Image: Amanda Strong, How to Steal a Canoe, 2015 (still from stop-motion animation)

Konnón:kwe, a Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk) word signifying “three or more women,” speaks to the power of collective agency by Indigenous women artists. Themes of wellness, community, and environmental justice weave historic artifacts and contemporary fine art into an exhibition that invites visitors to consider Indigenous futurities in the local context.

As leaders who have held their ground though the centuries, Indigenous women continue to shape wellness and self-determination in their homelands. Konnón:kwe is an exhibition of strength inherent in connection to land and people; it is the power of women’s responsibilities. Indigenous women artists in the Konnón:kwe exhibition reflect such leadership through multiple forms of expression including painting, beadwork, photography, film, storytelling and performance art. Together the works of artists including Amanda Strong, Shelley Niro, Christi Belcourt, Nadya Kwandibens, Tenille Campbell and the Kika’ige Historical Society evoke a conversation that begins among them and extends outwards to museum visitors.

The exhibition will engage the visiting public in conversation about the transformative possibilities when women of compelling Indigenous agency come together.

Konnón:kwe is co-curated by Kim Anderson, Chelsea Brant, Brittany Luby, and Cara Wehkamp, a “three or more” collective of Indigenous women.

This exhibition runs concurrently with “Indianized” by Naomi Smith.