image courtesy of Sanksannića by Lita Fontaine | Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba

REGISTRATION DEADLINE – EVENT IS FULL

This two day educational gathering is an inclusive opportunity to learn about the construction of a sacred garment and its land based connections. Instructors Lita Fontaine and Albert McLeod will deliver teachings about Indigenous perspectives, connection to land via the construction of a cloth dress over the course of a two day workshop.  Each participant will complete each day with a sharing circle and Q&A with Lita Fontaine and Albert McLeod to discuss their process and creations.

Day one – opening smudge, participants will be guided through the step by step process of the garment creation, guest Roxanne Shuttleworth of Wolf Kwe designs will talk about fabric design, closing sharing circle.

Day two – opening smudge, completion of the dress, closing circle

Participants will find connection between art, environment and Indigenous Identity through the symbolism of creating a traditional ‘Saηksaηnića’- the Dakota word for dress.

Participants will honour the garment, its importance and cultural symbology in Dakota and Anishinaabe heritage

Participants will discover ways to incorporate Indigenous teachings and processes into work they create as Artists and work they deliver as educators, artists-in-the-schools, and as instructors.

Dress Patterns, coffee, tea and light snacks will be provided.

Lunch is NOT included.

Participants are required to bring:

• 5 meters of cotton fabric of their choosing for the dress
• 5 additional meters of light white cotton for the slip.
• Personal sewing kits (fabric scissors, needles, thread, stitch ripper, pins, fabric marker/chalk)
• Sewing Machine if possible.

This workshop is presented in partnership with Roxanne Shuttleworth of Wolf Kwe Fashions and Designs for Life. Each registrant will be offered a 20% discount on fabric purchased from  Wolf Kwe Fashions.

Roxanne is an artisan and designer creating custom and ready to wear garments, moccasins and moss bags. Roxanne  facilitates workshops and has her own fabric line People of the Plains. A collection of Indigenous inspired designs custom batik on cotton fabric.

Wolf Kwe Fashions

Lita Fontaine is an interdisciplinary artist and author based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fontaine is a mother, sister, arts educator, and visual artist. Often, her work explores the role of women in past and present Indigenous societies. She describes herself as tri-cultural:  Dakota, Anishinaabe and Metis. She received her BFA from the University of Manitoba School of Art in 2000 and her MFA from what is now the First Nations University of Canada in Regina in 2005. Fontaine’s current role as Artist in Residence at Seven Oaks School Division, is to collaborate with teachers, integrating art into the school division’s curricula. Fontaine’s practice is predominately studio based and her methodology in the area of arts education is hands-on, where creative processes play an integral role in learning. Fontaine believes the visual arts act as a catharsis that nourishes emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual growth.

Albert McLeod is a well-respected knowledge keeper Status Indian with ancestry from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the Metis community of Norway House in northern Manitoba. He lives in Winnipeg, where he works as a consultant specializing in HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal cultural reclamation, decolonization, cross-cultural training, cultural reclamation, and language workshops, and has served as an advisor and activist for Winnipeg’s inner-city community. To honour his wide-ranging contributions over the past 30 years to Two Spirit people and Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as for his community-based advocacy and dedication to human rights for all genders, The University of Winnipeg proudly presented Albert McLeod with an Honorary Doctor of Laws in spring 2018

Register at www.creativemanitoba.ca

For more information – indigenous@creativemanitoba.ca or 204.927.2787

If you are a rural artist who would like to participate, please consider applying for Professional Development Funding through the Manitoba Arts Council.