Belleville artist Angela Wiggins has reached a major milestone in her artistic career with the acquisition of two of her paintings by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
The works will become part of the Government of Canada’s permanent art collection, recognizing Wiggins’s growing impact as a contemporary Indigenous artist.
The works were acquired directly by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to showcase Indigenous voices through art.
The acquisition places Wiggins’s work within a national collection representing Canadian culture, identity, and reconciliation.
Central to Wiggins’s current practice is the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing, a framework introduced by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall.
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The concept encourages people to see the world through both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, recognizing the strengths of each perspective.
Her art invites viewers to reflect on how different ways of knowing can coexist.
“I’m interested in the space between perspectives,” Wiggins said. “That place where identity, memory, and resilience meet and begin to move forward together.”
For Wiggins, the acquisition represents a meaningful moment in a long artistic journey.
“For me, this moment represents more than a sale. It is recognition that the stories carried through this work are being heard.”
Wiggins is best known for her large-scale acrylic and mixed-media paintings inspired by land, spirit, and personal identity. Her work often draws from her Anishinaabe heritage while exploring broader themes of resilience and cultural connection.
She is currently developing a new exhibition focused on the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing, where she continues to explore the intersection of cultures, generations, and ways of knowing through visual storytelling. These pieces depict Two-Eyed-Seeing in art form; capturing a quiet tension between stillness and motion, while reflecting themes of identity, resilience, and cultural connection.
In addition to this national recognition, Wiggins has recently entered into a licensing agreement with The Indigenous Collection by Cap Winn Devon Art Group Inc., a Canadian company based in British Columbia. The agreement allows her artwork to be reproduced and distributed across Canada through galleries, gift shops, and tourism locations, expanding the reach of her art and message nationwide.
More information about Angela Wiggins and her artwork can be found on her website and at upcoming regional exhibitions.
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