How a Canadian Twitter feed is kindling national art pride

Twitter is full of ranting and raging. But amid the rancor, art will often suddenly appear in thousands of Canadian feeds: the image of a lighthouse in a waning winter sun; the depiction of pines reflected in a frozen pond; a pair of night owls in stonecut and stencil by Inuit artist Kananginak Pootoogook. 

The daily posts from @CanadaPaintings never list more than the artist and a work’s title and date. Even the curator wishes to remain anonymous – in declining an interview request, she allowed only that she was a busy elementary school teacher who enjoys discovering the works as much as her viewers do – which is part of the unassuming beauty of this social media feed.

That’s not to say it doesn’t elicit a response. It’s become beloved – especially in the past year, reaching more than 116,000 followers today who gleefully retweet the Canadian works thousands of times, mostly without comment. When discussion ensues, it’s usually just to say “stunning” or “exquisite.” On a recent post of a print titled “Joy” – a work by Métis artist Christi Belcourt that evokes Indigenous beadwork – one follower comments: “Thank you for this burst of colour – a glorious addition to my feed!” 

It’s exactly the kind of conversation that makes Sara Angel, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Art Canada Institute (ACI), such a fan of the feed. “It’s not what I would call an art cognoscenti,” she says of the commenters. Rather than attracting followers with analysis, @CanadaPaintings offers vibrant content that has introduced a nation to its artists and its vast territory and traditions.

Dr. Angel founded ACI in 2013 to make Canadian art more accessible after searching for content online while pursuing her Ph.D. and finding next to none. “There hasn’t been a really strong, concerted effort to say, ‘We are going to create a canon of Canadian art.’” She imagined her three kids typing “art” into a search engine and only coming up with American or European artists. In the 21st century, she says, Canadians “will not know the artists of their country unless it’s digitally out there and accessible.”

Some of the artists are world-renowned or close to it, like Tom Thomson or the Group of Seven – early 20th-century landscape artists inspired by the Canadian wilderness. There is Emily Carr, known for her depictions of Indigenous culture on the Pacific Northwest coast, or Maud Lewis, the Nova Scotian folk artist featured in the Hollywood film “Maudie.” 

Yet there are so many more that should be far more widely known, says Dr. Angel. She cites Walter Allward, who created the Canadian National Vimy Memorial pictured on the Canadian $20 bill; Alex Colville, the Maritime figurative painter; or Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau, considered by many as the “grandfather” of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada, she says.

Part of the joy of @CanadaPaintings, which started in 2018, is the discovery of Canada itself, which spans 3.8 million square miles yet 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the United States border. That exploration appears to be one of the curator’s motivations. The only description in the Twitter bio is a quote by Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris: “Above all, we loved this country and loved exploring and painting it.” @CanadaPaintings takes viewers from Dawson City in Yukon, to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, to the easternmost coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. They bear witness to bear skinning, to moose peering at them from the woods, to Arctic oceanic wildlife.

The feed also attracts artists themselves. Donna Zielinski, a painter from Quebec, happened to be scrolling through @CanadaPaintings in late January when she saw one of her own works, “Skating Along the Rideau Canal.” 

“An absolute huge honour to be featured by this account, that I am so in awe of,” she tweeted. “It features Canadiana in a beautiful way. They don’t seem to have any ulterior motive,” she adds in an interview, noting that she is especially drawn to the uniquely Canadian content, featuring traditions from “the north” – at this time of year skating, ice carvings, and hockey matches. “The Canadiana aspect reaches deep in the souls of many Canadians,” she says.

Now if only followers could know who the curator is. “I’d love to interview her,” says Dr. Angel, who has also tried to get a response. “It’s not just a little successful; it’s more successful than what any gallery or what anybody is doing,” she says. “She has such a great eye.”