Exhibition of Canadian trench art and other war-related craft comes to university's Founders' Gallery

Metalwork, carvings, jewelry and embroidery — these are just some of the ways soldiers, prisoners-of-war and civilians have shared their personal reflections of war. Keepsakes of Conflict: Trench Art and Other Canadian War-Related Craft opens this Friday in the University of Calgary’s Founders’ Gallery at The Military Museums.

This travelling exhibition organized by the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery in Saskatchewan features more than 70 artifacts from collections across Canada, items created from war-related materials such as bullet casings and scraps from disabled vehicles and weapons.

Three more items have been added to the exhibition in Calgary: a sweater knitted from the discarded socks of soldiers, a foot locker elegantly carved by a German prisoner-of-war and the cowhide story robe that depicts the experiences of Cpl. Mike Mountain Horse, Indigenous war hero from the Blood Tribe (Kainai First Nation) of southern Alberta who served in the First World War.

The Military Museums houses a replica of the story robe, but the original artifact will be in building for this exhibition, on loan from the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat.  

“Founders’ Gallery is dedicated to the exploration of human conflict worldwide through projects that challenge our knowledge and interaction with war,” explains Katherine Ylitalo, the gallery’s curatorial co-ordinator. “Bringing the remarkable artifacts in this travelling exhibition together with additional items from Alberta-based collections will enrich the experience for visitors to the gallery.”

Keepsakes of Conflict was first developed in late 2016 by guest curator Heather Smith, who considered the upcoming 100th anniversary of the First World War an opportunity to examine the little-studied area of craft related to war and commemorate the unique wartime experiences of Canadians.

“Trench art was made or collected to serve as souvenirs and gifts for loved ones, to pass the time in POW camps or to contribute to the rehabilitation of the wounded,”  Smith explains. “These craft objects tell the story of war through an alternate lens – that of the individual making craft objects to serve a purpose during wartime.”

Keepsakes of Conflict is on display alongside a second exhibition, Quilting for a Cause: Red Cross Quilts of the Great War, until Sept. 2, 2019. The opening reception is free and open to the public.

Opening Reception Keepsakes of Conflict: Trench Art and Other Canadian War-Related Craft

Friday, June 7, 2019

• 5 p.m. Gallery Tour
• 6 p.m. Reception
• 6:30 p.m. Program

University of Calgary’s Founders' Gallery
The Military Museums of Calgary 
4520 Crowchild Trail, S.W.

 

ii’ taa’poh’to’p, the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy, is a commitment to deep evolutionary transformation by reimagining ways of knowing, doing, connecting and being. Walking parallel paths together, ‘in a good way,’ UCalgary will move towards genuine reconciliation and Indigenization.