Nordic Lab celebrates Indigenous artists of the North

Beaded cellphone cases, delicate bird's nests and embroidered handkerchiefs these arenatural and historical objects that mine untold stories and they are on display inAlakkaajut("Many Things Appear"), the inaugural show at the Nordic Lab inside Ottawa'sSAW Gallery.

Nordic Lab is an Indigenous-run space designed to showcase and nurture work by artists hailing from the Northern regions of the globe. It offers residencies, workshops and exhibitions as a way to connect Indigenous artists who often live in remote areas.

The opening of the gallery and workshop space, which is run byInukartist and curatorTaqralik Partridge, was long delayed by the pandemic.

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For herfirst show she invited artists from Canada, Norway and Alaskaand she wants tobring Indigenous art to the forefront of exhibitions and art-making.

"My focus is really on bringing together Indigenous artists from across the circumpolar north ... with a focus on Indigenous-led collaboration," said Partridge. "In a way where Indigenous voices are not tokenized or just commodified to make things a little bit interesting."

WATCH | Northern artists find new space at Ottawa's Nordic Lab

Northern artists find new space at Ottawas Nordic Lab

3 years ago

Duration 2:07

The new Nordic Lab, run by Inuk artist and curator Taqralik Partridge, will offer northern artists residencies and gallery opportunities while bringing Indigenous work to the forefront. Artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs contributed to the first-ever exhibition.

Portable secrets

For years Iupiaq and Athabascan artistSonya Kelliher-Combs collecteddelicately embroidered handkerchiefs and scarves.In her installation "A Million Tears," she imagines those hankies as a repository for decades of sorrow and grief.

"I feel like people hold things insidea lot," saidKelliher-Combs. "And one of the ways that they let them go is through these kinds of purging and crying and grieving."

Kelliher-Combs says healing begins when people are given the opportunityto open up andtalk about their pain.

"I call those secrets, those are the things we carry," said the artist, who leads workshops in crafting handmadeamulets, which aresmall pouches where painful secrets can be storedwhile the wearer is protected.

"It's like a little husk form that you tuck things away and hide away ... I call themportable secrets."

Taking part in an exhibitionput together by anIndigenous curator, in a space that is dedicated to Indigenous expression, has a special significance for the artist.

"It's important for us to be part of every level of a museum situationbecause it can truly be our voice that is heard, and it's not edited," she said.

Big Hello

More than 100 used cellphone cases are suspended from the ceiling by fishing line in Inuvialuk artist Maureen Gruben's installation "Big Hello." Gruben inserted beadwork from old moccasins into the cases to signify the vital function of phones and the radio in allowing residents of the Canadian Arctic to stay in touch.

"Maureen's piece is really about being connected," saidPartridge.

"Even the now, Internet is not the best in a lot of communities, and people still have the radio on all the time and people will call in to communicate different things such as 'Happy Birthday' or 'Merry Christmas' or condolences to family members or, you know, hearing elders tell stories on the radio."

Recasting history

Smi artistSissel M. Berghwas concernedabout shipping her art installationto Ottawa from Norway, so she packed up the materialsincluding a fragile bird's nest, pieces ofdrift wood and electrical cables into her suitcase and brought them here herself.

"We were worried that when she got to the border, because there are various materials, natural materials being used, we were worried that she wouldn't get through the border. So we had all our fingers crossed." said Partridge.

"And then she texted that she had got through the border and the customs agent had said, 'Congratulations, that's so wonderful. You have a show in Canada.'"

Bergh says her work is "a counter spell" or a way to reclaim Indigenous Smi history as part of the the story of Norway, which has long emphasized the country's Viking heritage.

Alakkaajut(Many Things Appear) runs at Nordic Lab until March 5, 2022.