McCord Museum 2019: Kent Monkman

SHAME AND PREJUDICE: A STORY OF RESILIENCE

Exclusive Quebec showing 

February 8 - May 5, 2019

Kent Monkman is a Canadian artist of Cree and Irish ancestry. This is his second nationally touring solo exhibition that he also curates himself. It re-examines Canadian history, from Confederation to today, as if seen through the eyes of a personage he created - Miss Chief Eagle - that represents his own time-travelling, gender-fluid alter ego. This personage, which appears at the exhibition both in sculptural form, moulded on the artist himself, and as a self portraiture in his paintings, is Monkman’s inventive device to reflect on the 150 years of Canadian history of devastating polices vis-a-vis Indigenous people.  It also honours the resilience of the Indigenous people today.

Monkman uses a number of items from the museum’s permanent collection, placing them next to his own works, to create installations that reflect even stronger on the controversial points in Canadian history.

McCord Museum considers this exhibition as a great opportunity to initiate encounters, dialogue and reconciliation around the topic that concerns all Canadians, all human beings, and forces us to reflect on ourselves.

This exhibition has already toured through Western Canada, the Maritimes and Ontario, and McCord Museum is hosting its only Quebec stop. It is Monkman’s second collaboration with the McCord Museum, where he was artist in residence in 2013. During his residency, he created his monumental Welcome to the Studio as a tribute to Montreal, a painting that McCord Museum acquired in 2014.

Exclusive Quebec showing

After a hugely successful tour through Western Canada, the Maritimes and Ontario, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience is making its only—and highly anticipated—stop in Quebec at the McCord Museum. “Indigenous cultures are a key component of the McCord Museum. It’s an honour to be hosting this outstanding exhibition,” said Suzanne Sauvage. This is Monkman’s second collaboration with the McCord. He was artist in residence in 2013, when he created the monumental work Welcome to the Studio in tribute to Montreal—a painting that the museum acquired in 2014 thanks, in part, to support from Montrealers.

Click on images to enlarge them.

For more information, visit the McCord Museum website.