ReconciliACTIONS

September 2023 – August 2027

“Atikotc eici tepwetamak, eici apitentakwak, kitci kikinowamatisowak kapena ktci mino witciiaiekki mino mantominan acitc ka tepentciketc kitci apak ka ici makopisowak, kitci nimiak tac iimikana, ka ici moseek eka maci awiakok ka ici pikopotowatc.”

“Regardless of our beliefs, what matters is to learn to commune with our spirit and with the Great Spirit to free ourselves from our suffering and to dance freely on this path that has not been burnt by the modern world.” 5 – Dominique (Taminik) Rankin, Algonquin Elder and Marie-Josée Tardif, Medicine woman.

The exhibition ReconciliACTIONS reminds us that reconciliation is an ongoing process, a chain of care and repair, not a one-and-done event. Decolonizing our relationships with one another and drawing new pathways of understanding based on mutual respect is empowering for all of us. Indigenous, settler, immigrant, and refugee alike all play an integral role in enacting reconciliation, and as Dominique (Taminik) Rankin and Marie-Josée Tardif describe in the quote above, what matters most for everyone regardless of beliefs is that we free ourselves from suffering by learning to dance on the path that has not been burnt by the modern world. What is meant by this quote? Perhaps it encourages everyone to rebuild balance and harmony into our lives together – a dance free of the shame, self-importance, greed, and noise of modern life. These modern world attributes have clouded our ability to see each other, inhibiting the repair of our relationships both individually and societally. We cannot move forward in reconciliation if we do not listen and dance with patience and vulnerability.

ReconciliACTIONS invites viewers to contemplate how they can show up with care both individually and collectively in actively carrying reconciliation forward. All persons have the agency to create ripples of change, and the Indigenous artists who are included in this exhibition are contributing to this change by educating the public and sharing their knowledge and experiences through visual forms. As you look at each artwork, consider its story, consider the artist, and consider how your own actions can be instruments of change in the ongoing process of reconciliation.

Curated by Ash Slemming and Colouring it Forward
Touring from the Alberta Society of Artists, TREX Southwest