Carrie Allison: askōhtēskanohwē
As part of the Artist-in-Residence program and the 8th edition of the Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone, this exhibition by multidisciplinary visual artist of nêhiýaw and Métis descent, Carrie Allison, centres northwest Alberta beading practices to reconnects with her own history.
The exhibition brings together four new beadwork pieces by Carrie Allison, eight cultural belongings from the Museum’s Indigenous Cultures collection, an interactive installation and a projection.
Bringing together colonial records and old handwork practices, Carrie Allison creates a dialogue between past and present in a series of works that move across time and space. Depicting the cultural, societal, and ecological landscape of her ancestors through time and space, in which her ancestors lived, she positions beadwork as an extension of the familial storytelling at the heart of her practice.
Thanks to the Ricci family for their generosity in supporting the exhibition.
Carrie Allison
Carrie Allison (nêhiýaw/Métis/mixed European descent) is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in K’jipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Her Métis and nêhiýaw family names are Beaudry, Surprenant, Noskeye, and Payiw; her maternal roots and relations are based in and around maskotewisipiy (High Prairie, Alberta), Treaty 8, and she is a Manitoba Metis Federation citizen.
She grew up on the unceded and unsurrendered lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Tsawwassen Nations.
Allison holds a Master of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Art History, and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She was the 2020 recipient of the Melissa Levin Award from the Textile Museum of Canada, received an Emerging Artist Recognition Award from the Creative Nova Scotia Awards in 2021, and was longlisted for the 2021, 2024 and 2026 Sobey Art Award.
3 things to know
askōhtēskanohwē
For Carrie Allison, the title askōhtēskanohwē evokes the idea of following the tracks of the past while opening the way for future generations. Carrying several meanings, it speaks to notions of gathering, knowledge transmission and storytelling. To discover the story behind the exhibition title, listen to this conversation between the artist and Senapan Thunder, an educator and advocate for Indigenous languages.
On Being Nosy
The exhibition critiques the walls that hold these pieces, questioning who is granted permission to witness, view and touch while visiting the concrete, climate-controlled environment of the museum. During her flight from Mi’kma’ki to Tiohtia:ke territory, Carrie read the essay “On Being Nosy” from the Wolf Babe collective, which inspired her to create “your touch will mark the work”. This piece invites visitors to consider the notions of consent and permission within the museum space, and how these institutions create boundaries and hierarchies. your touch will mark the work subverts the purpose of the stanchion and the role it plays in these spaces.
An interactive installation
With this exhibition, Carrie Allison creates an inclusive space that centres children, encouraging them to explore the museum in a setting that welcomes their needs and their curiosity.
BEADZ 2.0, an interactive installation made up of 25 giant foam beads—presented in conjunction with a video work—invites children and families to handle the beads freely, to play, to build or to rest as they wish. By making interaction with the works an essential part of the experience, Carrie Allison offers a welcoming space that questions the museum’s usual conventions and puts curiosity, movement and imagination at the heart of the visit.
A sustainable approach rooted in environmental responsibility
Reducing the environmental footprint
Mindful of environmental issues and convinced that museums have a role to play in the transition to a more sustainable future, the McCord Stewart Museum has set itself the goal of minimizing the amount of waste produced by its exhibitions while maintaining the standards of quality, integrity and accessibility that underpin its mission.
Discover the sustainable-development-process →
When the exhibition Carrie Allison: askōhtēskanohwē was in the planning stages, the Museum considered a variety of eco-design strategies to reduce its environmental impact that were then implemented during production. Apart from the rugs, all the furnishings used for the exhibition—display cases, audiovisual equipment and benches—were sourced from the Museum’s existing stock of materials. The paint used is 100% acrylic, free of volatile organic compounds, and produced 100% in Quebec.
Graphic production remains a challenge for the Museum. All the exhibition texts were printed on new materials: the selfadhesive vinyl will be thrown away (it may not be reused or recycled), but the expanded PVC panels will be reused in other projects.
