Artist Talk: Kevin McKenzie

IshKaabatens Waasa Gaa Inaabateg Department of Visual Art Speaker Series presents Kevin McKenzie.

Kevin McKenzie is a Cree/Métis artist based in Brandon. He is a member of the Cowessess First Nation of Saskatchewan, Treaty 4.

He holds a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the University of Regina.

A man wearing la leather coat and adorned with beaded plants and a beaded necktie looks up and to his right
Kevin McKenzie (Photo by Jordan Bennett)

During his 30-year art practice, McKenzie has exhibited nationally and internationally. Notable exhibitions include Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation II, Museum of Arts and Design, New York. He also participated in Don’t Stop Me Now, National Gallery of Canada. If We Never Met, Pataka Art Gallery Museum, New Zealand. His work was represented in Transformer: Native Art in Light and Sound, at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institute, New York.

McKenzie’s artwork is represented in the collections of; the National Gallery of Canada, the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Manitoba Hydro Corporation, the President’s Art Collection, University of Regina, First Nations University of Canada, the Dunlop Art Gallery, the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the University of Manitoba. In 2024, he produced a public sculpture for the city of Portage la Prairie titled “Eagle Arc.” McKenzie holds a tenured teaching position in the IWGI Department of Visual Art at Brandon University.

Artist Talk by Cheryl L’Hirondelle

Artist Talk by award-winning singer/songwriter, music producer and interdisciplinary artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Cree/Halfbreed; German/Polish), whose Indigenous family roots are from Papaschase First Nation and Kikino Metis Settlement, on the land now known as Canada.

Exploring Brazilian and Canadian Research Partnerships for the Betterment of Indigenous Peoples

Brandon University is honoured to welcome back Dr. Eloy Terena, Vice-Minister of Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and a 2019 Brandon University ELAP Doctoral Visiting Student, for a special talk titled Exploring Brazilian and Canadian Research Partnerships for the Betterment of Indigenous Peoples.

Dr. Terena is a respected leader, scholar, and advocate from the Terena Indigenous community in Mato Grosso do Sul. He currently serves as Vice-Minister in Brazil’s newly established Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, a role he was appointed to by President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva in recognition of his academic expertise, leadership, and long-standing engagement with Indigenous movements.

With doctoral degrees in both Anthropology and Law, and post-doctoral studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in France, Dr. Terena brings a wealth of knowledge to his work at the intersection of research, law, and policy. His leadership has been recognized with Brazil’s highest honour, The Order of Rio Branco, for his pivotal role in creating the country’s first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, as well as with an honorary doctorate from the Don Bosco Catholic University.

This event will explore how international collaboration and research partnerships between Brazil and Canada can support Indigenous rights, strengthen communities, and advance Indigenous-led scholarship.

Join us on Monday, September 29, 2025, from 3:30–5 p.m. in the Gathering Space of the John E. Robbins Library at Brandon University.

Sponsored by the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, the Rural Development Institute, and the Faculty of Arts, this event is free and open to all members of the campus and wider community.

A Warrior’s Red Road — PhotoVoice Display

Graffiti Gallery in Winnipeg is pleased to present A Warrior’s Red Road, Indigenous men connecting to culture through drum-making, on exhibition from September 6 through October 25.

The Good-Hearted Warriors/Akicita Cante Waste are a group of men who have been provided the responsibility of land and resources owned by the Brandon Friendship Centre at the East Site venue. They have sovereignty over ceremonial buildings, collection of resources and overall protection and caretaking of the space.

With a spiritual advisor providing teachings on culture and ceremony, members of the group alternate between teaching and learning to share their knowledge about activities such as hunting, fishing, and trapping.

This exhibition is the result of a year-long research partnership that followed the men from the Good-Hearted Warriors though the process of drum-making.  It gives evidence that many of the Good-Hearted Warriors’ activities have direct affect on the caretaking and protection of the land and, as revealed in the themes represented through this photovoice project, the impact of the group extends much further.  The hope is that by witnessing the project, the public, policy makers and funders will find a newfound respect and admiration for Indigenous men’s cultural programming and see the importance of supporting this type of work.

The research team within this project are Dr. Candice Waddell-Henowitch, Dr. Rachel Herron, Dr. Jonathan Allan and research assistance Stephanie Spence from Brandon University with Jason Gobeil from Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services, Frank Tacan from Brandon Friendship Centre, and Marti Ford from Manitoba Inuit Association.

Opening Reception: September 6, 7—10 p.m.

Opening Prayers: 7 p.m.

Drumming Performance and Artist Talk: 7:30 p.m.

Graffiti Art Programming Inc. facilitates low barrier youth-led community programming in the North End and Downtown of Winnipeg that promotes social engagement through the arts.

Event poster features image of two drums

National Day of Awareness for MMIWG2S

Tansi! Tawnshi! Aniin! Han/Ho!
The Indigenous Peoples’ Centre team is planning an event to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirit people.
Beginning at 11 a.m., there will be a fire and speakers at the Ceremonial Firepit in the courtyard. Red dresses be hanged from the trees on 18th St.
The idea to hang red dresses comes from the Red Dress Project by Jaime Black. This is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. Further information in the art project is available at JamieBlackArtist.com/exhibitions.
Event poster features a red hands and images of people in red dresses

Indigenous Art: Beyond History

Indigenous Art: Beyond History was organized by art history professor Dr. Stacey Koosel’s Contemporary Indigenous Art course. Her students worked as curators of the exhibition led by Felicity Nepinak-Hart as the Chief Curator of the project. Together they selected, researched and installed an exhibition of works by two dozen Indigenous artists, ranging in artistic mediums from paintings, prints and textile, to beading, installation and video.

It will include works from some of the most revered contemporary artists, such as Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Carl Beam and Arthur Amiotte, as well as works by students, alumni and community artists.

 

Indigenous Art: Beyond History

Indigenous Art: Beyond History was organized by art history professor Dr. Stacey Koosel’s Contemporary Indigenous Art course. Her students worked as curators of the exhibition led by Felicity Nepinak-Hart as the Chief Curator of the project. Together they selected, researched and installed an exhibition of works by two dozen Indigenous artists, ranging in artistic mediums from paintings, prints and textile, to beading, installation and video.

It will include works from some of the most revered contemporary artists, such as Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Carl Beam and Arthur Amiotte, as well as works by students, alumni and community artists.

 

Indigenous Art: Beyond History

Indigenous Art: Beyond History was organized by art history professor Dr. Stacey Koosel’s Contemporary Indigenous Art course. Her students worked as curators of the exhibition led by Felicity Nepinak-Hart as the Chief Curator of the project. Together they selected, researched and installed an exhibition of works by two dozen Indigenous artists, ranging in artistic mediums from paintings, prints and textile, to beading, installation and video.

It will include works from some of the most revered contemporary artists, such as Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Carl Beam and Arthur Amiotte, as well as works by students, alumni and community artists.