Skawennati (1969‑), Oniehtanó:ron, from the series “The Four Kings, Revisited,” 2022, inkjet print on canvas from a machinimagraph, silvered wood frame, 2/3, 180.6 x 120.2 cm (sight). MMFA, purchase, Louise Lalonde‑Lamarre Memorial Fund. Photo MMFA, Julie Ciot
Skawennati (1969‑), Oniehtanó:ron, from the series “The Four Kings, Revisited,” 2022, inkjet print on canvas from a machinimagraph, silvered wood frame, 2/3, 180.6 x 120.2 cm (sight). MMFA, purchase, Louise Lalonde‑Lamarre Memorial Fund. Photo MMFA, Julie Ciot
Rising Suns
The exhibition Rising Suns: Art from the Confederacies of the Great Lakes and Rivers offers deeper Indigenous perspectives on the territories where we reside.
It brings together some twenty works from the Museum’s collection created by artists from distinct northeastern confederacies, nations, and generations.Through a variety of techniques and media, including wampum beadwork, painting, photography, sculpture, video and installation, these artists attest to the Indigenous art histories of recent centuries.
Combining rarely exhibited works with recent acquisitions, this is the MMFA’s first collection presentation dedicated to artists active from the 1970s to today, who belong to the Rotinonhsión:ni, Wendat, W8banakiak confederacies and Anishinaabeg alliances from the Great Lakes and Rivers. The featured artists express their views of the world and the land, which have been shaped by thousands of years of exchange, spirituality, observation and respect for nature.
The Montreal archipelago, a territory facing the rising sun at the east of the continent, is considered a meeting place for Indigenous ecosystems, relationships, diplomacies, languages and oralities. Rising Suns first traces and honours the nation-to-nation exchanges that took place here within Indigenous confederacies, then those that unfolded over centuries with French, Dutch, and British communities. A later rotation of artworks will shine a light on recent movements of Indigenous resistance, resurgence, and assertion of Indigenous lands, waters and rights.
Daphne Odjig (1919-2016), Hoop Dancer, 1974, silkscreen, 26/50, 101.6 x 78.7 cm. MMFA, purchase, Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Collection of Canadian Art. Photo MMFA
Renée Condo (born in 1979),* Iluigne*g, 2023. MMFA, purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière
Want to learn more about the creative process of artists Hannah Claus (Kanien’kehá:ka), Nicolas Renaud (Wendat) and Christine Sioui Wawanoloath (W8banaki and Wendat)?
Click on the videos below to hear them talk about the ideas and sources of inspiration behind their work!
Did you know?
The fourth floor of the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion will be dedicated to the presentation of temporary exhibitions that shed a new light on Quebec and Canadian art history.
Rising Suns is the inaugural exhibition in a cycle that will be renewed each year.
Become an MMFA Member
Join the great family of MMFA Members from $46 a year. You’ll enjoy numerous perks and benefits, including unlimited free access to all the exhibitions and collections as well as a wide variety of events and activities.
Photo Thibault Carron
Credits and curatorial team
An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
The exhibition was curated by Léuli Eshrāghi (Tagata Sāmoa), Curator of Indigenous Practices, MMFA, with the assistance of Katsitsanò:ron Dumoulin Bush (Kanien’kehá:ka), Indigenous art and design intern.
Major Public Partner
Public Partners
Official Sponsors
Media Partner
Daphne Odjig (1919-2016), Hoop Dancer, 1974, silkscreen, 26/50, 101.6 x 78.7 cm. MMFA, purchase, Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Collection of Canadian Art. Photo MMFA
Renée Condo (born in 1979),* Iluigne*g, 2023. MMFA, purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière
Photo Thibault Carron
