Michael Patten (Cree)
Director General and President
Michael Patten (b. 1977) is a contemporary visual artist based in Montreal and a member of the Zagime Anishinabek First Nation in Saskatchewan. He holds a B.F.A. in painting and a B.F.A. in drawing with a minor in art history from the University of Regina and he has participated in solo and group exhibitions internationally and nationally in museums, artist run centers, commercial spaces, and university galleries. In 2017, he was one of the Laureates for the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL- Indigenous Art Awards. And he is presently the Director of the Contemporary Native Art Biennial in Montreal – a nonprofit organization with a mandate to recognize and support contemporary Indigenous art and artists.
Nico Williams (Anishinaabe)
Administrator
Nico Williams, ᐅᑌᒥᐣ (b. 1989) is a member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Anishinaabe), currently living and working in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. In 2021, he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Concordia University. He has a multidisciplinary and, often collaborative, practice that is centred around sculptural beadwork. Williams is active within the urban Indigenous Montréal Arts community and a member of the Contemporary Geometric Beadwork research team. He has taught workshops at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the McCord Stewart Museum, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and the University of Toronto.
Eruoma Awashish (Atikamekw)
Administrator
The Atikamekw artist Eruoma Awashish holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary arts from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Her artistic approach aims to create spaces for dialogue to facilitate the understanding of First Nations culture. Having lived in the communities of Opitciwan, Wemotaci and Mashteuiatsh, Awashish has a strong sense of belonging to her culture. Her work speaks of “métissage” and metamorphosis, and is imbued with spirituality, symbolism and syncretism. In 2018, she participated in BACA (Contemporary Native Art Biennial) and presented an installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
MC Snow (Kanien’kehà:ka)
Administrator
MC Snow (1965-) is a Kanienkehaka artist living in Kahnawake near Montreal, QC. As part of her contribution to native arts, she belives it’s important to leave a legacy and teachings of our traditional crafts and methods to the next generation so that they will not be lost. Marian continues to learn, practice and pass on the skills of beadwork and craftwork and incorporates these skills into her contemporary pieces. The installations combine elements and techniques that culminate in a visual poetry evocative of the natural world and the socio-political adventures of trying to be heard from within the collective of the reservation.
Meky Ottawa (Atikamekw)
Administrator
Originally from Manawan, Quebec, Meky Ottawa is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist based in Montreal. She draws on her Atikamekw origins, feminist perspective, and urban life in her work, whether it be video, illustration, or immersive installations, to create engaged and often political works. The creative process allows her to discover herself, to know herself better, but also to make part of her cultural heritage known to others.
Rhéal Olivier Lanthier
Treasurer
Rhéal Olivier Lanthier is co-director and co-founder of the Art Mûr gallery (founded in 1996). He is also founder of Éditions Art Mûr, Encadrements Art Mûr and the Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone. Rhéal Olivier Lanthier holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of Ottawa (major in political science) and completed two years of study in business administration. He was president of the Association des galeries d’art contemporain (AGAC) from 2008 to 2013.
Renee Condo (Mi’gmaw)
Administrator
Renee Condo (b.1979) is a contemporary visual artist of Mi’gmaw First Nation ancestry from the community of Gesgapegiag. She is currently working in Tiohtià:ke | Montréal. Condo’s work is a practice-based investigation into the power of the bead to communicate ideas derived from the reflection on and application of a Mi’kmaw worldview. Condo holds a BFA in studio arts (with Distinction), and an MFA in sculpture from Concordia University. She is the recipient of several bursaries and scholarships, some of which include Concordia Merit Scholarship, Concordia University Indigenous Graduate Scholarship, Indspire Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarships. Condo has received support by way of grants from the Conseil des art de Montréal and the Canada Council for the Arts. She has participated in group exhibitions including the 5th edition of the Contemporary Native Art Biennial (BACA), and in both Art Toronto and PAPIER art fairs with gallery Laroche/Joncas. Condo exhibited her first solo show in 2021, followed by a solo exhibition as part of the 6th edition of BACA in 2022. She completed her first public artwork in 2021, installed in Laval, Quebec.
Craig Commanda (Anishinaabe)
Administrator
Multidisciplinary Anishinaabe artist from Kitigan Zibi, Craig Commanda works with still and moving images, poetry, music, beadwork and sound composition. His practice seeks resurgence by contributing to cultural preservation and revitalization for and by Indigenous peoples.