
DRESDEN.- The U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) in Dresden, Germany are collaborating on an exhibition project that will examine, compare and contrast the role of the gift as well as illustrate the gift-giving rituals and ceremonies within two very different cultures: the Kwakwaka‘wakw First Nation and the German aristocracy. “We have all experienced gift-giving. By exploring ceremonial gift-giving in the baroque Saxon court and the Kwakwaka’wakw Big House, this exhibition challenges us to look under the surface of this everyday human activity and think about how gift-giving is both a physical and symbolic exchange. Around 50 pieces of regalia (a portion of the U’mista collection) will be on display in the Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau Dresden starting May 7th.