National Gallery of Canada
Représenter le Canada à travers l'Ankosé
En tant que principal centre d'arts du Canada avec la plus grande collection d'art contemporain indigène au monde, ainsi que la plus grande collection d'art canadien et européen du pays, le Musée des beaux-arts du Canada représente l'identité canadienne sur la scène internationale.
Parallèlement au lancement de son plan stratégique visant à intégrer les changements structurels de son institution, le Musée a fait appel à AREA 17 pour transformer sa marque afin de refléter le travail important qu'il accomplit pour décoloniser le musée, désenclaver les récits, diffuser de nouvelles voix et replacer l'art dans un contexte plus large et inclusif.
The new brand needed to reflect the organization’s efforts of reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, as well as encompass a more inclusive perspective of Canadian art and culture. Working with national focus groups across the country, and with an advisory council of Indigenous Elders from the nearby First Nations community of Kitigan Zibi, the National Gallery of Canada developed a brand with AREA 17 that incorporated an Algonquin word into the brand.
The word is Ankosé, and it means "Everything is Connected", "Tout est Relié". It means that we are all connected, to each other, to the land, the water, the sky, to art that surrounds us, to the past, present and future. It is a call to action for people to see beyond the frame of the canon, the building, the narratives to see the limitless connections that exist beyond it.
Like the word Ankosé, the brand is an open system of inclusion, and is ever changing. The entire system is devoted to shifting the organization from the geometry of a square (Western WorldView-Westminster Parliamentary Tradition) to a permeable circle (Indigenous World View and Governance System). The system is made up of the individual shapes of the logo, denoting the multitude of voices, ideas and perspectives that combine, shift, interconnect to create a larger whole.
“Designed in collaboration with agency AREA 17, the living logo is inspired by the glass ceiling of the same Great Hall, but brings things in an open, welcoming direction, with its broad and bright palette representing the Northern Lights. It’s a gorgeously innovative approach to visuals for a gallery, and the unique impact it provides is keenly felt in watching the designs cycle through.” — Art Critique
It's Nice That
The Brand Identity
Brand New — Under Consideration
Visual Journal
Museum Next
CBC News (Ottawa)
Art Critique
Radio Canada (French)
Art Daily
Ottawa Citizen
Communication Arts