Though the images hold a certain level of abstract what also comes through is the power and history of the people and the traditions.
A majestic glimpse into the beauty of Indigenous dancers in all their regalia.
We want to acknowledge and take accountability for our mishandling of the presentation of our current exhibition featuring Indigenous dancers. It has come to light that the proper protocols were not followed and permissions were not attained. We, the gallery, did not ask to see any consent documentation and should have done our own due diligence. Upon realizing this, we immediately shut down the sale of the prints until we could connect with the dancers and garner their consent and guidance on how to proceed.
The photographer, Bryan Helm, should have acquired initial consent and compensation should have been worked out prior to the opening of the exhibition. The photographer whole-heartedly agrees and we are taking steps towards rectifying this.
Several of the dancers in the exhibition have now given the gallery their written consent. The dancers that have expressed that they do not give consent have been removed from the exhibit.
With dancers’ written consent we will continue to exhibit these powerful prints of the dancers. We sincerely apologize for our huge error in judgement and for any harm we may have caused anyone.
Sincerely,
The Cardinal Gallery
A letter from the photographer Bryan Helm :
Dec. 6, 2024: I wanted to personally address the situation regarding my current exhibition featuring Indigenous dancers. I now understand that there is a fine line between appreciation and appropriation and that I have crossed it. I did not follow the proper protocols to acquire consent and put compensation agreements into place over the years that I have been documenting the Indigenous culture and was uneducated in the guidlines for exhibiting and selling the work. I recognize that I should have sought out way more guidance from the Elders and dancers that I spoke with about how to go about exhibiting in the most respectful way possible. This is the first exhibition that I have had with my images of this culture and I fully acknowledge all of the mistakes that I have made along the way. I’m also sorry if our initial responses were dismissive, defensive and out of touch. I have renamed the show DANCE and have re-titled the images with the dancers’ names and any other information that they wanted is included with their image. The gallery has been working hard to reach out to the dancers to rectify this and has secured written consent & compensation agreements from the dancers to exhibit my work. Anyone that did not give consent has had their images removed from the exhibit. Out of respect we have also removed the dancers we have yet to identify. I now understand the gravity of this situation and that it goes beyond exhibiting and selling the work without specific consent and sincerely apologize for any trauma that I have caused. It was never my intent to be exploitative, glorifying or disrespectful of a community that, having spent time in Calgary AB, I’ve always been drawn to, and, moving forward I strive to keep learning so much more about.
Sincerely, Bryan Helm
By continuing to exhibit this work with consent moving forward, we hope to keep the conversation going in an honest and meaningful way.
