March 18 – April 14, 2022
Rainbow Women: Celebrating Indigenous and Mixed Ethnicity
Ali Casey and Jessica Silvey
Artist Talk: Sunday March 20th @ noon – In-person at the Arts Centre
Rainbow Women features work of two local artists of mixed Indigenous heritage who explore what it means to inhabit multiple ethnicities. The work is an expression of their personal journey to connect with their varied histories, and to question what it means to live between inheritances.
Historically, people of mixed ethnicity have been labeled in derogatory terms, and have been pressured to choose just one side of their heritage as an identity. Through their work, the artists challenge the idea that a person cannot celebrate all of their ancestors, or be equally proud of their mixed background. For the artists, like the colours in a rainbow, mixed ethnicities do not detract or prevent, but rather offer a rich opportunity for them to connect with their Indigeneity.
The Indigenous women in the portraits exhibition come from across Canada, and whose ethnicities range from English, Irish, Scottish, African American, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Polish, and German.
Portraits by Ali Casey; Baskets by Jessica Silvey
