Nadia Myre: Waves of Want Français
Presented in conjunction with the Gallery's new Skawennati solo exhibition
OTTAWA, ON, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - From May 30 to September 1, 2025, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) presents Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, a solo exhibition that looks at the artistic and critical process of interdisciplinary artist Nadia Myre from over two decades, including new works recently created in France and in Scotland. Born in Montreal, Myre is a member of the Algonquin Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Nation. The artist—a 2014 Sobey Art Award winner—uses a wide range of media (film, sculpture installation, audio, drawing, beadwork, photography, poetry and leather works) to tell stories that span generations.
"Nadia Myre is an internationally recognized artist, celebrated with multiple national arts awards over many years of active practice," said Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO, National Gallery of Canada. "Her works shape elegant and uneasy questions and reflections about coloniality and Indigenous sovereignty, and the materials that have shaped those experiences. The National Gallery of Canada is proud to present visitors with artistic experiences that reflect our ongoing challenges and opportunities as a society and as a culture."
"Nadia Myre's artworks embody gestures of decolonization, both literally and figuratively, recording observations and injustice amidst the intersections of cultures, languages and identities. Enigmatic, thoughtful and perceptive, Myre mines personal and collective memory to craft decolonial narratives in unexpected ways," wrote Steven Loft, Vice-President, and Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Curatorial Initiatives, of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the NGC, in their introduction to the exhibition catalogue.
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and curated by Rachelle Dickenson, Associate Curator, from the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department at the NGC, with the artist and Gallery staff, Nadia Myre: Waves of Want brings together more than 60 works from various collections and sparks reflection and dialogue on how we navigate our histories through art, archive and language.
Presented for the first time ever in Canada is Your Waves of Want Wash Over Us (2024), an almost 9-meter-long installation made of a series of tubular, curved ceramics forms affixed to the wall that Nadia Myre created in France. With this work, from which the title of the exhibition is inspired, Myre uses different forms of communication to convey the complicated relationships between colonialism and Indigenous nationhood, as well as between people.
Among other key works on view is History in Two Parts (2000), a canoe made of birch bark and aluminum that the artist recently restored at the Gallery with artist Pinock aka Daniel Smith, also a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. A video she created shortly after the canoe, titled Portrait in Motion, is also on view in the last gallery of the exhibition. It is a portrait of Myre's rejection of the Western gaze to subvert romanticized notions of Indigenous people.
Most of the art works on display in Nadia Myre: Waves of Want are drawn from the artist's personal collection. Other works on view are from the National Gallery of Canada's collection (5), the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, US and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Catalogue
A richly illustrated catalogue with essays accompanies the exhibition Nadia Myre: Waves of Want. The 176—pages softcover comprises essays by Guy Sioui Durand and Marie-Ève Beaupré and is available at the Boutique and online.
Public programs
A shared space, Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire—the Gathering of all Embers, is connecting the exhibitions Skawennati: Welcome to the Dreamhouse and Nadia Myre: Waves of Want, both presented at the same time. This gathering space is for coming together, learning and reflecting on both exhibitions. In Giiwitaashkodeng | Kahwá:tsire, visitors are invited to leave their reflections on the exhibitions as part of the community fire and create their own wallpaper designs and paper dolls inspired by the works of Skawennati and Nadia Myre. Additional learning activities planned include beading workshops with Ojibwe artist Amanda Fox, miniature birch bark canoe workshop with Algonquin artisan Pinock (Daniel Smith), special meet the artist tours, and ongoing tours with interpreters. Visit gallery.ca for more details.
About the National Gallery of Canada
Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all—now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14 th to the 21 st century and extensive library and archival holdings.
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