I’m starting to think that Winnipeg might have a culture problem. In my 10 or so years as a conscious consumer of culture in this city, I’ve seen music venues, movie theatres, stores, restaurants, and other institutions that provide Winnipeg’s life blood fall by the wayside. And I’m young. Friends only a few years older than me can’t believe that I never went to Wellington’s or Le Rendez-Vous, and I’ve met first-year university students whose eyes glaze over if I mention the Collective Cabaret, or who’ve never even had the opportunity to attend a show at the legendary Royal Albert.

 

This is why Kevin Nikkel’s films are important for every Winnipegger. Nikkel is a historian of the forgotten. The Storytelling Portraits of Kevin Nikkel is a collection of his short documentaries and animation, and they provide a glimpse into that type of cultural history Winnipeg has a tendency to sweep under the rug. And believe you me, he goes back much farther than 2004.

 

From iconic intersections to pioneering sports teams, Nikkel sheds light on the people, places, and events that built Winnipeg, even if not enough people talk about them today. His strongest pieces are from his Our Neon City series, a collection of eight or nine minute documentaries that examine iconic defunct Winnipeg institutions through their preserved neon signs. I’m ashamed to admit, I’d never even heard of Clifford’s or the Blue Note Café before watching these.

But should I be ashamed? I’m 24 years old, far too young to have been aware of these places when they existed. Clifford’s is now a chain eyeglasses store, and the Blue Note’s a parking lot. How could I find out about them, even if I wanted to? Kevin Nikkel, that’s how. His movies are more than entertaining, they’re incredibly valuable. If you’re a young Winnipegger, watch them. You’ll learn a lot, and it’ll make you like our city more.

Published in Volume 68, Number 28 of The Uniter (July 2, 2014)