Tracey-Mae Chambers | #hopeandhealingcanada

Tracey-Mae Chambers | #hopeandhealingcanada

Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers activated our window display with this new installation from the #hopeandhealingcanada series.

About the project

The #hopeandhealingcanada project created by Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers consists of a series of site-specific art installations across Canada. Each instalment is created using crochet, knit, and woven red yarns. This ongoing body of work addresses the decolonization of public spaces by illustrating connections between Indigenous, Inuit, and Métis peoples with Canadians. While speaking with the artist, we learned that each circle represents a family while the empty rings stand in for the people who have left us or those who have yet to join the community. As each installation is unique, this one evolved and developed new meanings as Tracey-Mae Chambers interacted with La Guilde’s team.

Tracey-Mae Chambers builds as many temporary installations as possible in Canada's outdoor spaces. The challenge of building in unfamiliar environments is part of her objective. Once dismantled, the piece is returned to the artist to be reworked and repurposed elsewhere. The stories gathered from each participating venue will culminate in a book and traveling exhibition.

About the artist

Tracey-Mae Chambers is a Métis artist and a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario. Her family is from the traditional Métis communities of Sault Ste. Marie and Penetanguishene, Ontario, where some of her relatives still reside. She travels across Canada and the United States to create site-specific art installations at the historical sites of residential schools, cultural centres, museums, galleries and other public spaces.

Photos: Views from installation © La Guilde