Ziigwan means spring or early spring in Anishinaabemowin. Familiar signs of spring include snow melting, ice breaking, and a lingering chill in the air. In this selection of works in the collection, tones of watery blue, bright yellow, and mud puddle brown flow through images of animals swimming, birds diving, and human figures in states of transformation. What can these images reveal about spring as a state of flux, vulnerability, and raw survival?

Our Permanent Collection is historically significant and nationally renowned. In growing the collection through donations and acquisitions, the Gallery commits, again and again, to the legacy of contemporary art and artists in our community.

These paintings offer fresh insight into the genre of Woodland art. Carl Ray (Cree), Roy Kakegamic (Cree), Goyce Kakegamic (Cree), and Roger Kakepetum (Cree), are first-and second-generation Woodland artists from Sandy Lake First Nation. Their artistic vision creates a strong wind in Woodland art. Isadore Wadow (Ojibwe) is a lesser-known voice in Woodland painting. His paintings, sudden gusts, are part of a new series come to light. Oliver Davey (Swampy Cree), Russell Noganosh (Algonquin/Ojibwe) are fresh currents, newer artists in our collection. New works in the Gallery’s collection are a breath of fresh air.