Category: News

There have been some exciting structural and staffing changes at Native Women in the Arts lately. We are delighted to announce that NWIA’s long-time Programming Manager Quach George has been appointed to the new position of Artistic Director! 

Quach George first started working with NWIA in 2015 as a Programming Coordinator, eventually being promoted to Programming Manager. She comes to the position of Artistic Director with much knowledge of the organization, a deep commitment to our mandate, and a wide range of artistic, creative, administrative and presentation experience with other Indigenous arts organizations.

Quach George is succeeding Ariel Smith who held the position of Artistic and Managing Director from 2018-2023. After six years as both the artistic and administrative head of NWIA, Ariel has stepped down from her position  due to a move out West to the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples in Vancouver, and a desire to  take time to focus on her own artistic practice.

Ariel is temporarily continuing to work for NWIA remotely from Vancouver in the position of Interim Administrator until a Toronto based replacement is secured. Keep your eyes out for a job call coming  in April of 2024! In her role as Interim Administrator Ariel remains responsible for coordinating administrative operations of the organization, as well as grant writing, fundraising, and financial management.

The organization expresses its deep gratitude to Ariel for her contributions and visionary leadership during her tenure as Artistic and Managing Director. Ariel oversaw and curated numerous presentations including:
 
Inaabandam, a 3-day symposium held in January 2020 which foregrounded issues of concern and interest to Indigenous Women and other Indigenous Gender Marginalized artists, featuring teachings with elders; panel discussions with Indigenous artists, curators and leaders, a visual arts exhibition, and an opening reception that included live musical performances.
 
Native Americana: Indigenous Women in Roots Music, a concert series featuring Indigenous artists working in genres of country, bluegrass, blues and roots rock. Programmed artists included Samantha Crain, Dawn & Shawna Redskye, Celeigh Cardinal and Layla Creppel. Due to the pandemic the concert series was presented online. Each musician was commissioned to self-produce their own broadcast quality concert and was provided with the resources to do so. Afterwards the artists were able to maintain ownership of the videos.
 
Materialized, a visual art exhibition which opened in April 2023 examining themes of intergenerational memory, familial narrative, and decolonization. Combining portrait photography with elements from adornment arts, textiles, sculpture, and customary Indigenous art practices curated artists Joi T. Arcand, Celeste Pedri-Spade, Catherine Blackburn and Nadya Kwandibens all resist colonial meta-narratives contained in settler-made images of Indigenous portrait subjects. 

Please join us in welcoming Quach to her new position!

Quach George’s long history with the NWIA coupled with her creative vision and passion for Indigenous arts, and community building make her the ideal person to lead NWIA into its next chapter. The transition between Artistic Directors marks an exciting time for NWIA as we continue to grow and seek new ways to support Indigenous women and otherwise gender marginalized Indigenous artists in the spirit of collaboration, community and celebration.

“I’m so happy to step into this role at NWIA and look forward to working in this new capacity within the community. I am honoured for this exciting opportunity and I want to thank Ariel Smith for all of her dedication and hard work over the years and join the NWIA board of directors in wishing her luck with all of her future endeavours.”
– Quach George, Artistic Director

Visit www.nwia.ca and join our social media pages to find out about upcoming activities, and hope to see you at our next event.

Native Women in the Arts and Critical Distance Centre for Curators are pleased to present Materialized in partnership with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and Partners in Art. The exhibition is curated by Ariel Smith and features works by Joi T. Arcand, Celeste Pedri-Spade, and Catherine Blackburn, with a public art billboard by Nadya Kwandibens.

On view: April 21 – June 3, 2023 / Opening reception: Friday, April 21, 2023
 

Image: Catherine Blackburn, Scooped (detail), 2017, photos, 24 kt gold-plated beads, seed beads, thread, 12 x 9cm. Courtesy of the artist.

Combining portrait photography with elements from adornment arts, textiles, sculpture, and customary Indigenous art practices, Materialized examines themes of intergenerational memory, familial narrative, and decolonization. By using their craft to reclaim portraiture as a form of self-expression and self-determination, each artist resists the colonial metanarratives contained in settler-made images of Indigenous subjects.

Images left to right: Celeste Pedri-Spade, Shirley’s Tobacco Bag, 2014, Delica beads, brain-tanned moose hide. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Rebecca Bose. 

Joi T. Arcand, Through That Which is Scene, 2014, found objects, photographs, acrylic sheets, wood, glue. Courtesy of the artist.

Through their multifaceted practices, the artists in Materialized individually and collectively raise—and unpack—crucial questions about photography: How can photographs—both archival and contemporary—support personal and familial histories? And how can these same photographs act as the basis for social, political, and conceptual explorations of Indigenous identity when they are put through a process of physical materialization?

