September 19, 2024 – February 2, 2025
Opening reception: Thursday 19 at 5 p.m.
Creation Stories, BACA survey exhibition
Artists: Eruoma Awashish, Sierra Barber, Mel Beaulieu, Michael Belmore, Jordan Bennett, Lisa-Maude Aubin-Bérubé, Christian Chapman, Joanna Katrena Cooper, Marcy Friesen, Shoshannah Greene, Cora Kavyaktok, Casey Koyczan, Cheyenne Rain LeGrande ᑭᒥᐊᐧᐣ, Meagan Musseau, Helen Pelletier, Jobena Petonoquot, Natasha Sacobie, Heather Shillinglaw, Skawennati, Maura Tamez, Jesse Tungilik, Vance Wright.
Curators : Lori Beavis, Emma Hassencahl-Perley, Jake Kimble, Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé
Project manager for the exhibition at the Musée régional de Rimouski: Annabelle Francoeur
La Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone (BACA), 7e édition
Musée régional de Rimouski (QC)
This exhibition at the Musée régional de Rimouski presents a diverse collection of Indigenous art that captures the rich cultural heritage from coast to coast, celebrating the stories and traditions of Indigenous communities across the nation.
The artworks were selected from the 2024 edition of the Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone. The biennial is held every two years, in multiple venues, with each iteration focusing on a specific theme. This year’s theme is Creation Stories, curated by Lori Beavis, Emma Hassencahl-Perley, Jake Kimble, and Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé – four curators representing each of the cardinal directions in Canada.
This year the biennale spanned seven locations in Quebec with sub-themes; Stories of Place at DRAC – Art actuel Drummondville, Roots and Revelations at Stewart Hall Art Gallery (Pointe-Claire), Creation Stories at Art Mûr (Montréal), Land / Medicines at the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, Turtle Island at La Guilde (Montreal), Spirit Heart Mind Body, at the Quai 5160 – Maison de la culture de Verdun, and Supernatural at EXPRESSION, Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe.
The artists are sharing their personal stories about their home and the spaces of their ancestors. These stories of place are formed through observation, life experiences, and an understanding of connectivity with the natural environment. Storytelling is a fundamental practice in Indigenous culture, as it serves as the basis for all human learning and teaching. Stories validate experiences, provide ways of understanding, convey history from the people’s perspective, nurture relationships, and promote knowledge sharing. Through their distinct cultural perspectives, the artists offer profound insights into Indigenous identities, communities, and spiritual beliefs, creating a diverse tapestry of interconnected narratives that delve into the complexities of human existence.
Launched in 2012, the Contemporary Native Art Biennial (BACA) is a Montreal-based non-profit organization (registered in 2016) that promotes the work of Indigenous artists. The biennial is held every two years, in multiple venues, with each iteration focusing on a specific theme. The event is aimed at an ever-growing audience—Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike—and features both emerging and established artists. Our mission is to promote Indigenous art and to sensitize and educate the public on the cultural issues of the First Nations. The BACA would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Secrétariat des affaires Autochtones, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, its partners.
