The wah-sa gallery: Leland Bell

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in the Johnston Terminal at The Forks
130-25 Forks Market Road
Winnipeg Manitoba R3C 4S8

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Leland Bell

Leland Bell was born in 1953 at Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, Ontario; he was raised there and in Toronto and graduated from Laurentian University in Sudbury where he majored in Native Studies. His spirit name is Bebaminojmat, he is of the Loon Clan, and is a “second degree” member of the Three Fires Midewiwin society.
An Ojibwa-Odawa, Bell prefers to identify himself as an Anishanabe, an Ojibwa word for North America meaning literally “from whence man was lowered”. He “firmly believes in the notion that Anishinabe culture contains all the necessary paradigms of knowledge to nurture the survival of the Anishinabe people. As an artist, he believes that the way that “colours, lines, shapes and compositions are perceived” can be understood in the context of that culture.

He was influenced in his youth through teachings, ceremonies, and art instruction at Cultural Arts Camps on Manitoulin Island, and it was there that his distinctive style first emerged.
Leland has been painting professionally since 1976 and in addition to his painting devotes much of his creative energy to writing and music. He has collaborated often with Shirley Chee Choo and her partner Blake Debassige on writing music for Shirley’s film projects.

Bell has been part of Group Exhibitions in Ontario, British Columbia and Switzerland. He has had, literally, dozens of commissions, chiefly from organizations in Ontario.
The Wah-sa Gallery has co-published serigraphs with Bell in 1982 (in conjunction with his one-artist show here) and in 1999 and 2004. Leland Bell’s most recent one-artist show with the gallery was in the spring of 2006.

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