Bead By Bead

Bead by Bead is coming to fruition thanks to the unstoppable resilience of indigenous people. Bead by Bead is the result of bridging immigrants to First Nations through the arts collective Native-Immigrant (www.nativeimmigrant.com) During Covid, Kahnawake was in lockdown, and the bead shop became inaccessible to many outside the reserve. Oskenontona (Philip) Deering, the shop owner and President of Native-Immigrant, opened up a second shop on the island. The Beadman Emporium is now part of Métèque, a collaborative art space in NDG – (www.meteque.ca) Oskenontona is The Beadman, and we are starting a long conversation about beads. Why? Because beads are like the letters of the words agreed upon through wampums. How many newcomers know about wampums? How can we as Canadians of diverse cultural origins know about agreements made between Canada and Native Land if we don’t know about wampums? How can all Canadians respect agreements with Indigenous Peoples if they don’t know about beads and wampums? Well, we obviously need to start a conversation. Bead by Bead, word by word, wampum by wampum. Please join us in this fierce and courageous exhibition amidst covid, anxiety and transgenerational fears. Métèque atelier d’art invites you to a virtual vernissage of the group exhibit of beading by thirteen Indigenous artists entitled Bead by Bead. This diverse show encompasses post modern expressions of Indigeneity, fashion jewellery and powwow regalia dedicated to MMIWG. Each artist in this exhibit has a unique voice as an Indigenous artist or artisan and this is reflected not only in the quality of the work being presented, but in the diversity of who these First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists represent. The show reflects our ties to this land, our languages, our values about relationship building, our aesthetic traditions and our contemporary realities as Indigenous peoples living on colonized territories. The show features both established and emerging artists. The show runs at Métèque, in Montreal, from Nov. 18th to Dec. 6th and is open to the public. The virtual vernissage/ exhibit opening will feature introductions by both the gallery staff and the guest curators, Marg Boyle and Marlene Hale; as well as the initiator of this show, Phillip Deering of the Bead Man Emporium and Julia Ovando of Native Immigrant. We invite artists, their families and friends, and the general public to join us on zoom from 4 pm to 5pm on November 18th, to celebrate our artists in Bead by Bead! https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76795051632?pwd=R29PekhKaDlpenNrSFlBb0x6L2w4Zz09 Meeting ID: 767 9505 1632 Passcode: 4B9n64