Indigenous Art on Public Display at McGill University

Visible Storage Gallery on the 4th floor of McLennan Library

Located on the fourth floor of the McLennan Library Building, the Visible Storage Gallery includes dozens of artworks from McGill University’s Visual Arts Collection. The works are hung salon-style in an eye-catching display on a vibrant indigo coloured wall just outside the  Rare Books & Archives Reading Room . The Indigenous artists featured in this display include Benjamin Chee Chee, Leo Yerxa,  Sharni Pootoogook, Eldred Allen , Tony Hunt Sr., Rita Letendre, and ᐊᐅᓂᑦᓯᐊ (Paunichea).

Learn more about Rita Letendre's artwork in a  blog post  written by Madeline Holton (McGill VAC Museum Database Assistant)

Learn more about the artwork by ᐊᐅᓂᑦᓯᐊ (Paunichea) in a  blog post  written by Jane O’Brien Davis (McGill VAC Museum Database Assistant) and Rosalind Sweeney-McCabe (McGill VAC ARIA Intern)

Visible Storage Gallery Display Case in the McLennan Library

The works presented in this display case in McGill's Visible Storage Gallery originate from Indigenous nations across North America and New Zealand. The majority range in date from the mid-twentieth to early twenty-first centuries. These woven, sculptural, and graphic works highlight the diverse materiality of modern and contemporary Indigenous art practices, which often reference traditional knowledge, beliefs, and motifs. Artists featured are ᓘᓯ ᑕᓯᐊ (Lucy Tasseor), Tony Hunt Jr. and Sr., Gryn White, Gregg Tagarook, Elmer Ekayuke Frankson, John Collins, Glen Pollard, Rufus Moody, and Percy J. Ellis.

Mamidonenindam Meditation (Respite 03) by Nadia Myre in the Lobby of the McLennan-Redpath Library

Located in the main lobby of the McLennan Library is a large photographic work by Nadia Myre titled, Mamidonenindam (Meditations Respite 03). Myre (1974-) is a contemporary artist and a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Her work seeks inspiration from conversations around themes of identity, resilience, politics, language, and loss. A continuation of her beaded series Meditations on Black and Meditations on Red (featured in the James Administration Building), Mamidonenindam (Meditations Respite 03) is inspired by the imagery from our solar system and explores the question of the afterlife. The work is meant to evoke the mystery of the universe and the infinite nature of the systems that make up our surroundings.

Animal Nations Art Display in McLennan Library Lobby 

This display of Indigenous Art is curated by Catie Galbraith, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and recent McGill Graduate of History and Geography and with a minor in Indigenous Studies. While working for the VAC as an Indigenous Art Intern Galbraith thoughtfully brought together these works to represent Indigenous relationships with animal nations, highlighting traditional foodways and the cultural significance of hunting. The term ‘animal nations’ is intended to acknowledge the sovereignty of non-human beings and recognizes their right to be treated with reciprocity and diplomacy. 

Artworks by Inuit, Haida, and Kwakwaka’wakw nations together  reveal each artist’s deep knowledge of the landscape, influenced by their unique lived experiences and worldviews. Together they tell a compelling story of how land-based knowledge informs governance systems, foodways and livelihoods, and cosmologies.

Storytelling Art Display in McLennan Library Lobby

This display of Indigenous art is curated by Catie Galbraith, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and recent McGill Graduate of History and Geography and with a minor in Indigenous Studies. While working for the VAC as an Indigenous Art Intern Galbraith thoughtfully brought together these works to teach us important lessons about our connections to each other, our world, and communities. Each work of art speaks to the Indigenous tradition of passing down knowledge and history through storytelling. Primarily an oral tradition recounted through spoken word, Indigenous storytelling facilitates crucial exchanges of knowledge aimed to guide future generations.

Totems by Haida artists, Glen Pollard, Ed Russ, Rufus Moody, and Gryn White are seen here with masks by Kwakwaka’wakw artists, Tony Hunt Jr. and Martin Doren, as well as a antler doll by Inuit artist Sarah Iootna.

ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ᑑᒐᓕᒻᒥᑦ ᑑᒑᓕᒃ (Woman with Narwal Tusk) by ᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᐃᐱᓕ (Osuitok Ipeelee) in Redpath Library Building

Located on the first floor of the Redpath Library building, surrounded by group study spaces is a sculpture by ᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᐃᐱᓕ (Osuitok Ipeelee) titled ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ᑑᒐᓕᒻᒥᑦ ᑑᒑᓕᒃ (Woman with Narwal Tusk). This large soapstone sculpture is 60cm high and depicts a woman grasping the twisted tusk of a Narwal. Ipeelee (1923-2005) was a well-known carver from ᓂᐅᐊᓕᐅᑕᓕᒃ (Kinngait / Cape Dorset) and helped establish art collectives in Nunavut in the 1950s.

Miyanxa (Art Sterritt) Prints in Schulich Library

Two prints titled, Hazilaxooxs and Ne-Walpsu, by Miyanxa (Art Sterritt) are on view on the 3rd floor of the Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Engineering

Projections: Kwe

Projections: Kwe is the inaugural exhibit in the Projections series. The project was initiated by the Engineering Undergraduate Society’s Indigenous Inclusion Committee (ICC) with the hopes of increasing visibility, representation, and inclusion of Indigenous students and cultures in the Faculty of Engineering, and developed in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering’s Dean’s office, the Provost’s  Indigenous Initiatives Office , and McGill’s  Visual Arts Collection .

The exhibit features 30 artworks from a variety of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, curated by the Indigenous Inclusion Committee from McGill's Visual Arts Collection. It is the first exhibit of its kind at McGill. Read the IIC's curatorial statement  here .

In concert with Projections: Kwe, the Faculty of Engineering has installed two permanent artworks by Benjamin Chee Chee, Apita kijigan mashin (Afternoon Flight) and Niwitckiyeh (Friends), on the first floor of the McConnell Engineering Building.

Image: Projection screen showing artwork by Leo Yerxa, Anaamaagonag Oshki-aya’aag (Young Couple Under the Snow), ca. 1980s-90s, watercolour on paper. Gift of Francine Pagé Charron. © Estate of the Artist.

PAST EXHIBIT Takunnanguaqtangit, Temporary Exhibtion (October 2022)

Art at McGill enhances the physical environment of the campuses, serves to welcome members of many communities, and provide opportunities for first-hand study and research by students. This display features Inuit prints that were selected by Max Stern Graduate Fellow Erika Kindsfather from the University’s collection for the Ajuinnata event series at McGill. These particular prints showcase the breadth of visual and practical strategies that Inuk artists have developed to depict scenes of everyday life, stories, and relationships through print media. Two of the artists whose work is included, Tim Pitsuilak and Ninguikulu Teevee, also have designs integrated into CHARS building and are featured in EVOQ Architecture's Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit exhibition in the adjoining space. Beginning in the 1950s, printmaking across Inuit Nunangat became a cooperative artistic activity. As a process, it involves creative exchange and collaboration among graphic artists, engravers, printers, and even carvers and other workshop members. Included in this exhibition are 15 artworks produced between 1962 and 2017 in three printmaking studios: the Kinngait studios (Kinngait [Cape Dorset]), Sanavik Co-Operative studios (Qamaniuaq [Baker Lake]), and the printmaking workshop at Puvirnituq (Povungnituk). Within this frame of collaborative artistic practice, every printmaking studio operates with a unique approach to the process, shaped by distinct histories, influences, cultural identities, and the collective creativity of artistic communities they formed over time. The University’s collection of Inuit art, on view in buildings across the campuses, continues to grow every year, thanks to the support of donors.

Caroline Monnet Fragment Series in Schulich Music – Swaneige and Sebastien

Located on the second floor of the Strathcona Music Building in a student lounge space are two of the six photographs in the McGill Visual Arts Collection by Caroline Monnet. Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist of Algonquin-French heritage. She was raised in Outaouais, Quebec and now lives and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Her award-winning films and visual art have been exhibited and collected internationally. In 2021, Monnet was the Mellon Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiatives inaugural Indigenous Artist-in-Residence at McGill University. 

In this photographic series, titled Fragment, Monnet has photographed individuals wearing clear plastic masks that feature a black geometric pattern. This motif has been developed across Monnet’s oeuvre, appearing in prints, sculptures, and large-scale installations. It is a combination of designs passed down from generations of her matriarchs and aerial views of the seigneurial system of land distribution enforced by European settlers on unceded Indigenous territory. Abstracted into bold graphic codes, Monnet’s patterns are also reminiscent of computer microchips and processors. 

On these transparent square veils the geometric forms become a lens that the subject looks out from and we look through. The artist has filled this exchange of gazes with symbolism that reflects Indigenous lands and waters, ancestral roots, and the interconnectivity of future generations. In this work, Monnet makes an Indigenous perspective visible and invites us to reflect on our own.

