Saturday, July 11 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM
Talkin’ bout beads – art and process with Sherry Farrell Racette & Cathy Mattes
Online event
This activity is presented in English
Sherry Farrell Racette (Metis/Algonquin/Irish) is an interdisciplinary scholar with an active arts and curatorial practice. I was born in Manitoba and I am a Bill C-31 member of Timiskaming First Nation in Quebec (unceded Algonquin territory). Prior to my doctoral studies, I had an extensive career in Indigenous education beginning in Manitoba as a teacher of art and Native Studies, working with incarcerated Indigenous youth; moving to teacher education with SUNTEP Regina (Gabriel Dumont Institute), First Nations University of Canada, and the University of Regina. I remain committed to experiential learning and Indigenous pedagogies. I have done extensive work in archives and museum collections with an emphasis on retrieving women’s voices and recovering aesthetic knowledge. I have illustrated eight children’s books, collaborating with some of Canada’s most noted Indigenous authors. Recent curatorial and artistic projects include From Here: Story Gatherings from the Qu’Appelle Valley (Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2015), We Are Not Birds (Canadian Museum for Human Rights, 2014), and An Eloquence of Women (solo exhibition, Wanuskewin, 2018). I was the inaugural Ann Ray Fellow at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe NM in 2009-2010, and the 2016-2017 Distinguished Visiting Indigenous Faculty Fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute and Visiting Resident Scholar at Massey College. I have been beading since I was in my late teens, gratefully learning from a group of women from The Pas local of the Manitoba Metis Federation. Beading is important to every aspect of my life, my eyes, my hands, my pedagogy, and my heart.
Cathy Mattes is a Michif curator, writer, and art history professor at Brandon University, based in Sprucewoods Manitoba. Her curation, research and writing practice centers on dialogic and Indigenous knowledge-centered curatorial practice as strategies for care. Several examples of curatorial projects are: Kwaata-nihtaawakihk – A Hard Birth (Co-curated with Sherry Farrell Racette, opening February 2022 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery), Inheritance: Amy Malbeuf (2017, Kelowna Art Gallery), and Frontrunners (2011, Urban Shaman Gallery and Plug-In ICA). Mattes has contributed writings to the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the National Museum of the American Indian, to name a few. In 2010 she was chosen to be a delegate on the Canada Council Aboriginal Curators Delegation to New Zealand and Australia and has presented lectures nationally and internationally. In addition to her freelance work Mattes was the curator at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba between 2003 and 2005, and has been a consultant for various government agencies and arts organizations. Mattes is an Associate Professor teaching art history at Brandon University in the Department of Visual and Aboriginal Arts, and is very close to completing her PhD studies at the University of Manitoba in Native Studies. She has been beading since she was 20 years old, and considers it the heart of her curatorial pedagogy and praxis.
Web of Virtual Kin
Virtual gatherings, workshops, teachings, circles, parties + panels coming from Indigenous community members to hold space with our NDN kin across Nations, Lands + Waters. In an effort to locate + contribute to nodes in our interconnected web of relations during these times of social-distancing in effort to braid profound visionings.
This series of gatherings centers and nourishes place-keeping of our Black, Brown, 2Spirited, trans, non-binary + indigiqueer community members and upholds harm reductive protocols that provides a sense of safety that is ever-evolving. This programming is held with Indigenous youth, 2Spirit indigiqueer community as well as families both blood + chosen to stay connected with our cultures, communities and creativity.
In each event posting, we will extend the invitation with protocols for spatial awareness. ((( Most gatherings are open exclusively to Indigenous + Black-Indigenous kin. ))) ((( Some gatherings are open exclusively for Black + Black-Indigenous community members ))) ((( Some gatherings are open to Black, Black-Indigenous and Indigenous people who are also 2SLGBTTQQIA+ ))) ((( Some gatherings are for kiddos ))) ((( Some gatherings are open to our settler Ally – Accomplice dear ones, LGBTTQQIA+ folx, Black – Brown – POC + other displaced Kin who listen, honour and hold Indigenous resurgent practices with intentioned care in ongoing right relations. )))
** If ever you are questioning if the Circle is for you, please feel comfortable connecting with us + we can offer support in processing prior to your arrival. Please feel to come as you are.
Web of Virtual Kin is a collaborative weaving of intentions and community relationships, organized by SS2S :: StrongSpirit2Sircle, Land as Our Teacher (Concordia+) and nistamîkwan. SS2S wishes to extend gratitude to Centre Clark + ACC-CCA for their generous support as well as CRE + Hand & Hands for their contributions during these times to the community. Web of Virtual Kin receives generous + generative funding support from LAOT and BACA 2020 Kahwatsiretátie : Teionkwariwaienna Tekariwaiennawahkòntie.
