“Eg fór on’ í Main street með fimm dala cheque… / I’m heading out on Main Street with a five dollar cheque…” The Winnipeg Icelander, Guttormur Guttormsson, 1920
New Iceland is perhaps best known as the cultural capital of Icelandic North America, but Winnipeg also played a critical role in immigrant history and survival, particularly for Icelanders on the margins. After the 1870s, Winnipeg emerged as the main alternative for many incoming migrants to Manitoba, due to the poverty, strife and social pressure in New Iceland. Staged in the heart of the old Icelandic neighbourhood on Sargent, this panel explores immigrants’ navigation of the pressures and possibilities of life in the city and the hidden histories of Icelandic Winnipeg.
Featuring: Laurie K. Bertram, Ryan Eyford, and Nelson Gerrard