Lay of the land

Riva Symko, curator and head of collections and exhibitions at WAG-Qaumajuq, has dedicated her career to contemplating landscapes in art. Living in an ever-changing and threatened world has shifted her perspective on them. The new exhibition Terra Cognita/Incognita at WAG-Qaumajuq aims to challenge viewers to look at landscapes differently.

Featuring over 125 artworks from the permanent collection, the show explores national identity, geography, and climate change through Indigenous and settler Canadian lenses. Artists include Carl Beam, Eleanor Bond, Emily Carr, Sarah Anne Johnson, Norval Morrisseau, Tom Thomson, Edward Burtynsky, André Kertész, and the Group of Seven.

The exhibition highlights the need to critically examine landscapes, acknowledging their connection to colonialism and the impact of climate change.