Duane Linklater: Kâkikê / Forever

The MacKenzie Art Gallery presents a newly commissioned artwork, Kâkikê / Forever (2018) by Omaskêko Ininiwak (Cree) artist Duane Linklater. The artwork will be installed on the façade of the T.C. Douglas building. Kâkikê / Forever is a text-based, site-specific work that responds to various aspects of its location. Drawing from unattributed Indigenous words spoken during the making of treaties: “As long as the sun shines, the river flows, and the grass grows,” Kâkikê / Forever poetically reflects Canada’s conflicted past, charged present, and future (post) colonial imaginary.

The MacKenzie Art Gallery is situated within Treaty 4 territory, the traditional home of the Cree, Saulteaux, and Métis peoples, and a home to the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people. Treaty 4 was signed in 1874 between First Nations and the British Crown at Fort Qu’Appelle.

The artwork was one of three shortlisted works in a selection process for the MacKenzie’s Transformative Landscapes project – a series of programs presented over the summer of 2017 on the occasion of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The series included panel discussions, artist talks, film screenings, an in-gallery engagement space, and workshops focused on the themes of public art, reconciliation, inter-cultural relations, and national commemoration. The public was invited throughout these events to reflect and comment upon the proposed works of art. This artwork will become a welcome addition to the MacKenzie’s permanent collection which includes over 5,000 works of art, spanning 5,000 years.  Kâkikê / Forever will complement other outdoor artworks on the grounds of the Gallery, and will transform the skyline of Regina.