Image: Caroline Monnet, Swaneige and Sebastien (Fragment Series) 1/3, 2019, Photographs, 62.7 x 62.7 cm.  Purchased with the support of the Music Graduate Students’ Society, and the Schulich School of Music. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2022-006.004,.006. © Caroline Monnet.

The acquisition of the four other Monnet photographs were generously funded by and installed in The Faculty of Law, The Faculty of Arts, The Faculty of Medicine (Campus Outaouais with support from the Ed Brunet Foundation), and the Desautels Faculty of Management.

Caroline Monnet Fragment Series in Armstrong Building – Nico

Located on the third floor of the Armstrong Building of the Desaultel School of Management is one of the six photographs in the McGill Visual Arts Collection by Caroline Monnet. Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist of Algonquin-French heritage. She was raised in Outaouais, Quebec and now lives and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Her award-winning films and visual art have been exhibited and collected internationally. In 2021, Monnet was the Mellon Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiatives inaugural Indigenous Artist-in-Residence at McGill University.

 In this photographic series, titled Fragment, Monnet has photographed individuals wearing clear plastic masks that feature a black geometric pattern. This motif has been developed across Monnet’s oeuvre, appearing in prints, sculptures, and large-scale installations. It is a combination of designs passed down from generations of her matriarchs and aerial views of the seigneurial system of land distribution enforced by European settlers on unceded Indigenous territory. Abstracted into bold graphic codes, Monnet’s patterns are also reminiscent of computer microchips and processors. 

On these transparent square veils the geometric forms become a lens that the subject looks out from and we look through. The artist has filled this exchange of gazes with symbolism that reflects Indigenous lands and waters, ancestral roots, and the interconnectivity of future generations. In this work, Monnet makes an Indigenous perspective visible and invites us to reflect on our own.

Image: Caroline Monnet, Nico (Fragment Series) 1/3, 2019, Photograph, 62.7 x 62.7 cm.  Purchased with the support from the Desautels Faculty of Management. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2022-006.001.

Caroline Monnet Fragment Series at Outaouais Campus – Alexandre

Located at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’  Campus Outaouais  in Gatineau is one of the collection's six photographs by Caroline Monnet. Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist of Algonquin-French heritage. She was raised in Outaouais, Quebec and now lives and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Her award-winning films and visual art have been exhibited and collected internationally. In 2021, Monnet was the Mellon Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiatives inaugural Indigenous Artist-in-Residence at McGill University. 

In this photographic series, titled Fragment, Monnet has photographed individuals wearing clear plastic masks that feature a black geometric pattern. This motif has been developed across Monnet’s oeuvre, appearing in prints, sculptures, and large-scale installations. It is a combination of designs passed down from generations of her matriarchs and aerial views of the seigneurial system of land distribution enforced by European settlers on unceded Indigenous territory. Abstracted into bold graphic codes, Monnet’s patterns are also reminiscent of computer microchips and processors. 

On these transparent square veils the geometric forms become a lens that the subject looks out from and we look through. The artist has filled this exchange of gazes with symbolism that reflects Indigenous lands and waters, ancestral roots, and the interconnectivity of future generations. In this work, Monnet makes an Indigenous perspective visible and invites us to reflect on our own.

Image: Caroline Monnet, Alexandre (Fragment Series) 1/3, 2019, Photograph, 62.7 x 62.7 cm.  Purchased with the support from the Ed Brunet Foundation Inc.. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2022-006.003.

Mamidonenindam Miskwa (Meditations on Red) by Nadia Myre in the Lobby of the James Administration Building

Just inside the main doors of the James Building's main entrance are three artworks by Nadia Myre titled, Mamidonenindam Miskwa (Meditations on Red). Myre (1974-) is a contemporary artist and a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. These three circular face-mounted giclée photographic prints are 60cm in diameter. They show three variations of close-up views of vibrant red, clear, and white beads woven together in a circular formation. These works question the notion of assessing one’s identity through blood quantum by presenting different – more or less diluted – ‘Indigenous compositions’. The McGill Visual Arts Collection acquired three out of the 5 artworks in this 2013 series (#1, #5, and #2) in 2019.

