Resilience

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Lianne Charlie, "This Is Our Land," 2015

From June 1 to August 1 2018, Resilience will display the artwork of fifty (50) Indigenous women artists on 167 billboards from coast to coast to coast. This ground-breaking, contemporary exhibition of artwork will take place beside highways and in cities across Canada, a land in which too many women and girls have gone missing.

Resilience is curated by Lee-Ann Martin, one of Canada’s foremost Indigenous (Mohawk) curators. “It is an extremely exciting opportunity for me to work with 50 Indigenous women artists and with Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art on Resilience, the national billboard project. For these artists, resilience is embodied as endurance, adaptability and sovereignty in relation to customary practices, contemporary identities, the land, and the impact of colonial practices and strategies. The large-scale billboard images exist outside of art galleries, standing alongside the country’s roadways. The artists in Resilience stand as Defenders of their cultural sovereignty and Protectors of this land.” - Lee-Ann Martin, Curator, Resilience

This project responds to Call #79 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, which encourages collaborations among Indigenous peoples and the arts community to develop a framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. It is a creative act of reconciliation.

Please visit www.resilienceproject.ca for more information and an interactive map of billboard sites. Follow Resilience across Canada in the summer of 2018!

Resilience is produced by Winnipeg artist-run-centre, Mentoring Artist for Women's Art (MAWA). For over 34 years, MAWA has supported visual artists by providing mentorships, workshops, lectures and more. From its North Main St. storefront, MAWA works to ensure the visual arts are accessible to everyone, of all ages, backgrounds and genders. MAWA is honored to present this monumental exhibition by First Nations, Inuit and Métis women artists of this land.

Resilience is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada. MAWA was the recipient of the largest New Chapter grant awarded in Manitoba.