PROMIS
Skawennati’s public art installation transforms the façade of the Conseil des arts de Montréal building all summer long
June 17, 2026 - End of September 2026
The Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) invites Montrealers to discover and experience Promise, a temporary public art installation by world-renowned Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) artist Skawennati, which, for the very first time, will transform the façade of the CAM building (located at 1210 Sherbrooke Street East, across from La Fontaine Park).
Vibrantly colourful, this playful, bold and symbolic work is accessible for free all summer long, day and night. All it takes is a smartphone to scan a QR code for an immersive augmented-reality experience of the Three Sisters.
An Art Installation Rooted in Indigenous Heritage
Commissioned by the CAM to celebrate its 70th anniversary, this powerful artistic gesture has been unveiled just days before National Indigenous Peoples Day, celebrated on Sunday, June 21. It also acknowledges the 325th anniversary of the Great Peace Treaty of Montreal, signed on August 4, 1701.
Nathalie Maillé, directrice générale du CAM, stated:
“In Montreal, the presence of art is an unbeatable force, deeply embedded in its DNA. For 70 years, it has been at the heart of the CAM’s work. Chosen from our very first competition for a temporary public artwork, the visionary artist Skawennati brilliantly transforms an iconic building in Montreal. We are thus reaffirming what sets our city apart: artistic vitality is expressed all around us, and right here at the Gaston-Miron building, it comes to life every day through the CAM’s initiatives.”
Skawennati, the artist, elaborated:
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to create a public work for an institution as innovative as the CAM, at this grand scale, in this location, the traditional territory of my ancestors. What is truly transformative is to live with Indigenous signage and symbols in the cityscape where they promote the values inherent in them.”
A work rooted in tradition and growing toward the future
Drawing on Hotinonshón:ni (Iroquois) knowledge, Promise re-imagines the Three Sisters—beloved personifications of corn, beans, and squash—as contemporary superheroes whose mission is to re-instill into the values of sustainability, interdependence, and gratitude throughout the city and the world.
The vivid patterns wrapped around the building’s columns are inspired by the Three Ssiter's seeds, while an augmented-reality experience, accessible via a QR code, brings the heroines to life through 3D animation, accompanied by an original song blending Kanien’kéha, French, and English.
Sponsored by daphne, a non-profit Indigenous artist-run centre (Centre d'art daphne), this playful installation invites all citizens to contemplate and remember the roots of the city and to envision a shared future grounded in Indigenous values.
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| Artist Skawennati |
Skawennati, a trailblazer in Indigenous digital art
A Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) artist based in Montreal, Skawennati has been developing a practice at the intersection of visual and digital arts for over two decades, blending installations, technologies, sculptures, textiles, and interactive environments to explore memory, identity, and the future.
Centered around the universe of the Three Sisters, the artist is developing a multilayered narrative. She first introduced them as superheroes in Words Before All Else, in 2022, followed by Welcome to the Garden, presented in 2024 at Gray Area in San Francisco. In 2025, the trio visited New York as part of ENCODED: Change the Story, Change the Future at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Skawennati’s augmented reality work is surreptitiously superimposed onto the museum’s facade. There, she offers a critical reinterpretation of dominant narratives, which is emblematic of her approach.
With Promise, the artist adds a new chapter, affirming a strong connection to the territory; the accompanying song is punctuated with references to the Maison du CAM, the City of Montreal/Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang, and nearby Atateken Street.
Rooted in Indigenous knowledge yet future-oriented, her work has been presented on the local and international scene, notably at the MAC, the Smithsonian, the Venice Biennale, and the Seoul Art & Tech Festival. In May 2025, the National Gallery of Canada presented Welcome to Dreamhouse, major solo exhibition of her work, tracing 25 years of artistic practice.
Skawennati is co-founder and co-director of AbTeC at Concordia University, a research-creation studio that co-produces digital art projects.
About the Conseil des arts de Montréal
Founded in 1956, the Conseil des arts de Montréal supports artistic innovation and creative expression in all their diversity by offering various forms of support to promote Montreal-based artists and organizations involved in creation, production, and presentation. For 70 years, it has played a unique role as a catalyst and has helped make Montreal a vibrant cultural metropolis, recognized here and abroad for its artistic vitality.
About the Gaston-Miron Building
The Gaston-Miron Building, located at 1210 Sherbrooke Street East across from La Fontaine Park, has been home to the Conseil des arts de Montréal since 2009. Formerly the Montreal Central Library, built between 1914 and 1917 by architect Eugène Payette, this iconic building stands as a testament to the city’s rich cultural and architectural heritage. Completely renovated while preserving its original features—including its spectacular atrium topped by a glass ceiling—the building is now a vibrant space dedicated to the creation, support, and promotion of the arts, providing the artistic community with rehearsal and exhibition spaces. At its entrance stands Yannick Pouliot’s work Dialogue (2017), an aluminum sculpture composed of fragments inspired by the building’s architecture.
All images in this article courtesy of the Conseil des arts de Montréal
Artwork credits
Commissioned by the Conseil des arts de Montréal
Sponsored by daphne
Co-produced by AbTeC
Concept and design: Skawennati
Production manager: Nancy Townsend
Production supervisor: Jason Edward Lewis
Graphic design: Tarcisio Cataldi et Julia Fortin
Lighting design: cr34te
Printing: Turgeon
Augmented reality specialist: Meg Summers
3D modelling and animation: Maxime Perreault
3D Texturing: Jiangai Gao
Lyrics: Skawennati
Recording and Sound Design: Shawn Mullen
Performers: Skanaie:’a Deer as Osahè:ta’, Kanikatsistha Hill as Ó:nenhste, and Ieronhienhawi Mccomber as Onon’ónsera
Recording Studio: Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology
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