Place: Red Deer, Alberta
About the artist: Artist, writer, and activist Joane Cardinal-Schubert, was known for her art and dedication to social justice. Through her artwork she addressed issues of racism, poverty, environmental destruction, and women’s rights. A member of the Kainai Nation, she was also an activist for First Nations artists and those struggling for sovereignty. Through her deeply personal and honest works, she reclaimed Indigenous creative identities and inserted herself, family, and contemporary Indigenous culture, into the narrative of Canadian art, paving the way for future Indigenous artists.
Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Paul Kane's Tea Cozy (1989), mixed media on paper
About the artwork: In the mid-19th century, artist Paul Kane traveled across the west depicting Indigenous peoples, before they “disappeared”. This piece mocks Paul Kane’s assumptions of indigeneity, and those in his circle, famous for ethnographic studies that excluded cultural exchange and adaptation. The dome shape that frames this work is a reoccurring symbol in the artist’s paintings, often representing the curved roof of a sweat lodge.
Rent artwork by Joanne Cardinal-Schubert for $360 per year.
Follow our Canada Scene Blog