Nation to Nation @ 30

This public discussion reunites members of the Indigenous artist collective Nation to Nation (N2N), which was established in 1994. Artists Skawennati and Ryan Rice (both Kanienʼkehá:ka) will be joined by Michif scholar Cathy Mattes and Assistant Professor of Art History at Concordia University, Michelle McGeough (Cree/Métis).

This event is organized by Mikhel Proulx (PhD Art History, 2023) with the support of the FOFA Gallery, the Indigenous Futures Research Centre (IFRC), and the Concordia University Research Chair in Computational Media & the Indigenous Future Imaginary. Don’t miss this opportunity to dive deep into the history and continuing influence of N2N!

Event Background

In the early 1990s, three emerging artists established a working collective. Skawennati, Ryan Rice, and Eric Robertson (Gitksan) had all been students of studio art at Concordia University, where they were also members of First Nations Concordia. They named themselves, as Rice notes, after a principle of a historic Haudenosaunee treaty: “the Kahswentha, the Two Row Wampum Belt, which is built on the relationships of mutual respect from Nation to Nation.” N2N hosted exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and performance evenings across Canada. They supported dozens of Indigenous artists working at the boundaries of contemporary art, including in new media, performance, and social practice.

Among N2N’s exhibitions was “Art Bingo” (1994), a performance event in which participants were rewarded with artwork prizes. “Native Love” (1995) was a touring exhibition that highlighted Indigenous expressions of love, sex, and care in the artwork of over forty artists. “TattooNation” (1997–8) drew on diverse cultural traditions of tattooing, and featured tattoo designs by contemporary Indigenous artists in a touring exhibition. And CyberPowWow (1997–2004) provided space for Indigenous cultural expressions on the Internet, supporting interactive artworks within a multi-user environment.

Nation to Nation’s activities took place in concert with vast institutional shifts in the Canadian art landscape. Their efforts have been influential in the formation of contemporary Indigenous art, and were often developed outside of the support of established funding agencies and display spaces. On the occasion of Nation to Nation’s thirtieth anniversary, this gathering offers an in-depth exploration of this important collective for the first time.

Bios

Skawennati is a visual artist. Her machinimas and machinimagraphs (movies and still images made in virtual environments), textiles and sculpture have been presented internationally and collected by the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal and the Thoma Foundation, among others. Recipient of a 2022 Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions Grant and an Honorary Doctorate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, she is also a founding board member of daphne, Montreal’s first Indigenous artist-run center. She co-directs Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC), a research-creation network at Concordia University. Originally from Kahnawà:ke, Skawennati resides in Montreal.

Ryan Rice, Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawake, is a curator, critic and creative consultant. His curatorial career spans 30 years in community, museums, artist run centres, public spaces and galleries. He is currently the Executive Director of OCAD University’s Onsite Gallery in addition to his 2021 appointment as its Curator, Indigenous Art. In 2022, he presented three solo exhibitions; Jordan Bennett: Souvenir at Onsite Gallery, Pageant: Natalie King at Centre [3] and Versification: January Rogers at daphne Art Centre and advanced two public art commissions as the Indigenous Public Art Curator with Waterfront Toronto. He received the 2022 Changemakers BIPOC Award from Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG). Rice is co-curator for the 2023 edition of the Bonavista Biennale (NL). His contributions to community, leadership, and organizational experience includes co-founder of the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective, the Inuit Art Foundation Board, an advisory member of Longhouse Labs.

Michelle McGeough (Cree Métis/Settler) completed her PhD in Indigenous art history at the University of New Mexico. Prior to returning to school for her advanced degree, she taught Museum Studies at the Institute of American Indian Art and was the Assistant curator at the Wheelwright Museum of the Native American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. McGeough has a Master’s degree from Carleton University as well as a BFA from Emily Carr and an undergraduate degree from the Institute of American Indian Art. She also has a B.Ed. degree from the University of Alberta. Dr. McGeough currently teaches at Concordia University in the Art History department.

Cathy Mattes (Southwest Manitoba Michif) is a curator, writer, and art history professor based out of Sprucewoods, Manitoba, Canada. Her curation, research and writing centers on dialogic and Indigenous knowledge-centered curatorial practice as strategies for care. She has a PhD in Indigenous Studies from the University of Manitoba, and currently teaches at the University of Winnipeg in the History of Art and Curatorial Studies programs. Mattes has been beading since she was 20 years old and has taught beading and moccasin-making in workshops, university courses, and around her kitchen table with family and friends.

Mikhel Proulx is a settler art historian. He is the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et culture Postdoctoral Fellow at the Vulnerable Media Lab at Queen’s University. Mikhel has recently curated exhibitions and presented research in Leonardo Journal, Performance Research, the Journal of Canadian Art History, the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, and Foundation PHI in Montreal.