Experience Exhibitions Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective

Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective

2 November 2024 – 28 March 2025

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Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective

About the Exhibition

Curated By

Felicia Gay

Organized & Circulated By

MacKenzie Art Gallery

Galleries

Kenderdine and Sim

For four decades, Saskatchewan-based artist Ruth Cuthand has influenced the contemporary art landscape in Canada with her narrative-driven artwork. Cuthand has been instrumental in the development of an experimental and expansive Indigenous art practice grounded in critically relevant subject matter. As a matriarch in Indigenous contemporary art practice, she has mentored generations of Indigenous artists and prompted shifts in how artists engage with community knowledge.

During her career, Ruth has repeatedly found new ways to approach familiar mediums, provoking new paths for visualizing the experience of Indigenous people living through settler colonialism. Curator Felicia Gay looks at Cuthand’s career from 1983 to 2024. The exhibition comprises new and past works, including video, mixed-media installation, photography, and collaborative story-work between Cuthand and Gay. Cuthand critiques historical and contemporary narratives with humour and biting wit, highlighting the enduring effects of the colonial project as well as the enduring strength of Indigenous people in Canada. Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk – A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective will encapsulate Cuthand’s diverse range of interests and strategies and engage communities with stories that encourage knowing, caution, and continuation or survival.

OPENING EVENT

Artist and Curator in Conversation and Opening Reception for Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective.

Join curator Felicia Gay and artist Ruth Cuthand for a conversation about the exhibition Beads in the Blood: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective. Explore themes in the exhibition and celebrate the career of one of Canada’s most influential artists. The conversation will be followed by a reception and exhibition viewing.

Conversation in the Shumiatcher Theatre at 7 PM, exhibition viewing and reception in Craft Services to follow.

Date and time: Friday, 1 November | 7:00 PM

Location: MacKenzie Art Gallery

Admission: There is no cost to attend

Learn More

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ruth Cuthand’s career as a visual artist, educator, and community advocate for women and BIPOC communities has impacted the Canadian cultural landscape in a multitude of ways. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Cuthand began her education at the University of Regina in 1977, and later transferred to the University of Saskatchewan, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983. She later pursued post-graduate studies at the University of Montana in 1985 before returning to the University of Saskatchewan to complete a Master of Fine Arts in 1992. Cuthand has been instrumental to the development of an experimental and expansive Indigenous art practice grounded in critically relevant subject matter. Cuthand taught as a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and the First Nations University of Canada (Saskatoon campus). In 2011, her work was the subject of the mid-career survey, Ruth Cuthand: Back Talk (1983-2009), curated by Jen Budney for the Mendel Art Gallery (Remai Modern) in Saskatoon. Her work is represented in major collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, MacKenzie Art Gallery, and University of Saskatchewan Art Collection. Acknowledging her artmaking as well as her strategic mentorship, teaching, and community engagement, Cuthand’s honours include a Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Artist Award (2013); University of Saskatchewan Arts & Science Alumni of Influence Award (2016); Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2020); Governor General’s Artistic Achievement Award (2023); and the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship (2023). Cuthand currently lives and works in Saskatoon.

An older woman with long, gray hair in a braid stands in front of some green foliage, wearing glasses and a navy blue shirt that says

In a gallery space showcasing a bear-like sculpture on a grass-covered platform, a parent and child admire the art. Surrounding them, comics and artworks adorn the white walls. A light wooden floor adds warmth to the scene—consider donating to support such vibrant spaces.

Ruth Cuthand, I was Colonized by the British...Rupert, 2024, styrofoam, hand-tanned smoked deer hide, elk hide, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST, Photo Don Hall.

Ruth Cuthand, Install shot of the exhibition Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective. Photo Don Hall.

Ruth Cuthand, Install shot of the exhibition Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective. Photo Don Hall.

A dimly lit room features a metal bed frame on a platform with projections of green grass and a large rock, evoking the mysterious essence of

Ruth Cuthand, Install shot of the exhibition Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective. Photo Don Hall.

A vibrant, neon-colored brain scan image displayed in a dark frame. The abstract patterns in blues, greens, reds, and yellows against the backdrop mirror beads in the blood, capturing a symphony of neural activity or brainwaves.

Ruth Cuthand, Install shot of the exhibition Beads in the Blood / mīgisak mīgohk: A Ruth Cuthand Retrospective. Photo Don Hall.

A gallery wall displays eight black-and-white portraits with colorful backgrounds, each showing a person wearing a festive hat. Among them, the vibrant hues of pink, green, and yellow seem to carry beads in the blood, accentuating the lively spirit captured in every image.

Ruth Cuthand, Remember Your Feminine Wiles, 1986, acrylic on canvas, COLLECTION OF THE MACKENZIE ART GALLERY AND REMAI MODERN, Photo Don Hall.

A blue tablecloth, reminiscent of Beads in the Blood, drapes over a table adorned with small glass jars and bottles filled with clear liquid. Each container is sealed with a white cap, while the cloth is elegantly decorated with white crossed shapes against a wood-paneled wall background.

Ruth Cuthand, Don’t Breathe, Don’t Drink, 2016, vessels with glass beads and resin, hand-beaded blue tarpaulin tablecloth, and MDF “gas board” panel, COLLECTION ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO, Photo Don Hall.

A pile of gray blankets with red ribbons is artfully stacked in the center of an art gallery, reminiscent of

Ruth Cuthand, Extirpate this Execrable Race, 2018, glass beads, Canadian Forces blankets, ribbon, COLLECTION OF REMAI MODERN, THE GALLERY/ART PLACEMENT INC., THE ART GALLERY OF HAMILTON AND SL ATE FINE ART, Photo Don Hall.