Acknowledgment
The Museum would like to thank its team and all the individuals who have contributed, in ways large or small, to the presentation of this exhibition.
Artist in Residence
Carrie Allison
Curator
Celina Yellowbird, Curatorial Assistant, Indigenous Cultures
Project Management
Eve Martineau, Project Manager, Exhibitions
Graphic Design
Caroline Leduc
McCord Stewart Museum Team
Mélissa Jacques, Supervisor, Technical Services, Exhibitions
Olivier LeBlanc-Roy, Senior Technician, Exhibitions
Jean-Gabriel Racine, Technician, Exhibitions
Siloë Leduc, Technician, Exhibitions
Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation
Sara Serban, Conservator
Karine Rousseau, Head, Collections Management
Camille Deshaies-Forget, Coordinator, Collections Management
Josianne Venne, Senior Technician, Collections Management
Anne-Frédérique Beaulieu, Officer, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions
Laura Dumitriu, Senior Photographer
Leïla Afriat, conseillère, Officer, Community Relations
Cultural Mediation Team
Philippe Bergeron, Officer, Digital Engagement
Anne-Marie Demers, Graphic Designer
External Team
Editing and Translation
Edith Skewes-Cox, English
Pascale Guertin, French
Printing
Pro Séri
Painting
René Gauthier
Soundscape
Jessis Beier
Video Production
Tomi Grgicevic
Ian Burns
Special Thanks
Nour El Sabeh
Sydney Wreaks
April Beattie
Norberg Hall
IOTA Institute and Studios
Carrie Allison would like to acknowledge Arts Nova Scotia and the Canada Council for the Arts for their financial support of this project and its future development.
Discussion with Carrie Allison
Joint Guided Walk
October 2
Carrie Allison at the McCord Stewart Museum and Amanda Lickers at the CCA
On the occasion of Carrie Allison: askohteskanohwe at the McCord Stewart Museum and Everlasting by Amanda Lickers at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), the two institutions are joining forces to offer a guided walk connecting their respective spaces.
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Space is limited | Museum admission ticket required
October 24 | November 21
Guided tours for the general public
Deepen your understanding of the exhibition and ask questions to our cultural facilitators about the topics explored in one of our guided tours.
Reservation on site at the Museum
See full schedule
Free | Virtual Conversation
November 4
Exploring Métis Beadwork: Territory, Style, and Relations
Join us for a compelling virtual conversation on the rich traditions and contemporary expressions of Métis beadwork with Sherry Farrell Racette and Gregory Scofield, moderated by artist Carrie Allison.
Register
Free | Symposium
February 3
Symposium – What Matter Knows: Towards Multisensory Museum Archives
Attend a half-day symposium, conceived and organized in collaboration with Concordia University and explore the possibilities of creating a multisensory archive in dialogue with Indigenous knowledge, materiality and contemporary museum practices.
Book
Activities, roundtables, screenings and much more!
Indigenous cultures programming
Engage with Indigenous perspectives through experiences that foster discovery, dialogue, and reflection: exhibitions, activities, blog articles, online collections, and education kits.
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Group programming
60 min
Self-guided tour
The tour is an invitation to contemplate the connections between Allison’s contemporary creations and the Museum’s Indigenous Cultures collection. Visitors will observe, engage with and reflect on the stories embedded in each of the objects, the knowledge they carry and the relationships they sustain with the communities that shaped them.
Book
Online Collections
Indigenous Cultures
Carrie Allison focused largely on handmade beadwork objects, many donated by the Gaudet family.
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Initiative
Artist-in-Residence
The Artist-in-Residence program invites artists to take a critical and conceptual look at the Museum’s collection, reflecting on the connections between their artistic practice and the objects and stories they uncover during their research.
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Presented by
In collaboration with
Exhibition made possible thanks to support from
Thanks to our partners
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