Prairie Thunder is a group exhibition of contemporary Indigenous women artists with a relationship to the prairies whose practices are conspicuously informed and sustained by kinship. The title evokes the strength, power, and relationships of prairie people and includes works by Cree, Métis, Anishinaabe and Dakota contemporary artists.
The artworks in the exhibition highlight the power and spirit of healing generated by relationships to the land and kin, with special focus on mother-daughter bonds, using a variety of mediums, including textile, printmaking, painting, performance, photography, and film.
The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba invited curators Stacey Koosel (Manitoba Métis) and Marie-Anne Redhead (Fox Lake Cree Nation) to curate a show that would resonate with the Indigenous communities on Treaty 2.
Stacey Koosel, who is also a professor of Art History at Brandon University, says, “Having the chance to collaborate with such exciting artists, bring Michelle Sound’s art to Manitoba for the first time, and work with Marie-Anne Redhead to craft an exhibition that is a celebration of the strength and power of Indigenous women, has been an absolute delight.”
She adds that visitors will be inspired to consider the rhythm and ritual of relationship through the artists’ varied practices. The exhibition, says Redhead, was inspired by the Métis Kitchen Table gatherings popularized by Métis curators on Treaty 1.
The exhibition will feature artworks and performances by: Michelle Sound (Wapsewsipi Swan River First Nation), Jessie Jannuska (Canupawakpa Dakota Nation), Cheyenne and Cikwes LeGrande (Bigstone Cree Nation), Audie Murray and Lucille Fisher (Métis), Margaret Firlotte (Michif, Métis) and Lori Blondeau (Cree/Saulteaux/Métis).
The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, April 5th at 6:00, to meet the artists and curators, and enjoy a performance by Cheyenne Rain LeGrande and Cikwes that is “a conversation along matriarchal lines, embodying the love that binds them.” The event will be opened by Elder and Knowledge Keepers Barb Blind, Frank and Deborah Tacan, Debbie Huntinghawk, and the Good Hearted Warriors.
This exhibition was made possible by generous support from the Manitoba Arts Council, BC Arts Council and UBC Okanagan Gallery.
