Sherry Farrell Racette

Sherry Farrell Racette
Born1952[1]
NationalityTimiskaming First Nation,[2] Canadian
Board member ofAboriginal Curatorial Collective[2]
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba
Academic work
DisciplineNative American studies
InstitutionsUniversity of Manitoba
Main interestsArt history
Notable worksThe Flower Beadwork People

Sherry Farrell Racette (born 1952) is a First Nations feminist scholar, author, curator, and artist. She is best known for her contributions to Indigenous and Canadian art histories.[3] She is currently an associate professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina.[4]

Life

Racette was born in Manitoba, and is of Métis ancestry. She is of a member of the Timiskaming First Nation and taught at Concordia University in 2007. She holds a master's degree in Education, from the University of Regina, and completed her PhD in Native Studies, Anthropology, and History at the University of Manitoba.

Works

Academic career

Racette is a board member of the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective,[5] and her artwork promotes Aboriginal and Aboriginal women's histories. Racette's paintings have been featured in a number of publications, and her work "The Flower Beadwork People" was published by the Gabriel Dumont Institute in 1992.[6] Other artworks on display at the institute, created by Racette, include "Keep Your Spirit Free," (poster) and the collection of "Flags of the Métis"[6] Racette's artwork is also exhibited at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Saskatchewan.[7] She is a member of the Saskatchewan Arts Board,[8] and also serves on the board of the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.[9] In 2009-2010, as a Resident Scholar at the School for Advanced Research, Racette created an exhibition on Material Culture as Encoded Objects and Memory.[10] In 2013, she was an exhibition consultant for the Montreal McCord Museum's "Wearing Our Identity : The First People's Collection." Racette has been mentioned as an artist in the book titled " The Artist Herself : Self-Portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists."

Curating

In 2022, Racette was co-curator, alongside Cathy Mattes and Michelle Lavallee, of the first major survey of contemporary Indigenous beading, Radical Stitch, presented at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.[11] Also in 2022, she co-curated (with Cathy Mattes) the landmark exhibition of Métis art and history, Kwaata-nihtaawakihk – A Hard Birth, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.[12]

Writing

Racette has illustrated several books, including The Flower Beadwork People (1985), Stories of the Road Allowance People (1995), Flies to the Moon (1999), and Little Voice (2001). She co-edited Clearing a Path: New Ways of Seeing Traditional Indigenous Art (2015).[citation needed]

Artwork

Racette creates paintings and multimedia works.[13] Her art has been featured in solo, group, and museum exhibitions, and she has won awards for her illustrated children's books. In 2012, she worked with project creator and lead coordinator, Christi Belcourt, to co-curate "Walking With Our sisters", a commemorative art installation that honours the lives of the hundreds of missing or murdered Indigenous women in Canada. The installation has toured since 2013, with exhibitions in Edmonton,[14] Regina,[15] Parry Sound, Winnipeg, Sault Ste. Marie, Flin Flon, Thunder Bay,[16] Saskatoon, Yellowknife, Whitehorse, Comox, Ottawa,[17] Akwesasne, North Battleford, and Brandon.[18] In this exhibition, hundreds of artists donated hand-made moccasins to honour the lives of Aboriginal women.[19]

References

  1. ^ LAC.ca
  2. ^ a b "Sherry Farrell Racette". Aboriginal Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "University of Manitoba - Faculty of Arts - Native Studies - Sherry Farrell Racette". umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  4. ^ "Sherry Farrell-Racette | Media, Art, and Performance, University of Regina". www.uregina.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ^ "Sherry Farrell Racette". Aboriginal Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 2015-10-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b "The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture". www.metismuseum.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  7. ^ "The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details". esask.uregina.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  8. ^ "Saskatchewan Arts Board". www.artsboard.sk.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  9. ^ "Saskatchewan NAC Artists | Sherry Farrell Racette". www.sknac.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  10. ^ "SAR—Sherry Farrell Racette, Resident Scholar". sarweb.org. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  11. ^ Piapot, Ntawnis (2022-05-06). "Radical Stitch, one of the largest ever exhibitions of Indigenous beadwork, opens in Regina". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  12. ^ Updates, Alan Small Posted: Last Modified (17 March 2022). "WAG exhibition weaves ancestral, contemporary works to tell Manitoba Métis story". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  13. ^ "Sherry Farrell Racette, PhD | IAIA". www.iaia.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  14. ^ "Edmonton, AB - Telus Atrium". Walking With Our Sisters. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  15. ^ Smith, Kim. "Exhibit honours missing and murdered indigenous women". Global News. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  16. ^ "Walking with our Sisters seeks help preventing violence". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  17. ^ "FASS Blog – Walking With Our Sisters and Other Journeys by Sandra Dyck (Director of the Carleton University Art Gallery) - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences". Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  18. ^ "Brandon University to host Walking With Our Sisters exhibit". Brandon University. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  19. ^ "Art exhibit uses moccasins to honour missing, murdered aboriginal women". CTVNews. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-30.