On now, and going until January 12, 2025, the Wag-Qaumajuq is presenting a fantastic exhibit that features the work of the Dakota, Anishinaabe and Metis Artist Lita Fontaine.
Called Winyan; (wee-yahn) which is the Dakota word for women, this vibrant and colorful exhibit explores the beauty of Indigenous femininity. The celebration of women in Fontaine’s art is used as a form of resistance against assimilation and gender-discriminatory policies experienced by Indigenous women.
Through the mediums of collage, drawings, dresses, and large medallion shaped creations, Lita Fontaine’s art is both highly symbolic and thoroughly captivating. It celebrates her love for her sisters, matriarchs, Dakota Culture, and the heartbeat of the Earth.
Marie-Anne Redhead is Assistant Curator of Indigenous and Contemporary Art at the Wag-Qaumajuq, she is also the curator for the Winyan exhibit. As he describes Lita Fontaine, “She would definitely describe herself first as a mother, a sister an auntie, a matriarch. She has just great energy and is such a warm person. She is also a natural artist as well, she has a gift, she was born with it.”
Wanting to be accepted into the mainstream art world, Fontaine enrolled as a single mother into the University of Manitoba’s School of Art in the diploma program. She furthered her studies by receiving a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Regina’s Visual Arts Faculty. She served for more than 20 years as an Artist in Residence for the Seven Oaks School Division, where she spread her love of art to thousands of children.
Lita Fontaine describes creativity as medicine, as a way of healing. Creativity and making art help balance out the emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical sides to her inner ‘spirit wheel,’ as she describes it. Fontaine believes that she is in the center of the wheel and the creative process helps balance all four of those facets.
Fontaine and Redhead have collaborated to put together the exhibit in a way that it is a celebration of the strength and beauty of Indigenous Femininity, and a statement of resistance against the male dominated status quo.
At the center of the exhibit is a pow-wow drum. And in the drum visitors can hear a beating heart. This represents the beating heart of mother earth. All the other art in Winyan radiates out from the drum.
Fontaine’s art is highly symbolic and even the color choices have meaning. Pink is the overriding color that is used, both in the art, and also in the space. As Redhead explains, “For her [Fontaine] pink and mauve are colors that are associated with healing and softness, peace and tranquility.” The WAG-Qaumajuq leaned into this and painted the walls pink as well. “People have described the space as warm. A space where you can just be. It feels like a hug.”
Dresses feature prominently in the exhibit, both handmade dresses, and highly ornate drawings of dresses that are on the wall. As Redhead explains, “For Lita, wearing a dress makes her feel good, it makes her feel beautiful and empowered. Some Dakota women say that the dress is a tipi...it is something that protects you. And in Dakota culture the women carry the tipi... so again there is that feminine association with the tipi and the dress.”
All the drawings of dresses are very colorful and detailed. The decorations on the dresses carry with them a very definite meaning and are rife with symbolism. Fontaine gives guided tours of the exhibit, and Redhead encourages visitors to experience it with Fontaine as your guide. “What I find so funny about her tours is that she always drops a new nugget of wisdom and knowledge about her work. I’m always still learning about her work whenever I go on a tour with her.”
Another large part of the exhibit consists of eight huge, beautiful medallions mounted on the wall. They are decorated with assorted items, such as floral patterns, feathers, hearts. Everything radiates out from the center, and each decoration on the medallions carries with it meaning. “She [Fontaine] has always used found objects in her work, that is super important to her...it could be something she has found at the dollar store, and she’ll make it beautiful. That is what I love about her and her work,” says Redhead.
“I want people to bring their kids... I want people to take away the joy and beauty of Indigenous women, and life. That’s what I hope for. I just want people to enjoy being in the space and being with themselves and each other.”
Winyan runs until January 12, 2025, for details on the exhibit click here.