Downtown Sarnia gallery art exhibit features Anishinaabe artists

July 8, 2019
Theo Wolfe, 6, was the youngest exhibitor at the Three Fires by the Water art exhibit in Sarnia recently. Encouraged by his father, Aamjiwnaang artist John Williams, Theo painted this picture of his French bulldog. Theo helps his father with his murals, which can be found in the First Nation’s community centre and other Ontario locations.

By Colin Graf

SARNIA— A recent art show at a city-owned gallery in Sarnia, Ont., is providing opportunities for First Nation artists, both established and starting off, to show and sell their works to the wider city community.  The exhibit, Niswi Ishkoden Niibiing, 3 Fires by the Water, featured work by artists from Aamjiwnaang, Kettle & Stony Point, and Bkejwanong (Walpole Island) First Nations at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in downtown Sarnia.

The show, now in its fourth year, is introducing and explaining aspects of First Nation culture to the settler community, says Teresa Altiman, a Walpole artist who is one of the show’s founders.

“This is something they are now appreciating that they have these [artists] in their backyards,” she says.

Art can help teach about culture, Altiman says.

“When you are able to talk about something, when you can show who you really are, as Anishinaabe, through our art we can share some of those things that are important to us as a people.”

The show can help not only to raise awareness of First Nations artists, but also draw attention to First Nations issues and “things that we struggle with on a day-to-day basis,” said Jeffrey “Red Dog” George, an artist from Kettle & Stony Point First Nation.

“People are more and more willing these days to be teachable and eager to learn [about First Nations people,” expresses George following conversations with visitors of the show. “That makes me want to trust more and share more of my culture.”

As crowds arrived for the show’s opening on a recent Friday, Altiman feels good to see people coming in.

“We’re so happy to be here,” she exclaims and jokes that people are coming for the fry bread and cedar tea.

On a more serious note, Altiman sees city residents learning about the food and drink as the First Nation volunteers are serving it up.

“The people serving are talking about the cedar they picked today. This venue allows us to do that,” she says.

The annual show fits in with the Lawrence House mission being a community art gallery that presents shows in cooperation with various outside groups, says Leonard Segall, of the Lawrence House.  The First Nation show is “one of the most exciting and vibrant shows of the year” and gets “huge community support,” he says.

Alongside of the Three Fires Show, the gallery and performance space is also hosting other cultural events marking the experiences of First Nations people from southwestern Ontario. Other events include a one-person play, “The Return of the Shaman” by Kettle & Stony Point First Nation artist Jeffrey “Red Dog” George; a paint day workshop by Moses Lunham, from Kettle & Stony Point First Nation; and a showing of the film “Aftershock”, by Sarnia filmmaker Dwayne Cloes, that gives voice to the experiences of the descendants of residential school survivors.

Shaawnonoo Altiman, 16, of Bkejwanong (Walpole Island), with her painting of an imagined landscape, has been encouraged to enter the Three Fires by the Water exhibit by her aunt Teresa Altiman, who is exhibiting in the annual show for the fourth time.

The Lawrence House “has been a leader in encouraging Anishinaabe people to show their work,” says Altiman.

“It’s a place we know we can come to,” she adds.

Altiman has made it a mission to encourage young people interested in creating artworks to offer their work for the Three Fires exhibit.

“[The exhibit] is an excellent opportunity for us to encourage other artists who might not be too sure of themselves and need to be given that little push and that encouragement to do their work and express themselves,” notes Altiman about the Sarnia-based exhibit.

Altiman works with acrylic paints, textiles, and sculpture, often using animal themes. Her textile work is featured at the Point Pelee visitor centre, with other works in Windsor and a sculpture underway for the University of Windsor.

Shaawnonoo Altiman, 16, of Bkejwanong, was “hanging out” with her Auntie Teresa when the Elder woman asked her to submit her work for the Three Fires by the Water show.  As her first art show, Shawnonoo says it’s a good feeling to see her work displayed, and feels encouraged to continue making art.

The three fires in the show title represent the three First Nations with artists represented in the exhibit, which are all connected by the waters of the Great Lakes.