Description
Clearing a Path: New Ways of Seeing Traditional Indigenous Art is edited by First Nations University of Canada scholar Carmen Robertson and noted Saskatchewan Métis artist and scholar, Sherry Farrell Racette. In 2005, as part of the province's centennial celebrations, the Saskatchewan Arts Board contracted Carmen Robertson and Sherry Farrell Racette to curate an exhibition which would bring together a diverse group of contemporary artists working in traditional Indigenous media. The exhibition catalogue includes photographs of the works and brief biographies of the 21 participating artists. Artists' statements for many of the pieces provide unique insight into the artistic process and the artist's connection to his or her history and traditions. In two introductory essays, Robertson and Farrell Racette explore the history of traditional artists and their art: the criminalization of Indigenous arts and ceremonies, the subsequent loss of culture through colonization and more recently, the struggle to have their work considered art rather than handicraft.