New art exhibit to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day

Beginning Wednesday, June 21, museum-goers will notice two new art installations located in the lobby and courtyard of the Niagara Falls History Museum. 

Indigenous artists Tracey-Mae Chambers and Nadya Kwandibens have created pieces that will be unveiled on National Indigenous Peoples Day June 21, a museum news release says, and remain on display at the Museum throughout the summer. 

About #hopeandhealingcanada and artist Tracey-Mae Chambers
Métis-settler visual artist, Tracey-Mae Chambers, created #hopeandhealingcanada, a textile piece constructed of red wool, silk and cotton yarn. Since July 2021, Chambers has created over 100 installations at residential school historical sites, museums, art galleries and other public spaces. “Many of these spaces serve to present a colonial viewpoint and primarily speak about the settlers who arrived and lived there, but not the Indigenous people that were displaced along the way,” the artist says. Chambers hopes to bridge the gap between settlers and Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit people by creating art that is approachable and non-confrontational, that starts a conversation about decolonization and reconciliation.

About The Red Chair Sessions and artist Nadya Kwandibens
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) artist, Nadya Kwandibens, created The Red Chair Sessions - an ongoing portraiture series that places importance on the acknowledgement and reclamation of Indigenous lands and the revitalization of Indigenous languages. In her artist statement, Kwandibens says, “The colour red represents Indigenous Peoples on the Medicine Wheel and, in this series, signifies Indigenous Peoples’ inherent connection to the land and to ancestral bloodlines. This series ultimately disrupts colonial narratives, centres Indigenous Peoples who have been here since time immemorial, and reminds us that we are all guests on Indigenous land.”

For more information, including Niagara Falls History Museum hours of operation and admission prices, click here.

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.