Picturing Ourselves

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David Neel Kwakwaka’wakw, "Life on the 18th Hole," 1990 46/75

sérigraphie sur papier / serigraph on paper. Generously loaned by the Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) in Gatineau Quebec.

Opening Friday, February 17, 7pm

The collected artworks of thirteen Indigenous artists are united in one space to create Picturing Ourselves, a group exhibition spanning four decades, curated by Lee-Ann Martin and on loan from the Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) in Gatineau Quebec. Picturing Ourselves refutes the narrative of the ‘vanishing race’ and instead, recounts a contemporary story of Indigeneity through each artists’ interpretation of portraiture.  

"Picturing Ourselves includes portraits of self, family and community from each artist's perspective. The images often confront the troubled history of Indigenous peoples and representation associated with the colonial lens,” writes Martin in her curatorial statement. “Indigenous artists choose portraiture not only to confront stereotypical misrepresentations of Indigenous people but also to celebrate their community and their culture. This exhibition invites viewers to consider the artists' reflections and reworking of many continuing misrepresentations.”

Kanienʼkehá꞉ka, Tyendinaga curator and scholar Lee-Ann Martin is the Curator of Contemporary Aboriginal Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. She was previously Head Curator at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, and is a 2019 Governor General Award recipient. Martin created the internationally acclaimed installation Resilience, which featured the work of 50 Indigenous artists on billboards across the country.