partnership with the public library, but it’s also a way of creating more (opportunity) for the public to access the permanent collection.”
Following the recent noteworthy Carl Bean exhibit in the space, Elements of Landscape is now the third exhibit to be featured inside the library.
Dancing the Boondangle
This summer, a new exhibit will be featured at the Norma Lang Gallery by renowned Saskatchewan artist Jody Greenman-Barber by the name of “Dancing the Boondangle.”
Dancing the Boondangle is scheduled to show from May 30 – Sept. 1.
“It is work that’s always pushing clay to its absolute limit. (Greenman-Barber) ends up presenting very fragile works…,” McRorie said, noting that many of the pieces are remarkably intricate.
Greenman-Barber’s works began during the pandemic years, and McRorie said the artist wanted to create pieces that are playful forms that make her laugh in contrast to the isolation and anxiety prevalent at the time.
The art gallery is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 12 – 5 p.m., Saturdays from 12 – 6 p.m., Sundays from 1 – 5 p.m., and is closed Mondays and statutory holidays.
The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery is located at 461 Langdon Crescent and can be reached at 306-692-4471. For more information, visit mjmag.ca.
