Fourth Friday: Rebecca Hass – Manaadjia: A Tribute to Rene Meshake
Join us for a moving evening of music, story, and remembrance honouring the life, art, and enduring spirit of the late Anishinaabe Elder Rene Meshake. Rebecca Hass (Nitaawegiizhigok/Singing Sky Woman), a Métis artist, opera singer, and composer, will share songs and stories born from her deep creative and personal connection with Meshake.
Admission by donation starts at 5:00 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7:00 p.m. The performance will take place on the patio, weather permitting.
Rebecca Hass’s performance is offered in conjunction with the feature exhibition Maawnjidyang Maa: We Come Together Here, curated by the Decolonizing Place Narratives Collective.
Throughout the evening, witness a 30-foot-wide video projection on the east-facing wall of the St. Agnes School, overlooking the museum’s main entrance and parking lot. The video compilation features “The Archive of Steampunk Mishoomis,” created by longtime Guelph resident, Anishinaabemowin speaker, and residential school Survivor, Rene Meshake, whose art is also represented in the “Maawnjidyang Maa” exhibition.
About Rebecca Hass and Rene Meshake
From their first meeting in 2016, Meshake and Hass began dreaming up what Meshake called “Manaadjia,” which means “to take care of our people in order to conserve them for a long time.” Their musical collaborations wove together language, land, and tradition. Through emails, poetry, melodies, and teachings exchanged across the country, their relationship blossomed into a powerful artistic kinship. In Meshake’s words, Hass was his N’dawemaa (sister) and he believed their music was meant to change the world.
Hass will share original songs composed during their collaboration, performed with guitar, hand drum, and pipegwan, alongside stories, teachings, and digital artworks created with Meshake. The evening will offer an intimate window into their shared vision – a tribute not only to Meshake’s legacy as a storyteller, artist, and language keeper, but also to the transformative power of relationship, creativity, and land-based learning.
