LandBackLand at the temporary art carnival, -tzintlán. Guests can experience -tzintlán at Fort Whoop-Up Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

By Sarah Jones

Fort Whoop-Up to host University of Lethbridge arts festival

May 12, 2023 | 1:40 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The University of Lethbridge (U of L) is set to present an interactive and collaborative free art experience at Fort Whoop-Up from May 12 to 13, 2023.

The project, titled -tzintlán, has been labeled as the “world’s first postcolonial theme park,”, and puts a twist on the interpretation of post colonialism. The experience allows guests to wander through a carnival-type atmosphere at Fort Whoop-Up, with pieces showcasing alternative perspectives of a historic site.

Migueltzinta Solis showing one of the exhibits at ‘-tzintlán’, the temporary art carnival at Fort Whoop-Up. (Photo: LNN)

Migueltzinta Solis, lead artist for -tzintlán, has been working on bringing the project to life for years.

Solis said, “I’m a PhD student, and I’ve kind of been looking at theme parks and this idea that often in theming, we have a lot of colonial imaginaries wrapped up in theming. So, you have the imaginary wild west, the imaginary [view] of jungle exploration, exotic lands and so, I wanted to take that and kind of flip it on its head and say, ‘well when we imagine things, you imagine futures, you imagine pasts, we imagine presents. How can that appear?’ As for example, imagine LandBackLand, or other kinds of post-colonial futures, pasts and presents.”

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Guests entering the Fort will be led through an alternate understanding of what a postcolonial theme park could look like, inspired by themed environments and amusement parks from the past and present.

Students in the site-specific spring art course, LandMarks, were encouraged to create works in several different mediums, including sculpting, virtual reality, painting, spoken word and music.

A hand-painted ring toss game that shares words in the Blackfoot language. (Photo: LNN)

Kale Fox-Zacharias, one of 20 students in the LandMarks class participating in -tzintlán, hopes people enter with an open mind.

Fox-Zacharias said, “For the Land Back Gallery, I did a sculpture of four different willow weavings. I have my own conceptional thoughts on it, but what I wanted to present for that space, is a space of contemplation.”

“In my sculpture, I have mirrors within it and so I want the viewer to have that self-reflection on what exactly Land Back means.”

Along with his sculpture, Fox-Zacharias will perform a spoken word piece which opines that the justice system is a continuation of Residential Schools.

From L to R: Migueltzinta Solis, Kale Fox-Zacharias and Tyler Stewart. (Photo: LNN)

The immersive experience is a partnership with The Galt Museum & Archives. Museum curator, Tyler Stewart said the project is another opportunity to share a more complex story at Fort Whoop-Up.

Stewart said, “We’re always seeking to collaborate and work with other folks to have us tell those stories in different ways from different perspectives.”

“Aside from -tzintlán happening this weekend, when the Fort opens later this summer, we also have a redeveloped Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) experience within the gallery inside that will tell a refreshed story from a Blackfoot perspective.”

The experience opened to the public on Thursday, May 11, 2023. It will be open to the public, for free, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 12 and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 13.

More information on -tzintlán is available at the LandMarks Studio website.

Read more at LethbridgeNewsNow.com