Throughout history, the practice of portraiture has served as a powerful tool to represent oneself and others through painting, drawing, sculpture or photography. In contemporary art, portraiture extends far beyond resemblance. It has become a way to explore concepts of selfhood, memory, cultural identity, and power dynamics. Artists may use abstraction, symbolism, performance, or digital media to question who gets represented, how, and why.

In this broader sense, portraiture is not just about depicting a face or figure, rather, it’s about interpreting identity and negotiating relationships between the subject, the artist, and the viewer.

Indigenous Canadian portraiture began with pre-contact visual traditions such as carving, beadwork, and regalia. During the colonial era, artists like Paul Kane and later photographers such as Edward Curtis portrayed Indigenous peoples through a romanticized, ethnographic lens that reinforced colonial narratives. In the mid-20th century, artists including Norval Morrisseau and Shelley Niro reclaimed portraiture to assert Indigenous agency and challenge misrepresentation. By the late 20th and early 21st centuries, figures like Kent Monkman, Meryl McMaster, and Rosalie Favell transformed portraiture into a medium of self-representation and critique. Contemporary Indigenous portraiture now blends traditional and conceptual practices to affirm presence, complexity, and futurity, shifting control of the gaze back to Indigenous creators.

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Given this long and complex history, this exhibition examines portraiture through emerging and established indigenous artists to provide various contemporary portrayals of the "portrait."  With featured artworks by Audie Murray, Brody Burns, David Garneau, Melanie Monique Rose, Torrie Ironstar, and Wally Dion, You See Me - Kiwapamin invites viewers to reflect on the multifaceted approaches to representation through art.

Co-curated by Cree artist Brody Burns and non-Indigenous artist Rowen Dinsmore.