Art exhibition: Gule Wamkulu

The details

When asked to describe the project, Dr. Devi Dee Mucina, director of the UVic School of Indigenous Governance replied “Through Gule Wamkulu, the Great Dance of Life of the Chewa people, we dance that which we know, we question that which we do not know and we dance futures yet to be…Gule Wamkulu speaks to African Indigenous governance and community wellness.”

The Gule Wamkulu exhibition invites visitors to bear witness to the Great Dance that serves as an African Indigenous governance structure of the Chewa people. This immersive exhibition features photographs, films, and objects that celebrate how diverse African Canadians build community while being relationally respectful of all Coast Salish expressions of sovereignty.

This project has been made possible through the leadership of Mucina and artist curator Kl. Peruzzo de Andrade, the efforts of work study and co-op students and Legacy Art Gallery staff, as well as the crucial contributions of Chewa community members and African Canadian community members who have worked on this project as Elders, dancers, art curator advisors and videographers.

Supporting Black flourishing

In 2021, UVic signed the Scarborough Charter, in doing so committing to supporting and enhancing Black flourishing. The charter describes the central role of post-secondary institutions “to enabling the just, fulsome realization of human potential and thriving” and “in redressing anti-Black racism by removing structural barriers to equity, inclusion and social justice, with full recognition of our intersectional identities, while advancing the innovative research, critical thinking and engaged dissemination of knowledge that foster substantive equality, human dignity, and sustainability.”

Mucina sees this art project as contributing to the Scarborough commitment, “This artwork increases public awareness of Canada’s cultural diversity while also building knowledge and capacity within African Canadian communities to address racism and discrimination. By working to decolonize and regenerate Indigenous forms of relational land-based governance, BIPOC communities revitalize their political and cultural health.”

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