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BEAD PAINT CARVE

McLennan Library Building Lobby (September - December 2024)

by Michelle Macleod, Curator, ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ Visual Arts Collection

In honour of the 2024 Indigenous Awareness weeks, ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ Visual Arts Collection presents a three-part exhibition to highlight recent scholarship on Indigenous Art in the lobby of the McLennan Library Building.

The ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ Visual Arts Collection (VAC) is a unit within the ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ Libraries that cares for all of the art on campus. The Collection consists of almost 3500 artworks and is installed in over 90 buildings on 4 campuses. The mandate of the VAC is twofold: to offer our ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ community first-hand encounters with works of Fine Art and to be an educational resource.

While the University has been collecting art for over 200 years, more recently the focus has been to offer an art collection that is as diverse as the ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ community that it serves. With the help of generous donors and engaged Faculties and Units who share this vision, the VAC has expanded to include over 170 artworks by Indigenous artists.

In the heart of the McLennan Library lobby, we offer a snapshot of activities relating to Indigenous Art in three actions; bead, paint and carve.

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BEAD PAINT CARVE Exhibition, McLennan Library Building, BEAD vitrine, September 2024 Artworks visible: Beaded Fall and ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ logo by Niiostoseraah Thompson, Beaded Graduation cap, fish and earrings by Jenni Makahnouk

BEAD

Beading is political, whether it’s simply the personal contribution to an age-old continuum or consciously reworking loaded imagery. - Nadia Myre, 2008

Beading is central to Algonquin artist Nadia Myre’s practice. She and other contemporary Indigenous artists see beading as a Fine Arts medium to tell stories, both new and old. The invisible string that holds beads together is the knowledge passed down through generations of Indigenous people. Through this knowledge-sharing comes a visual language that will always tie these objects back to the people that made them.

In this vitrine, we present beadwork by Niiostoseraah Thompson commissioned by ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ's Office of Indigenous Initiatives and ISCEI's beaded logo by Catie Galbraith. Jenni Makahnouk, ƽÌØÎå²»ÖÐ's first Anishinaabekwe valedictorian (2024), also loaned stunning examples of her beadwork, including earrings, a fish and her graduation cap.

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BEAD PAINT CARVE Exhibition, McLennan Library Building, PAINT vitrine, September 2024. Artworks Visible, Double Shaman by NADI, Family Forever by Kevin Pee-ace

PAINT

Can the beauty of a lost piece be appreciated on its own when found again without the constant perspective of the whole puzzle? NADI is a beautiful demonstration that it’s not only possible, but that in the process, there is room for an entire community to sit at the table and tell their own stories in their own terms. - Manuel Mathieu, 2023

As Haitian artist, Manuel Mathieu muses on the work of artist collaboration NADI (Native Art Department International), a loss can invite new dialogues. This year an artwork in the Visual Arts Collection was not physically lost, but its authenticity was questioned which prompted a new research initiative.

In this vitrine, we document our active research to deepen our collective understanding of Norval Morrisseau’s inspirational legacy and the Woodland Style of Indigenous Art.

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BEAD PAINT CARVE Exhibition, McLennan Library Building, CARVE vitrine, September 2024. Artworks Visible, Tribal Council by Susan A. Point, Quintet by Alashua Aningmiuq

CARVE

I put everything I have into these sculptures: a piece of myself, my spirit. The upside is that I can give that to someone, the collector.- Gryn White, 2008

Haida carver Gyrn White comes from a long lineage of artists who have learned how see sculpture in stone. Direct observation allows us to appreciate an artist’s reverence and relationship with a raw material. In the last 10 years, the Visual Arts Collection has welcomed donations of over 170 Indigenous artworks of all kinds and prioritized their public display. These artworks enhance the environment and learning possibilities at ƽÌØÎå²»ÖР– a place where one can learn how to carve out their own place in society.

In this vitrine, we highlight some recent activities and writing on Indigenous art on campus.