Indigenous Art at Rideau Hall

Art is a beautiful way to tell stories, and to illustrate history, culture and traditions. Engaging with art allows us to be part of a global community where we can learn from a multitude of perspectives and ideas.

Rideau Hall is proud to host Indigenous artworks on loan from the Indigenous Art Centre (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) and a private collection.

These artworks are currently on display in the Ballroom and Reception Room at Rideau Hall, located only a few minutes from downtown Ottawa and Gatineau. The exhibit is part of the free guided tour of the residence.

Plan your visit today!

 

Ballroom

The Ballroom at Rideau Hall is where the governor general welcomes Canadian and foreign dignitaries, and honours Canadians who have done something exceptional for their community or country. State dinners, investiture ceremonies and many other official functions take place in this room.

On the north wall of the Ballroom is a work entitled Honouring My Spirit Helpers by Christi Belcourt. Christi Belcourt is a Métis visual artist with a deep respect for the traditions and knowledge of her people. Like generations of Indigenous artists before her, she celebrates the beauty of the natural world while exploring nature’s symbolic properties. It is the first Métis artwork to be exhibited inside Rideau Hall.

On the south wall of the Ballroom is a triptych entitled Murmur. The artist, Meryl McMaster, is known for combining performance and photography in her work. Her self-portraits represent personal journeys—both actual and imaginative—into the realms of her ancestors.

 

Honouring My Spirit Helpers, 2010  (Ballroom Installation, 2024)

Christi Belcourt (Scarborough ON, 1966)
Honouring My Spirit Helpers (2010), Acrylic on canvas
Loan from Sara Booth, Cheryllee Bourgeois and Sara Wolfe

Christi Belcourt is a Métis visual artist, environmentalist and activist. Her interdisciplinary work focuses on Indigenous identity and culture, highlighting issues related to the environment, education, social justice and meaningful reconciliation. She is known for her acrylic paintings inspired by Métis beadwork. The subject matter of her artworks serve as metaphors for human existence to relay a variety of themes: concern for the environment, biodiversity, spirituality, and awareness of Métis culture. Honouring My Spirit Helpers is a celebration of life and all it has to offer, and features elements related to creation, birth and traditional medicine.

 

Murmur, 2013 (Ballroom Installation, 2021)

Meryl McMaster (Ottawa ON, 1988)
Murmur (2013), Ink jet print on paper
Loan from the Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Reproduced with the permission of the artist.

Meryl McMaster is of nêhiyaw (Plains Cree, from Red Pheasant Cree Nation), British and Dutch ancestry, and is a member of the Siksika First Nation. She is well known for her large-format self-portraits that feature themes of self through land, lineage, history and culture. Murmur was inspired by the natural phenomenon of a murmuration, a mass of starlings that fly together as one. In this triptych, the artist is surrounded by thousands of paper ‘starlings’ flying around her, cut from North American history books. This art piece is meant to demonstrate the reclaiming of history and our discontent with it.

 

Reception Room

The Reception Room is a part of the original villa built by Thomas MacKay in 1838. Today, guests attending ceremonial events in the Ballroom are received in this room. Smaller official ceremonies often take place in the Reception Room as well.

The Reception Room exhibit features the 13 Moons series by Jordan Bennett. This full suite of 13 prints, on loan to Rideau Hall from the Indigenous Art Centre, represents the Mi’kmaq lunar cycle. Each moon signifies a change in the environment, the seasons or the stages of an animal or plant’s life cycle or journey, which all serve as markers for the Mi'kmaw people.

 

13 Moons, 2020 (Installation at Rideau Hall, 2023)

Jordan Bennett (Stephenville Crossing, Ktaqmkuk [Newfoundland and Labrador], 1986)
13 Moons Full Suite (Edition 4 of 10), 2020 Giclée prints of William Turner
Pictured left to right: Maple Sugar – Siwkewikús; Birds Lay Eggs – Penamuikùs; Frogs Croaking – Etquljuikús; Leaves Full Blossom – Nipnikús; Birds Shed Feathers ­– Peskewikús; Ripening Time – Kisikwekewikús
Loan from the Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Reproduced with the permission of the artist.

Jordan Bennett is L’nu (Mi’kmaq), from Stephenville Crossing, Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland and Labrador). He currently works and lives in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS). Having a methodology that is deeply guided by the Land of his ancestors, his ongoing work possesses qualities of familiarity that can serve as a connection for a wide range of audiences spanning cultures and generations. His work lends itself to discussions regarding contemporary Indigenous realities within urban and rural communities. His ongoing practice utilizes sculpture, painting, video, immersive installations and sound to explore land, language, the act of visiting and his familial histories.

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