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Free Admission

Summer Exhibition Celebration

Join us in celebrating the opening of three summer exhibitions, Architectures of Protection; Meryl McMaster: Bloodline; and Lekwungen: Place to Smoke Herring, and connect with the exhibiting artists and curators in attendance.

The evening opens with a welcome from Diane Sam, Songhees Nation, a blessing from Christine Sam, Songhees Nation, and a performance by the lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers. Exhibiting artist Emilio Rojas will also share a new performance, The first boundary is the flesh.

This is a free public event. Everyone is welcome.

SCHEDULE

5:00pm | Opening begins (open to public)

5:30pm | Welcome, blessing, and dance performance followed by Director and Curator brief remarks.

5:00-9:00pm | The first boundary is the flesh, performance by Emilio Rojas *.

* Performance by Emilio Rojas will last the duration of the evening, includes nudity, and will take place in the Spencer Mansion.

Click below to learn more about our summer exhibitions:

Architectures of Protection    |   May 24 – October 26, 2025

Featuring artworks by Dana Claxton, Jessica Karuhanga, Emilio Rojas, Beth Stuart, and France Trépanier, Architectures of Protection reflects on ideas and modes of protection – with regards to oneself, to community, knowledge, culture, identity, and land. Curated by Toby Lawrence, AGGV Curator of Contemporary Art.

Lekwungen: Place to Smoke Herring   |   June 18 – October 19, 2025 

Lekwungen: Place to Smoke Herring, a film by Brianna Bear and Eli Hirtle, was collaboratively created in order to share a brief history and overview of the Lekwungen territory. Organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Curated by Toby Lawrence, AGGV Curator of Contemporary Art

Meryl McMaster: Bloodline    |   June 18 – October 19, 2025

Bloodline is a survey exhibition of Meryl McMaster, whose groundbreaking large-scale photographic works reflect her mixed Plains Cree/Métis, Dutch and British ancestry. Organized and circulated by McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON in partnership with Remai Modern, Saskatoon, SK. Curated by Sarah Milroy, Chief Curator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and Tarah Hogue, Curator (Indigenous Art), Remai Modern. 

Image Credits:  Jessica Karuhanga, being who you are there is no other (detail), 2018, two-channel video projection. Photo courtesy of KWAG, by Toni Hafkenscheid. Jessica Karuhanga: Blue as the insides, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, 8 April – 6 August 2023 | Brianna Bear and Eli Hirtle, Lekwungen: Place to Smoke Herring, still (detail), 2018, 4k single-channel video. Courtesy of the artists. | Meryl McMaster (b. 1988) Anima, 2012, Digital Chromogenic Print, 91.4 x 91.4 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Stephen Bulger Gallery, and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain.