Fifty Years in the Making: Reflections on Curating Indigenous Art 2025
Alex Jacobs-Blum
Curating the 50th Anniversary Indigenous Art Juried Exhibition at Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It is not often that we get to experience a moment that looks to the past and future at the same time. This exhibition is a celebration of the artists who brought us here, those who are currently making waves, and the generations yet to come.
What stood out most during the curatorial process was how naturally the themes revealed themselves. The works shared their own stories, and what emerged were themes of rematriation, land as a relative, love as a responsibility, more-than-human relations, joy as a form of resistance, carriers of memory, in the wake of extraction, and the Good Mind. These ideas were shared in many ways through traditional and contemporary materials. Whether artists worked with cornhusk, porcupine quills, soapstone, paint, photography, or stained glass, the themes often overlapped and flowed into one another, much like our lived experiences.
Exhibition documentation by LF Documentation
Some artists engaged with difficult and painful truths within their work, including residential schools, land theft, environmental harm, and the ongoing weight of colonialism. But alongside that, there was infinite love. There was joy, humour, community, tenderness, and a powerful sense of resistance through beauty. It reminds us that Indigenous artists are not solely responding to history. They are worldbuilders, knowledge keepers, and visionaries actively shaping the present and the future. The legacy of Indigenous Art exhibitions at WCC is part of a continuous movement, highlighting how Indigenous artists have long been leading and shifting conversations in the arts sector.
It was important to me that walking through the exhibition felt intentional. I curated the show in a counterclockwise direction, following the way we move as Haudenosaunee in the same direction as the rotation of the earth and the way Sky Woman danced on the back of the turtle. The themes allow for multiple conversations to meet and flow into one another, revealing layers of meaning as you visit with each artwork. Some pieces offered quiet moments of reflection, while others brought joy, made you laugh, or stirred emotion that you could feel with your whole heart.
Being in conversation with so many powerful voices, from emerging artists to those in their late careers, has been extremely humbling. Many of them have inspired my own artistic practice as an image maker. I learned a great deal from the artists, the jurors, and the incredible team at Woodland Cultural Centre. For me, curating is much more than placing artworks in a space. It is about centering a practice of care, uplifting artists, and honouring the responsibility of carrying stories forward.
Exhibition documentation by LF Documentation
As we celebrate 50 years, we also carve pathways for what comes next. Legacy is something we inherit, contribute to, and amplify. Like the seeds referenced in the title of the companion exhibition, Tending to the Seeds, featuring Patricia Deadman and Thomas V. Hill, this legacy grows when nurtured with love.
To all the artists who shared their work, nyá:węh for your trust. Your work holds power. Nyá:węh gowa to the community for continuing to support Indigenous arts. Here’s to all that the next 50 years will bring!
