New art exhibit at Wanuskewin aims to ‘shine a light on MMIWG’

A new art exhibit honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) has opened at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside of Saskatoon.

The exhibit will be available to see until June 15.

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Curator Marcel Robitaille said the art exhibit features more than just paintings.

“We have multiple different forms of art through nine different artists from across Canada,” he said. “We have red dresses. We also have some digital artworks. We also have some display cases.”

Robitaille said each work on display is full of meaning.

“One is a reflection on a male family member who had disappeared,” he said. “One is a dress with an overlay of a map showcasing all the hot spots of Indigenous peoples and where they’ve disappeared from. Another is a creative piece that used a fox, and it also involves moccasins and bead work.”

All the artwork is centered around MMIWG, and each of the artists selected for the exhibit have been affected by the issue.

“It kind of created a space for grief, but to also bring everyone together (in) mourning, and it really created a pathway for healing,” Robitaille said.

With Monday being Red Dress Day, which commemorates missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, the colour red can be seen in all nine pieces of art.

“Red is the color that our relatives and spirits can see,” said Robitaille. “So if we use red, it just brings them home.”

This is the first time Wanuskewin has held a community collaboration exhibit, and Robitaille said it all started because of an artist named Jessie Muhlbach.

“I worked in collaboration with Jessie Muhlbach, (and) it was her original idea to have an exhibition that focussed on this theme,” he explained.

“We’ve worked with artists for so many years here at Wanuskewin that I had a few that I knew would be a great fit.”

Robitaille said having a display like this on is very important, even if it’s only for a limited time.

“This acknowledges the impact of the violence and neglect a lot of our Indigenous communities face,” he said.

“As Indigenous peoples, if we continue to shine a light on MMIWG and Red Dress Day, if we continue to shine a light on these important events and days, perhaps the painful histories that we share won’t have to keep repeating itself.”

While the exhibit is temporary, Robitaille said it could potentially turn into a more permanent display in the future.