When asked why, in the fall of 2013, I decided to relocate to Ottawa I would say “I came for Sakahàn, but I stayed for the after party.” I sensed something significant was happening here on the ancestral and unceded land of the Algonquin. Indigenous presence, as revealed through art, was everywhere you looked. The strength of the National Gallery of Canada’s Sakahàn: International Indigenous Art exhibition was how it connected across many venues. On both sides of the river, one could encounter incredible and compelling contemporary Indigenous art, from the Canadian Museum of History (then the Museum of Civilization) and the Carleton University Art Gallery to Ottawa’s artist-run-centres, such as Gallery 101 and Galerie SAW Gallery (now the SAW Centre). These auxiliary locations provided the opportunity to meet both local and international artists circulating that summer, with friendships being formed that then extended and were nurtured over digital networks. Posting their experiences online, the artists created a digital archive of a critical moment of cultural transformation, one building on the momentum of the winter of #IdleNoMore. With Sakahàn – meaning “to light [a fire]” in Algonquin – a precedent was set with an exhibition format that brings more voices into the expanding circle of contemporary Indigenous art. Social media has been the accelerant.

Read full article on National Gallery of Canada Magazine.

IMAGE: Leah Snyder