Native Economies: From the Potlatch Ban to the Masks of Beau Dick

Liverpool Biennial presents the UK biennial of contemporary art. It takes place every two years across the city in public spaces, unused buildings, galleries and online. The Biennial is underpinned by a programme of research, education, residencies and commissions. Founded in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 340 new artworks and presented work by over 480 artists from around the world.

Liverpool Biennial

A performative talk by Candice Hopkins (Art Historian and Curator, Toronto) curated by The Serving Library in partnership with LJMU’s Exhibition Research Lab for Liverpool Biennial 2018
In the Kwak’wala language, ‘nuyumbalees’ means stories from the beginning of the world, while ‘u’mista’ means a return to the place of origin. These words have been used to name two cultural centres in Alert Bay and in Cape Mudge that house masks and dance regalia repatriated after the potlatch ban in Canada (1885–1951). The ‘potlatch’ is the generalised name for different ceremonies practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the USA, many of which centre on the display and shared distribution of wealth. Traditionally, potlaches served as the primary economic system in these communities, setting in motion a separate system of governance and social structure that colonisers could not countenance. In this performative talk, Hopkins will spin a tale that begins with the potlatch ban to consider how this native economy and its ritual ideologies function today.
Candice Hopkins (b.1977) is a curator and writer originally from Whitehorse, Yukon and based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is co-curator of the forthcoming SITE Santa Fe biennial, Casa Tomada, as well as co-curator of the Canadian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. She was a curator for documenta 14 in Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany. Hopkins’s writing is published widely and recent essays include “Outlawed Social Life” for South as a State of Mind and “The Gilded Gaze: Wealth and Economies on the Colonial Frontier” for the documenta 14 Reader. She is the recipient of several awards and has lectured on contemporary art, sound, indigeneity, native economies, and vernacular architecture. Hopkins is a citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation.
Join us from 6pm for drinks and conversation ahead of a prompt 6.30pm start.
This event is part of the public programme for <A HREF="http://www.biennial.com/2018" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Liverpool Biennial 2018</A>, which includes a series of talks by leading thinkers and artists in response to the question Beautiful world, where are you? 
Image credit: Beau Dick, Dzunukwa mask, 2007. Image courtesy Audain Art Museum Collection

Native Economies: From the Potlatch Ban to the Masks of Beau Dick

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Native Economies: From the Potlatch Ban to the Masks of Beau Dick

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