Li Salay (Michif for “the sun”), a new exhibition focused on the work of Métis artists from across Canada, stems from co-curators Amy Malbeuf and Jessie Ray Short’s intensive, cross-Canada research and studio visits with over forty Métis artists in 2016 and 2017.

Their research revealed the emergence of common, and often intersecting, themes in the artists work, including kinship, labour, the body and land. The curators write: “An eclipse or a cloudy day may present an incomplete or partial vision of the sun. Similarly, Métis people are largely partially visible and partially understood within the cultural fabric of Canada. Li Salay acknowledges Métis people as always present and always whole, although they are often perceived as being partial.

Métis art is often invisible due to being subsumed under broader notions of Indigenous art, leaving no space to be defined within it’s own context. Li Salay will examine the shifting boundaries of contemporary Métis artistic practice in an exhibition curated by and comprised of Métis artists.”