NWT Art Centre Initiative draws up plans to bless land at former Akaitcho Hall site

In early October, the NWT Art Centre Initiative will host a gathering at the Akaitcho Hall site, to bless the land where the territory’s first public visual arts gallery could someday rise.

The former residential school site has stood vacant since the 1950s-era building was demolished in 2007.

To allow pre-construction work to commence, the Centre will follow guidance received at a public forum last year of former Akaitcho students and Indigenous community members, stated a release.

Community members can gather at the former location of Akaitcho Hall on October 1st, from 1 to 3 pm, for what will be an outdoor ceremony. On-site wellness support will be available.

Bob Overvold is a former resident of Akaitcho Hall who supports the proposed non-commercial art gallery and visual-arts-focussed community centre in Yellowknife.

“Many of us former students are supportive of the plan to build an art gallery at the Akaitcho Hall site,” he stated in the release. “This is a good opportunity to remember the past and look forward to the future.”

Operating from 1958 to 1994, Akaitcho Hall was a residence for youth from across the North who attended the neighbouring Sir John Franklin School, built in 1958 by the federal Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources.

École Sir John Franklin High School has grown into the largest flagship high school in the Northwest Territories, and it overlooks the large mound of dirt, gravel and scrub brush, where the student residence once stood.

Akaitcho Hall was one of the last residential schools in Canada to close in 1996. The building was demolished in 2007 and the site has sat empty.

Recently, the GNWT and Friends of the Northwest Territories Art Gallery, operating as the NWT Art Centre Initiative, signed an MOU to allow for pre-construction work to take place on the site.

The venue will exhibit, preserve, and celebrate Northern and Indigenous arts, crafts, and culture.

Plans are to help local visual artists build sustainable careers, improve their livelihoods, and access training or residencies.

The vision also includes a resource library, a permanent art collection, and space for learning about the history and impacts of residential schools in the territory.

The aim is to establish a climate-controlled, Category-A facility capable of receiving art donations and repatriating Northern works.

Toby Kruger, Art Centre Initiative board chair, stated: “We look forward to gathering in ceremony and community to bless the land and honour the past history of the site. This is an important first step in our work towards building a new public art gallery in the coming years.”

The Art Centre Initiative is not fully funded for construction, but it has met some key milestones and achieving independent charitable status will allow it to ramp up its fundraising.

The initiative is actively looking for donations and grants (accepting contributions via Canada Helps) to finance the actual building of the public art centre and gallery in Yellowknife.

Understanding the memorandum:

The MOU with the GNWT identifies the former Akaitcho Hall site as the preferred location for the gallery.

• The GNWT controls the site and holds it for use by Yellowknife Education District No. 1, which is supportive of the proposal.
• The MOU sets out the work that must be completed before any land transfer can be made.
• This includes completing required consultation, completing environmental assessments of the site, addressing any environmental or other liabilities, and completing any required surveying, rezoning, subdivision and land title work.
• Site assessments and all costs associated with preparing the land for transfer would be the responsibility of the NWT Art Centre Initiative.

The agreement does not approve the project or commit the GNWT to transferring or selling the land. Instead, it sets out how both parties will work together while the necessary work is completed.

As part of this work, the GNWT and the NWT Art Centre Initiative have engaged with the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the North Slave Métis Alliance and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation regarding the proposed transfer of the site.

Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland has stated: ”The Northwest Territories has incredible artists, storytellers and cultural traditions, but it does not have a dedicated public art centre to showcase them.

“This agreement allows us to begin exploring whether public land could support that vision. There is still work ahead, but this is an important step toward creating a space that celebrates northern art, culture and history.”