First Nations Woodcarvings on the 5th floor of the Bronfman Building

The glass cases located on the fifth floor of Bronfman building house a selection of carved wooden masks, all of which were fabricated by First Nations artists from the Canadian Northwest Coast. Carvings such as these were traditionally crafted for ritualistic purposes, but the examples shown in this display are art objects intended to be shared amongst an international audience. Artist represented here include; Jason Hunt, Patrick Amos, Tim Paul, Lance Cesa, Stanley Clifford Hunt, Kevin Krammer, and Artie George.

ᐸᖕᓂᖅ ᐊᓄᕆᒥᑦ ᓇᐃᒪᔪᖅ (Pagniq Sniffs the Wind) by ᐸᓪᓗ ᐳᓪᓚᑦ (Pudlo Pudlat) in the Lobby of Martlet House

ᐸᓪᓗ ᐳᓪᓚᑦ (Pudlo Pudlat) (1916-1992) was an Inuit artist from Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin Island) who moved to ᑭᓐᖓᐃᑦ (Kinngait/Cape Dorset) in the 1950’s to begin what would become a prolific artistic career. His compositions were marked by a unique juxtaposition of humour, traditional motifs, and simple outlines. ᐸᖕᓂᖅ ᐊᓄᕆᒥᑦ ᓇᐃᒪᔪᖅ (Pagniq Sniffs the Wind) is a 1984 lithograph representing a caribou – culturally significant animal in the Inuit culture – in movement with its head in the wind.

Learn more about this artwork in a  blog post  written by Catie Galbraith (McGill VAC Indigenous Art Curatorial Intern).

Image: ᐸᓪᓗ ᐳᓪᓚᑦ (Pudlo Pudlat), ᐸᖕᓂᖅ ᐊᓄᕆᒥᑦ ᓇᐃᒪᔪᖅ (Pagniq Sniffs the Wind), 1984, Print, 74 x 96 cm. Gift of Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2016-029. © Dorset Fine Arts.

1980's Inuit Prints in New Chancellor Day Hall

Located in  New Chancellor Day Hall , this selection exemplifies printmaking practices within Inuit artistic communities during the early 1980s. Featuring prominent Inuit printmakers of the period, including the first generation of artists from the Kinngait studio in Cape Dorset (now known as the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in Cape Dorset), it highlights the complex self-representation of northern experience across multiple media, generations, and sites. Here you will enjoy artworks by Jamasie Teevee, Simon Tookoome, Josea Maniapik, Eliseepee Ishulutaq, Oshutsiak Pudlat, Aoudla Pudlat, Kingmeata Etidlooie, ᓘᓯ ᕿᓐᓄᐊᒧᐊᖅ (Lucy Qinnuayuak), and ᐱᑦᓯᐊᓛᖅ ᐊᓲᓇ (Pitseolak Ashoona).

(Selection of artworks temporarily removed for Takunnanguaqtangit exhibition Sept 8 - Oct 25, 2022)

ᐅᒃᑯᓯᔅᓴᖅ ᓴᓇᓐᖑᐊᒐᖅ (Inuit Sculptures) in the Lobby of the Nahum Gelber Law Library

The Inuit sculptures presented in this display, ranging in dates between the mid-twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries, demonstrate the close relationship between Inuit peoples and the Arctic. Sustainability and the efficient use of materials, two core Inuit principles, have been paramount to Inuit culture for millennia. Many of these sculptures and objects were created using antler, a material shed on a yearly basis, or animal bone. Other sculptures are made from stone quarried in the region, such as soapstone (steatite) or serpentine. In this way, these works not only demonstrate the deep respect that the Inuit have for their environment but also reveal the diversity and scope of Inuit art production. Artists featured in this display include; Kellipalik Qimirpik, Wayne Puqiqnak, ᑕᐃᑑᓯ ᑐᓐᓂᓕ (Tytoosie Tunnillie), John Nutarariaq, Enooky Ohotoq, Egeesiak Pitsiulak, Seeleenak Celina Putulik, Seepie Ipellie, Jamasie, and Seemee Kanayuk.

Mural by Robert Houle in the Nahum Gelber Law Library

Located on the first floor of the Gelber Law Library lobby, this large-scale mural is a must-see when on campus. Robert Houle, a member of the Saulteaux First Nation, is a prominent artist, curator, critic, teacher, and graduate of McGill (B.Ed ‘75). Largely concerned with exploring bi-cultural identity, Houle’s work typically combines Euro-Modernism and hard-edged abstraction with traditional Ojibwe motifs. This early work from 1975, while somewhat experimental and atypical of Houle’s mature style, similarly explores some of these issues, although through a more figurative approach.

