November 27, 2021 - April 16, 2022
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Aazhawayi’iing/Oshawa, Ontario
May 28 - October 2, 2022
Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, K'jipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia
November 4, 2022 - January 6, 2023
AKA Artist-Run, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Joi T. Arcand, Richelle Bear Hat, Susan Blight, Tsēmā Igharas, Audie Murray, Michelle Sylliboy, and Alberta Rose W./Ingniq
Curatorial project for Curatorial Residency at TRUCK Contemporary Art
Review by Ray Cronin for Vie de arts
The intention of touring Taskoch pipon pesim kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew | Like the winter snow kills the grass, the summer sun revives it and Mamanaw Pekiskwewina | Mother Tongues is to build dialogical, sustainable, reciprocal, and respectful relationships between partnering institutions and the Indigenous artists and cultural workers working on each iteration of the tour while honouring Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
The exhibition features seven Indigenous artists who create work in an Indigenous language from each of the major geographic regions of what is now known as Canada—Anishinaabemowin, Komqwejwi'kasikl, Michif, nêhiyawêwin, Nitsiipowahsiin, Tāłtān, and Uummarmiutun. Taskoch pipon kona kah nipa muskoseya, nepin pesim eti pimachihew celebrates and centres Indigenous languages and ways of knowing. This exhibition aims to address and initiate a discussion on how Indigenous languages intertwine with Indigenous epistemologies and how the dormancy and extinction of Indigenous languages leads to a hinderance of culture and knowledge. Bringing together emerging and established Indigenous artists based in so-called Canada, the exhibition gives space back to those artists whose practices deal with Indigenous languages in each of their visibilities, vulnerabilities, and regional voices.
Banner Image: Installation view at TRUCK Contemporary Art, 2019. Photo courtesy of TRUCK Contemporary Art.