ITHA: The Livingroom
Ursula Johnson 2021

June 24, 2021 — September 4, 2021

ITHA: The Livingroom was the gallery’s first solo exhibition and Ursula's first solo exhibition in Nova Scotia since 2014. Ursula and her incredible team: Michele Gallant, Louisa Adamson and David Dahms worked for many weeks on this ambitious new installation, generously supported by Arts Nova Scotia. Images, exhibition texts and press can be found below.

‘ITHA: The Livingroom’
Ursula Johnson 2021

In 1985 the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed the Treaty of 1752 and called upon Her Majesty to honour the numerous Treaties made with the Mi’kmaq Nation.

In 1986 Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. invited all Mi’kmaq to observe every October 1st as Treaty Day. This day commemorates the key role of treaties in the relationship between the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq and the Crown. The annual ceremony reaffirms the historic presence of the Mi’kmaq who have lived on this land for thousands of years. The Mi’kmaq Nation and the Crown also exchange gifts each year to mark Mi’kmaq Treaty Day.

‘The Indian Truckhouse of High Art’ (ITHA) by artist Ursula Johnson began as a public intervention performance on October 1st in 2011. Johnson embodied a late 1800’s period character, occupying a make-shift “vendor booth” in downtown Halifax. Soliciting passerby speaking almost exclusively in Mi'kmaq, Johnson sold objects presented as wares. Purchased by the artist in the tourism market, each object replicated appropriated Indigenous cultural iconographies and ranged in price from $17.20 to $17.90 referencing Treaty Dates between the Mi’kmaq and the Crown. 

In 2017, Johnson revisited the ITHA producing two videos at the Banff Centre for the Arts: The ‘ITHA Home Shopping Network’ and the ‘ITHA: Special Edition’. Both videos were presented in a fully immersive sculptural installation at Central Art Garage in Ottawa ON in 2018 titled the ‘ITHA: Retail Store’. Repeating the process of purchasing “touristy knick knacks” Johnson created a fully operational store where gallery visitors were solicited by staff to purchase items on display. 

‘ITHA: The Livingroom’ is a culmination of the artist’s decade long exploration of Mi’kmaq Treaty Rights in the context of the Indian Truckhouse. An homage to a recognizable familial home space, ‘The Living Room’ offers viewers a snapshot suspended in time, where the ‘ITHA Home Shopping Network’ returns in its originally sourced format. Johnson invites visitors to reflect on our notions of home, the conversations we have and the gifts we exchange.

 Director’s Statement:

It is a great honour and privilege to introduce Ursula Johnson and her installation ‘ITHA: The Livingroom’ as the inaugural solo exhibition at The Blue Building Gallery.

When I set out to create a new kind of commercial gallery for Halifax the dream was to make a space that prioritizes artists in all ways. Through collaboration we have made a model that makes space for conversation and confrontation. A place that pushes boundaries and expectations. A place that gives credit to the audience as an active and able participant in art. And, a place where Artists can make some money.

There is no better artist to open this space than Ursula Johnson. She is recognized globally by artists and her peers as one of the best artists working today. She has won the preeminent Sobey Art Award and the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award. Beyond awards and accolades, of which there are many, her practice is one of honest investigation and consideration. She uses her skills to make room for dialogue, for experience and reveals to us, the audience, the uncomfortable truths of our present. She does so with the subtle sting of humour and the boldness of memory.

I can think of no other artist who so fully embodies: 
Collaboration without constraint,
Conversation without judgment,
Exploration without a script.

She sets the bar incredibly high for herself and for others, and makes us feel at every step as if we can reach beyond it.

I look forward to welcoming you all to the gallery to witness ‘ITHA: The Livingroom’.

Emily Falencki 
Founder / Director 
The Blue Building Gallery