Image: Robert Houle, Gaawiin Wiindesinoon (Untitled), 1975, Niswi gichi-mazina’bii’iganan zhizhoobii’iganaabo mazinabii’iganing​ (Three panel mural with acrylic on board). McGill Visual Arts Collection, 1989-032. © Robert Houle.

Giiwebiboong (New Year) by Roy Thomas on the Second Floor of the Nahum Gelber Library

Located on the second floor of the Gelber Law Library, Giiwebiboong (New Year) by Roy Thomas is a brightly colored composition of a bear, a bird, and a fish that are linked together by bold linework and symbolism. Roy Thomas (1949-2004) is Anishinaabe and a self-taught artist, teacher, and residential school survivor. He was one of the leading representatives of the Woodland School of Art, pioneered by Norval Morrisseau and Daphne Odjig. His paintings are characterized by the presence of colourful totemic animals and of circles as symbols of interconnectedness. Giiwebiboong (New Year) is typical of his style.

Adamie Alaku Qaqutu and Lucy Qinnuayuak Prints on 4th Floor of Chancellor Day Hall

Two prints by Inuit artists Adamie Alaku Qaqutu and ᓘᓯ ᕿᓐᓄᐊᒧᐊᖅ (Lucy Qinnuayuak) can be viewed in New Chancellor Day Hall. Qaqutu's Seals/Aquatic Family (pictured here) and Qinnuayuak's ᓇᓄᖅ, ᑎᒻᒥᐊᖅ ᐃᖃᓗᓪᓗ (Children Followed by Bird Spirit) are a perfect pair together, as they share a joyful representation of animal spirits. Both artworks represent early Inuit printmaking from the 1960s.

(Adamie Alaku Qaqutu temporarily removed conservation, October 2024)

Image: Adamie Alaku Qaqutu, Seals/Aquatic Family, 1962, Stonecut Print, 25/30. Gift of Bruno Savoie, J.D./B.C.L., 2018. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2020-011.

Owls Gather Together by Kenojuak Ashevak in Faculty of Law's Faculty Lounge

Ookpiks, ᐅᒃᐱᒃ, owls. Symbol of wisdom, friendship, and guidance. In a communal space where people in the pursuit of knowledge exchange ideas with peers, the stylized print finds its home. Owls Gather Together (1984) figures a symmetrical juxtaposition of four owls. One is flying over the three others at the base, protecting them, its eyes all round, on the lookout of the horizon. Its feet point inwards while its magnificent wings and tail spread out, bringing a downward sense of movement. The texture of the feathers is expressed through the pattern of the white space carved out while the owl is brought to life by how clustered this pattern is and the color gradation. The plumage layers are then built from the waveform rows of green, white, black, and gray. Underneath this messenger owl is an owl filled with determination and eyes that challenge the viewer. The owl is puffed up with courage, advancing head-on, showing only the diamond-shaped black, blue, and white rows on its fluffy body. The sharp beaks of the two central owls accentuate the forward momentum. In contrast, the two sideways owls hold a formation where their feet are grounded. They are guards, warning off any trespasser with their open beaks. The arrangement of the owls creates a strong sense of community, where everyone has a purpose and advances in unison. 

 The printmaking process also relies on collaboration and shared knowledge. The printmaker adapts the artist’s graphic art onto stone cuts, meticulously applying ink on them and transferring the design one element at a time, building up to the final print. The inscriptions on the bottom left are the signatures in Inuktitut of the artist Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013) and the printmaker, then the symbol of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative. They attest to the history of the practice, which first started when James Houston founded the Co-op in 1959 in Kinngait (Cape Dorset). Kenojuak Ashevak joined early on and became a pioneering figure of Inuit art, known for the vibrant colors, intricate details, and Indigenous themes in her art. She was the first Inuk to have her artwork, The Enchanted Owl (1960), reproduced on a Canada Post stamp in 1970. Kenojuak Ashevak was notably awarded the Order of Canada in 1967, which is the year it was established, and the Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts in 2008. Her legacy lives on as a Canadian Heritage Minute paying homage to her impact on Inuit artists and Canadian art was produced in 2016 and the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative’s Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop, inaugurated in 2018, honors her name.

Kenojuak Ashevak, Owls Gather Together, 1984. Gift of Jamie Cameron LL.B., 1978 and Christopher Bredt. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2022-012.006. © Dorset Fine Arts.