Twenty-one new Indigenous pieces join the UM Art collection as part of the student-led transformation of the collection.
Join the UM Art Collection and the School of Art for a special event celebrating 21 recent Indigenous art acquisitions. The pieces were selected by the Indigenous Student-Led Indigenous Art Purchase Program Committee (ISLIAPP), which empowers Indigenous students to shape the representation of Indigenous culture, creativity, and community within UM’s growing art holdings.
The new pieces will be used in displays in UM workspaces or public display spaces across our campuses, for students, staff, faculty and the public to enjoy.
This is the second addition of Indigenous Art to the UM Art Collection through the Indigenous Student-Led Indigenous Art Purchase Program (ISLIAPP). As a two-year pilot project funded by an Indigenous Initiative Fund grant, ISLIAPP convened a committee of five to seven Indigenous students from across the University of Manitoba community each year, who met with artists and curators, visited studios and selected artwork for acquisition by the University of Manitoba University Art Collections.
The process invites students to consider not only artistic merit, but the relationships, responsibilities, and cultural contexts that shape Indigenous art and its stewardship. This mirrors UM’s broader commitments to Reconciliation, respect, and reciprocity—values emphasized in UM’s land acknowledgement and institutional priorities. The students who were and are part of ISLIAPP were not just from a fine art background; they come from across the university's faculties.
The success of the ISLIAPP expanded into the new Diversifying the UM Art Collection program, which was set up by the Office of Equity Transformation in partnership with the Office of the Associate Vice-President (Administration), to continue this work by adding art from Indigenous, Black or racially marginalized, 2SLGBTQIA+ and Disabled artists’ artworks to the UM Art Collection.
When the audience can see themselves in the art on display, they feel welcome and at home. “I was aware of… the issue of representation in the collection… and had my eyes out for something to do about that,” says C.W. Brooks-Ip, former UM Art Collection Coordinator, who created the ISLIAPP. Brooks felt that having students select the pieces was critical to the success of the initiative. “Art is for everyone… everyone has abilities there if they have the opportunity to think and talk about art,” says Brooks. Traditionally, many university collections are made up of art solely from donations, which means the art was typically from a narrower focus of cigendered white male straight artists. By adding new pieces through ISLIAPP and the Diversifying the UM Art Collection Program, UM works to correct the representation within art that is on display in UM workspaces and public displays.
Members of the UM community and the general public are invited to celebrate these new pieces at a special event. Light refreshments will be provided, and attendees are asked to register.
Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Time: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Location: School of Art Gallery, ARTlab Collections Gallery, Room 255 ARTlab, 180 Dafoe Rd, University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus
Following the opening event, the artworks will be available for viewing Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the ARTlab Collections Gallery at 180 Dafoe Rd, until April 17.
The Indigenous Student Led Indigenous Art Purchase Program is funded by an Indigenous Initiatives Fund Grant from the UM Office of the Vice President (Indigenous) and the Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity).
At UM, we are working together to advance reconciliation for transformative change, which is among the commitments you’ll find in MomentUM: Leading change together, the University of Manitoba’s 2024–2029 strategic plan.
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