Window Gallery
OPULENCE: We Bead Everything Too!
acâhkos child calf-dubois, Shana Pasapa, Lucille Fisher, Brenna Pacholko, Dani LaValley, Connie Mussell & Sadi-Rose Vaxvick
January 20 – February 24 | 2024
ARTIST TALK: February 15 | 5:30-7:00PM
“Opulence: We Bead Everything Too!” unfolded over four months, featuring seven local beadwork artists in a series of weekly sessions enriched by guest artists Dorothy Joyea, Tammy Ratt, and Joseph Sayer. Facilitated by Program
Coordinator Brianna LaPlante, Sâkêwêwak’s beadwork program provide a nurturing space for Indigenous artists to create. The Opulence group explored hide, tufting, and fur techniques, incorporated into new Individual projects. The weekly gatherings mirrored the cultural ideology of the kitchen table, serving as a backdrop for skill development through intention setting, workshops, collaborative group sharing, and peer-driven skill exchange.
This dynamic environment fostered a vibrant and supportive artistic community. Exploring the rich Indigenous Collections housed at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, participants found inspiration in historic and traditional art, including tangible artifacts and photographs – this critical viewing offered profound insights into shared patterns and motifs. These visual archives showcased the opulent craftsmanship of past Indigenous artists, highlighting beadwork, quillwork, stitching, and sewing across a spectrum of items, from personal adornments to essential household artifacts. The visual narrative woven by these photographs underscored the centrality of community in Indigenous artwork.
Image: Shana Pasapa, Standing in my Power. Beaded Pillow (2023-2024)
