Join Gallery 1C03 on Monday, January 13 from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. in Convocation Hall for Relational Making: Activating Knowledge Through Objects and Spaces. This panel discussion will feature KC Adams, Tashina Houle-Schlup, and Dené Sinclair, and will be moderated by Cathy Mattes.
This event is presented in conjunction with the gallery’s current exhibition, Seven Generations, which features a photo-portrait series and short film by KC Adams, shown alongside ancestor regalia on loan from the Manitoba Museum’s Hudson’s Bay Company Collection.
Relational making
Adams opens her film by explaining that “relational making” is a more holistic way to describe the creative endeavours of Indigenous Peoples such as herself. Relational making may take various forms, including traditional and contemporary regalia making. Each of the speakers will discuss their journey with regalia making and share how it activates Indigenous ways of knowing.
“The Relational Making panel discussion prioritizes decolonial perspectives,” said Jennifer Gibson, Director/Curator of Gallery 1C03. “It’s a time to listen to and honour the knowledge shared by these remarkable Indigenous women on a long-standing means of creative expression that is deeply interwoven into Indigenous ways of knowing.”
About the panel
Cathy Mattes is a Michif (Southwest Manitoba) curator, writer, and Associate Professor in History of Art. She previously taught art history in Ishkaabatens Waasa Gaa Inaabateg, Department of Visual Art. She also taught for the Gender and Women Studies program at Brandon University, and is an adjunct faculty member in Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba. She is a beadworker, Southern Michif language learner, and holds a PhD in Indigenous Studies from the University of Manitoba. Mattes’ curation, research, and writing centers on dialogic and Indigenous knowledge-centered curatorial practice, and Indigenous art transpedagogy as strategies for care.
KC Adams, or Flying Overhead in Circles Eagle Woman, is of Ininew, Anishinaabe, and British heritage. She is a registered member of Fisher River Cree Nation living on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg. She creates work exploring technology and its relationship to her Indigenous identity. She works in adornment, clay, drawing, installation, painting, photography, printmaking, public art, video, AR, and VR.
Tashina Houle-Schlup is an Anishinaabe and Swiss woman with family ties to Ebb & Flow and Tootinaowaziibeeng and has been deeply immersed in Indigenous art forms all her life, with a special focus on quillwork. Tashina creates modern and traditional pieces that pay homage to the quillwork of the past. In 2021, Tashina earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and History from Brandon University, further enriching her knowledge and understanding of her cultural heritage. She currently serves as the Head of Indigenous Programming & Engagement at the Manitoba Museum, where she actively shares the rich culture and history of Indigenous communities.
Dené Sinclair was raised in Selkirk, Manitoba (St. Peters Band) and is a member of Peguis First Nation. She is an independent business consultant, working closely with individuals, museums, community and heritage organizations supporting Indigenous languages, knowledge systems and business management development. Dené is a committed learner of Anishinaabemowin and spends much of her time sharing, learning and encouraging language learning in our community. She has been sewing, beading and crafting for most of her life and credits the many strong matriarchs in her life for instilling a love of making. She is happiest in her craft room with her beads, fabric and thread.
This event is presented in partnership with the UWinnipeg Department of History and Office of Indigenous Engagement. We are also grateful for financial assistance from the Manitoba Arts Council.
