Indigenous art selected for art bank and grants

PEI Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous artists in PEI are being recognized as the successful applicants for the new Indigenous Art Bank and Indigenous Arts Grants programs.

“In the spirit of friendship and reconciliation, today we celebrate Indigenous artists for their significant contributions to Prince Edward Island. Indigenous art is a powerful form of storytelling. These programs are dedicated to sharing stories and knowledge with Islanders so we can learn more about Indigenous culture in Prince Edward Island, and I extend my congratulations to all the artists.”

- Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture Minister Matthew MacKay

The first five pieces of art purchased for the Indigenous Art Bank are:

Artist: Nora Richard
Title: Woven Quiver
Medium: Reed basketry (with beads, bone, feathers and rawhide)

Artist: Melissa Peter-Paul
Title: Me’eyimult’k "We are still here"
Medium: Birch bark, porcupine quills, sweetgrass, spruce root and sinew.

Artist: Francis Jadis
Title: Fancy Mi'kmaq Basket
Medium: Black Ash

Artist: Riley Bernard
Title: The Stick Persons Collection
Medium: Graphic novel

Artist: Levi Cannon
Title: Climbing to the Creator 
Medium: Water-based paint

Also, the following six artists were selected to receive funding through the Indigenous Arts Grants:

Artist: Julie Pellissier-Lush
Writing and publishing, $2,300    
Description: To create a book featuring interviews with elders from Lennox Island First Nation and Abegweit First Nation. 

Artist: Riley Bernard 
Writing and publishing, $1,000
Description: To create a graphic novel inspired by traditional Mi'kmaq Legends.

Artist: Melissa Peter-Paul 
Visual arts, $3,000
Description: Harvesting birch bark, porcupine quills, sweet grass and spruce root with respected knowledge keepers and their family of Mi'kmaki.

Artist: Rosalie Bourque 
Crafts, $700
Description: To create clothing using designs to help through the grieving process of losing their dad and grandfather.

Artist: Val Jadis
Crafts, $700 
Description: To continue beading and creating awareness for Orange Shirt Day for residential schools; Red Dress for murdered missing indigenous women; and increasing autism awareness by making pins, earrings and other items. 

Artist: Shanna Sark
Interdisciplinary, $2,300
Description: Shanna Sark and her sisters will collect knowledge on their father, Gilbert “Tommy” Sark’s legacy with ash splint basket making. A video will document the process of finding people who have been mentored by Sark to recall his basket making techniques.

The successful applicants were selected by a 3-member jury of their Indigenous arts community peers

Media contact:
Hillary MacDonald
Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture
902-394-6368
hpsmacdonald@gov.pe.ca 

Backgrounder

The PEI Indigenous Art Bank acquires, loans and displays art that was purchased or donated and pieces will be displayed in public spaces. To learn more, visit: The PEI Indigenous Art Bank.

The Indigenous Arts Grants provide funding to assist and encourage the work of the Indigenous arts community in the province. To learn more, visit: The Indigenous Arts Grant Program.

Both programs were developed in partnership with PEI Mi’kmaq artists and artisans and with guidance from best practices across federal and provincial jurisdictions. 

A key item of the PEI Culture Action Plan is for all Islanders to have opportunities to engage with the art forms that derive from Indigenous language, worldviews, practices, and protocols.