La Guilde presents the exhibition Nehirowisidigital by emerging artist Meky Ottawa
May 16 to July 21, 2019
Montreal, 16 July 2019 - From July 25th to September 29th, La Guilde in partnership with Land InSights, a society for the dissemination of Indigenous culture and the organizer of Montreal First Peoples Festival, is proud to present Nehirowisidigital, the most recent exhibition of illustrations by emerging artist Meky Ottawa. Comprising of ten works on paper, some of which were taken from the exhibition held at the Musée amérindien de Mashteuiatsh, the pieces created in 2017 will be presented for the very first time in Montreal. This exhibition marks La Guilde’s first collaboration with Meky Ottawa and the artist’s second solo exhibition in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Modern and minimal in style, and halfway between the traditional and the contemporary, her work is strongly inspired by her Atikamekw culture and heritage, her feminist perspective and her daily urban life. Her works are often humorous and committed, and at times political through reverse reappropriation.
The opening reception will be held at La Guilde (1356 Sherbrooke Street West) in the presence of the artist, on Thursday July 25th 2019 from 6 PM to 8 PM. To highlight the importance of the event will also be in attendance André Dudemaine, Land InSights’ Director of Cultural Activities and Michelle Joannette, La Guilde’s Executive Director
Although she is mostly known for her work in video, this does not prevent the multidisciplinary artist from being active in illustrations and installations. Notably, she is the artist behind the sumptuous mural dedicated to the great Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. Throughout her early career Meky Ottawa has exhibited her works in Mashteuiatsh, Nantes and Montreal, notably at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as part of the collective exhibition titled Elles Autochtones (2017). Her animation films have been presented in Toronto, New York, Santiago (Chile), Marseille and Paris (France), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Guadalajara (Mexico). This year only she has presented Résurgence at the Conseil des arts de Montréal and more recently, she has completed an artist residency at the Centre d’art et de diffusion Clark as part of a project dedicated to the work of Indigenous women artists.
“The creative process allows me to discover myself, to know myself better, but also to make part of my cultural heritage known to others. I believe that creation is a reflection of the self and our influence; in my case, being an Indigenous artist means being an activist. With my work, I want to contribute to the creation and promotion of a multiplicity of Indigenous identities. Art allows me to evolve, to grow, to share and to know myself a little more each time.” - Meky Ottawa
Related Activities
On September 28th from 2 to 4 PM. and on September 29th, from 1 to 3 PM as part of the 23rd edition of the Journées de la culture, La Guilde invites you to participate to the creation of a collective artwork led by Meky Ottawa.
About the Montreal First Peoples Festival / Land InSights
Land InSights is the driving force behind the Montreal First Peoples Festival, a multidisciplinary artistic and cultural event that makes Montreal the nerve centre of Indigenous creativity from the three Americas for ten days in August. We set three strategic objectives upon our foundation in 1990: create a major First Nations festival in Montreal, commemorate and remember the Great Peace of Montreal 1701 upon its tricentennial, and secure a permanent home for First Cultures in Québec’s metropolis. Mission: Link the artistic and cultural renaissance of First Peoples to the cultural dynamics of a major metropolis within a sustainable development perspective based on friendship between peoples, diversity of sources of expression as a collective cultural wealth to share and recognition of the specificity of First Nations.
ABOUT La Guilde
La Guilde, historical gallery and museum institution of Canadian art, has been preserving, promoting and encouraging fine crafts for more than one hundred years. Specializing in Inuit and First Nations art, La Guilde is a non-profit organization that holds a permanent collection, one of the most influential in Canada, a historically and culturally rich archives department, an educational program with a broad outreach, and a gallery which draws together works by renowned and emerging artists. Situated in downtown Montreal, La Guilde’s gallery offers all of its customers high quality contemporary art.
Image : Meky Ottawa, Indian Names, 2017, digital print on paper, ed. 2/10, 36 x 27 ⅞ in.
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