KC Adams: owîceskoyakinikewak

KC Adams: owîceskoyakinikewak
August 8 – October 12, 2024
Public reception: September 26, 7-9 PM

Running from August 8 to October 12, 2024, at the Art Gallery of Regina, Winnipeg-based artist KC Adams' exhibition owîceskoyakinikewak includes work created in partnership with community members. Sponsorship from TD Managed Investments and a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts enabled the gallery to bring Adams to Regina not only to share her work but also to work closely with the land and people of this place.

owîceskoyakinikewak, which means s/he shapes clay or mud, reflects KC Adams' (Ininnew/Anishinaabe/British) dedication to reviving the lost methods of crafting ceramic vessels used by the First Peoples of this land.

The vessels in the exhibition were made from clay dug from the earth in Regina and Lebret, Saskatchewan, with the participation of many individuals. With generous support from SaskCulture, Adams conducted workshops in to share the healing power of clay with local Indigenous women and ensure that this knowledge never goes silent again. Women learned from Adams how to dig clay, use woven fibres to reinforce the crumbly ceramic body, and tend to a wood-fueled blaze to fire the pots.

To shape mud is to be a creator. Not to breathe life into the sticky mire of earth mixed with water but to touch and form it into a blessing that nourishes human life. Nestled within an oval of downy ash, vessels modelled on ancient cooking pots await only a coating of oil to heat meals and bond communities together.

Recognizing the importance of community to owîceskoyakinikewak's creation, vessels made by participants Sybil Alexson, Larissa Cyr, Geanna Dunbar, Chantell Dubois, Alison Elsner, Karlie King, Melanie Monique Rose, Ethel Starblanket, Denita Starr, Reah Starr, and Judy Upton feature prominently in the installation.

The roundness of these pots signifies women's roles as child-bearers and protectors of water.

The exhibition, which includes digital photographs, a four-channel audio soundscape, grandfather rocks, wood ash, and clay vessels, creates a space to reflect on the revival of lost knowledge and traditions.

Admission to the Art Gallery of Regina at 2420 Elphinstone Street is always free. Between August 8 and October 12, 2024, reflect on the rebirth of traditional knowledge and practices by visiting owîceskoyakinikewak during regular gallery hours (11 AM—7 PM Tuesdays through Thursdays and 1-5 PM on Fridays and Saturdays).