Pushing Boundaries

Bridging the historical and the contemporary in Anishinaabe art.

- Barry Ace, Ottawa

From an early age, I have been fascinated with the beauty and the aesthetics of the Anishinaabe cultural arts of the Great Lakes of Canada, in particular, porcupine quillwork, beadwork, splint-ash and birch-bark basketry, clay pottery and traditional dance. My visual art practice draws its inspiration from my Anishinaabeg (Odawa) culture and heritage and from my apprenticeship with strong Anishinaabe women in my family and community who were basket-makers and bead-workers, like my great-aunt Annie Owl McGregor. I am a band member of M’Chigeeng First Nation, Manitoulin Island (Odawa Mnis), Ont., a vibrant community situated on the largest freshwater island in the world. Manitoulin Island is the homeland of the Anishinaabe (Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi) residing in the six communities of M’Chigeeng, Sheguiandah, Aundeck Omni Kaning, Wiikwemkoong and Zhiibaahaasing, which are situated alongside many settler communities, the largest being Little Current.