Image: Nadya Kwandibens, Shiibaashka’igan: Honouring the Sacred Jingle Dress, 2019, digital photography. Courtesy of the artist.

As a satellite component of this indoor exhibition, Animakee Wa Zhing #37  First Nation artist and recently appointed Toronto Photo Laureate, Nadya Kwandibens’ photograph Shiibaashka’igan: Honouring the Sacred Jingle Dress (2019) will be presented on a public billboard located outside Artscape Youngplace at 180 Shaw Street.

Please join us for the opening reception on April 21, 2023, from 6 PM to 8 PM. A panel with the artists and curator will take place on April 22, 2023,  from 1 PM to 3 PM at Urbanspace Gallery. Capacity is limited, register on Eventbrite.

Opening Reception: April 21, 2012, 6 PM – 8 PM, 401 Richmond Building, Suite 122

Artists Panel: April 22, 2023, 1 PM – 3 PM, 401 Richmond Building, Ground Floor

Location & Accessibility Information

Critical Distance Gallery is located on the ground floor at 401 Richmond, a wheelchair-accessible building with a ramp at the Richmond Street doors, and an accessible washroom on every level. The gallery is equipped with automatic doors and access to exhibitions, artworks, publications, and events is prioritized from development through production for all programs. This exhibition will include visual description. Information on additional access measures will be posted as it becomes available. For further access-related questions, please contact Critical Distance Gallery at info@criticaldistance.ca. 

Artists & Organizations

Celeste Pedri-Spade is an Anishinabekwe artist from Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation. She identifies as a “mark maker” who works primarily with textiles and photography. Celeste holds a PhD in Visual Anthropology and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University where she is also the inaugural Associate Provost of Indigenous Initiatives. Her art practice is committed to honouring the women in her life and exploring the tactile and sensuous meanings made possible through creative entanglements with our material environments.

Joi T. Arcand is an artist from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 Territory, currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. In 2018, Arcand was shortlisted for the prestigious Sobey Art Award. Her practice includes installation, photography, and design and is characterized by a visionary and subversive reclamation and indigenization of public spaces through the use of Cree language and syllabics. She is currently a student at University nuhelotʼįne thaiyotsʼį nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills and a member of the art and curatorial collective: Wolf Babe.

Catherine Blackburn was born in Patuanak Saskatchewan, of Dene and European ancestry, and is a member of the English River First Nation. She is a multidisciplinary artist and jeweler, whose common themes address Canada’s colonial past which is often prompted by personal narratives. Her work merges mixed media and fashion to create a dialogue between historical art forms and new interpretations of them. Through utilizing beadwork and other historical adornment techniques, she creates space to explore Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization, and representation. Her work has been exhibited in notable national and international exhibitions and fashion runways.

Nadya Kwandibens is Anishinaabe from the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in northwestern Ontario. She is an award-winning photographer and a Canon Ambassador. In 2008 she founded Red Works Photography. Red Works is a dynamic photography company empowering contemporary Indigenous lifestyles and cultures through photographic essays, features, and portraits. Red Works specializes in natural light portraiture and headshot sessions plus event and concert photography. Nadya’s photography has been exhibited in group and solo shows across Canada and the United States. She currently resides in Tkarón:to on Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Mississauga of the Credit River & Dish With One Spoon Territory.

Ariel Smith is an award-winning nêhiyaw, white settler and Jewish filmmaker, video artist, writer, and cultural worker. Having created independent media art since 2001, she has shown at festivals and galleries across Canada and Internationally.

Ariel has worked as a programmer/curator for such organizations as Saw Gallery, The Ottawa International Animation Festival, Reel Canada, imagineNATIVE, Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, and the National Gallery of Canada. Ariel works as the Artistic and Managing Director of Native Women in the Arts and is in the process of completing an MFA in Film Production from York University.

Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC), a not-for-profit gallery, publisher, and professional network devoted to the support and advancement of curatorial inquiry in Toronto, Canada, and beyond.

With a focus on critically-engaged, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary practices, underrepresented artists and art forms, and community outreach and education in art and exhibition-making, Critical Distance is an open platform for diverse curatorial perspectives, and a forum for the exchange of ideas on curating as a way to connect, engage, and inform people and publics across cultures, disciplines, geographies, and generations.

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA) is one of the leading arts organizations in Canada for Indigenous women and other gender-marginalized Indigenous artists working at the intersection of customary and contemporary practices. NWIA serves as a site of artistic exchange, encouraging dialogue between artists and audiences about social, cultural, and political issues and their relationship to artistic expression.