ATLANTIC

Maud Lewis exhibit headed to Chinese art museums after all

THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Monday, April 1, 2019 11:40AM ADT Last Updated Monday, April 1, 2019 11:47AM ADT

The Maud Lewis house, where the late folk artist lived and painted for years in rural Nova Scotia, is one of the enduring displays at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax on Nov, 19, 2007. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

Text:

HALIFAX -- A Chinese exhibition of works by Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis, abruptly postponed without explanation last month, is back on again.

The provincial government says the exhibition, celebrating the works of Lewis and other contemporary female Nova Scotian artists, will be launched during a cultural trade mission this spring as originally planned.

Heritage Minister Leo Glavine doesn't elaborate on China's change of heart in a news release today, but says the country's ambassador to Canada, Lu Shaye, and other Chinese Embassy officials were "essential."

The province says Premier Stephen McNeil met with Lu on March 19.

When the exhibition was postponed, Glavine had said Chinese officials had simply told Nova Scotia "that for now the trip was off," without an explanation.

The exhibition will be at the Guangdong Museum of Art this month, and the Coast Art Museum in Zhuhai in June. It will then move to Hexiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen before returning to Nova Scotia.

There has been rising tension between Canada and China since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December, after an extradition request from the Americans.

China is Nova Scotia's second-largest trading partner after the U.S., with exports having grown from $150 million in 2012 to $794 million in 2018.

McNeil has made six trade trips to China since taking office, and Lu has met with Nova Scotia's cabinet in Halifax.

"We are pleased with this news and proud to bring the works of Maud Lewis and our Nova Scotia artists to China after all," Glavine said in a statement Monday. "We are delighted to be able to share this collection and we believe there is tremendous potential to be explored for our creative sector in China.

"Chinese Embassy officials, including Mr. Lu, were essential in helping the culture mission proceed as originally planned."

Lewis died in 1970, but her work has become more famous in recent years, bolstered in part by the biopic "Maudie," which was released in Canada in 2017 and generated fresh interest in her unique story.