Curated by Sophie Lavoie
The Red Chair Sessions is an ongoing open-call portraiture series that places importance on the acknowledgement and reclamation of Indigenous lands and the revitalization of Indigenous languages. This series ultimately disrupts colonial narratives, centres Indigenous Peoples who have been here since time immemorial, and reminds us that we are all guests on Indigenous land.
The colour red represents Indigenous Peoples on the Medicine Wheel and, in this series, signifies Indigenous Peoples’ inherent connection to the land and to ancestral bloodlines. Whether sitting on or standing beside the red chair, one feels grounded and firmly rooted; the act itself and the resulting portrait serves as a reminder of our responsibility to steward the lands upon which we walk.
Accompanying each photograph is text in the subject’s respective Indigenous language or a mix of languages, and can include: names gifted/given in ceremony (written in either English or syllabics), the Nation to which they belong, and the place names of traditional and Treaty areas in which each session occurred. In this way, Indigenous voices are amplified and become a refusal of the colonizer’s language while pointing out the erasure of Indigenous history.
The series is also a celebration honouring the many achievements of Indigenous Peoples and presents a positive perspective for future generations.
– Nadya Kwandibens
Nadya Kwandibens is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) from the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in northwestern Ontario. She is an award-winning portrait and events photographer, a Canon Ambassador, and has travelled extensively across Canada for over 10 years. In 2008 she founded Red Works Photography. Red Works is a dynamic photography company empowering contemporary Indigenous lifestyles and cultures through photographic essays, features, and portraits.
Nadya Kwandibens: The Red Chair Sessions is organized and circulated by The Muse - Douglas Family Art Centre.
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FORWARD
Sophie Lavoie
Curator, The Muse, Douglas Family Art Centre
A photograph by Nadya Kwandibens is a powerful image that celebrates the contemporary Indigenous spirit while honouring past generations.
Artists are, in many ways, the eyes of society – their artwork reflects the state of their time. "Indigenous cosmologies, our world-views and philosophies have much to offer current and future generations,” says Kwandibens. “As an artist, to be a part of the continuation of that process is really meaningful.”
Her work’s intent is to elicit a shift in perceptions of First Nations people. “My work is deeply connected to Indigenous people and who we are. That’s always been the main goal behind my work: to have my photography be an accurate representation and depiction of who we are as Indigenous Peoples – as Nations across Turtle Island [North America] – to eradicate negative stereotypes by highlighting our complexities, our realities and our resistance to ongoing colonialism.”
Kwandibens is an Anishinaabe photographer from the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation on Lake of the Woods in Northern Ontario. She has spent more than a decade travelling North America, offering her lens to those First Nations people who want to share their stories.
The Red Chair Sessions is a portraiture series representing Indigenous identity and the powerful connection that binds people to land. "We are visitors to different Indigenous Nations and treaty areas. The red chair represents our bloodlines and our connection to the land and where we come from,” explains Kwandibens. Each subject chose the location of their portrait, what they are wearing, and what they wish to represent in an expression of individual spirit. Collectively, the series is a testimony to the beauty, resilience, and strength of First Nations people and a challenge to a non-Indigenous audience to become aware of any conscious or subconscious assumptions they have of Indigenous peoples.
True reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples requires an exchange of experience. That exchange often happens through the sharing of stories and therein lies the important role of art galleries in the journey to reconciliation. Viewers are given the opportunity to engage in a dialogue of perspectives and ideas with the artist. Through her captivating visual narrative, Kwandibens creates a listening and holding space in which we acknowledge the past and create a willingness to learn from it. Her portraits encourage the opening of our collective heart.
“We, as Indigenous people, are often portrayed in history books as Nations once great; in museums as Nations frozen stoic; in the media as Nations forever troubled. These images can be despairing; however, my goal seeks to steer the positive course. If our history is a shadow, let this moment serve as light. We are musicians, lawyers, doctors, mothers and sons. We are activists, scholars, dreamers, fathers and daughters. Let us claim ourselves now and see that we are, and will always be great, thriving, balanced civilizations capable of carrying ourselves into that bright new day.” - Nadya Kwandibens
We acknowledge that the land on which The Muse is set is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, territory covered by Treaty #3, signed in 1873, and the Treaty Adhesion signed by the Métis in 1875.
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Photos by Don Hall
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