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30th Anniversary Indigenous Art Exhibition Highlights Community, Culture and Success at ECU

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Leanne Inuarak-Dall, Ajaraaq. (Image courtesy Leanne Inuarak-Dall)

By Perrin Grauer

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Opening Feb. 6 at 5 P.M. at ECU, BEADSOUP! spotlights emerging and established Indigenous artists with dozens of artworks, live performances and a look back into the history of the storied show.

On the 30th anniversary of the first Indigenous art show at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU), the Aboriginal Gathering Place (AGP) is thrilled to present a new exhibition featuring Indigenous students, staff, faculty and alumni.

Curated by ECU students Leanne Inuarak-Dall (BFA 2025) and Rylee Taje (BFA 2025) with support from Aaron Rice (BFA 2025), BEADSOUP! will feature performances, archival materials, a feast and a huge range of artworks from across disciplines.

“Bead soup is what happens when you take all the different beads you’ve spilled and collect them in a jar,” Rylee says. “People work with that random assortment because they want to use everything they have. We chose that title because we were thinking of the unique constellation of students’ artworks and how they all pair and connect to one another.”

Rylee, who is studying Critical + Cultural Practices at ECU with a minor in Curatorial Practices, says assisting with last year’s Indigenous art exhibition, Frybread as Fok, was a transformative experience, providing her with vital practice-based learning opportunities.

“It was very inspirational and really started something for me,” she says. “Now I help run the Neighbourhood Gallery on campus. And it allowed me to see curation as a social thing, a way to connect with other artists and create a broader narrative alongside supporting one another in our individual aims.”

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Rylee Taje, Can I Drink Your Water, oil on canvas. (Image courtesy Rylee Taje)

Daina Warren (BFA 2003), Executive Director, Indigenous Initiatives at ECU as well as a distinguished curator and ECU alum, knows the feeling. As a student in 1999, she helped curate the fourth annual Indigenous art exhibition at ECU.

“It was my first curatorial project, and I went straight into curating professionally after I graduated,” she says.

The exhibition first began in 1995 as part of what was then called First Nations Awareness Day at Emily Carr. The inaugural event featured presentations from guest artists Loretta Todd, George Littlechild, Teresa Marshall and Mary Longman, an opening ceremony led by Musqueam Elder Dr. Vincent Stogan, as well as live performances and artworks by Indigenous guest artists and students.

Daina notes that at the time, AGP was only a nascent idea on campus, and the Indigenous community was just beginning to find its collective identity — a project fostered by First Nations advisor Shirley Bear and her successor, Brenda Crabtree.

“We were trying to figure out who and what we were,” says Daina, who co-curated the show with award-winning artist, curator and author Peter Morin (BFA 2001). “We were trying to understand how to connect all these different practices and people from across Canada. So, to be here now and see what Brenda has accomplished with the AGP over the years is mind-blowing. It’s a big honour to be able to contribute to that work.”



Nowadays, the AGP is a hub for community connection and culturally specific material-based practices at ECU. Alongside Manager, Aboriginal Programs, Kajola Morewood, and Aboriginal Program Coordinator, Sydney Pascal, Daina helps deliver vital resources and programming for Indigenous students to gain hands-on experience toward their professional, cultural, and community goals.

As student Aaron Rice prepares to enter the professional world with a position at daphne artist-run centre in Montreal, he says working on the 30th-anniversary show brings an opportunity to reflect on the importance of these events. Indigenous art shows at ECU have been a launchpad for numerous successful artists over the years, he notes.

“A lot of artists who come out of Emily Carr University have gone on to make names for themselves; people like Sonny Assu, Peter Morin, Nadia Myre and Xwalacktun,” he says. “They showed their early works in these exhibitions. So, these artists are on a path that’s leading them culturally, but also into academic and institutional worlds that are now available to us.”

Having curated and contributed to several exhibitions during his undergraduate studies, he adds the Indigenous art shows offer an opportunity to participate in this storied history and help nurture the growth of that community.

“Working on this show is never about checking a box for a class or a grade,” he says. “It’s about building relationships and finding ways to honour the humans behind all these artworks. And I always get excited.”

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Leanne Inuarak-Dall, Arnaak (detail). (Image courtesy Leanne Inuarak-Dall)

Join the AGP and ECU community at 5 P.M. on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, at ECU for BEADSOUP! opening reception. The exhibition will be on view at ECU through Feb. 19. All events are free and open to the public.

Visit the AGP online and follow them on Instagram to learn more about their programming and initiatives.