Page 65 - ART GIANTS issue of World of Art (WOA) Contemporary Art Magazine

ALANIS OBOMSAWIN: THE
CHILDREN HAVE TO HE
AR ANOTHER STORY

MoMA PS1 presents Alanis Obomsawin: The Children Have
to Hear Another Story, a major retrospective celebrating
the six-decade career of artist, activist, and musician
Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki, b. 1932). Recognized as one
of Canada’s most influential filmmakers, Obomsawin’s
work blends documentary cinema, sculpture, sound, and Alanis Obomsawin. Christmas at Moose Factory (production photograph).
1971. Courtesy the National Film Board of Canada and the artist
storytelling to amplify Indigenous voices and histories.
Organized chronologically, the exhibition features over ten
of her films, including Christmas at Moose Factory (1971), photographs, and ephemera provide further insight into
which portrays the effects of residential schools through her humanitarian work in schools, prisons, and cultural
animated children’s drawings, and Incident at Restigouche institutions. Accompanying the exhibition is Alanis
(1984), documenting police raids on Mi’kmaq salmon Obomsawin: Lifework, a monograph edited by Richard
fishing rights. The landmark film Kanehsatake: 270 Years William Hill and Hila Peleg, featuring essays, conversations,
of Resistance (1993) also takes center stage, capturing the and archival materials that explore the depth of her artistic
Mohawk stand against the expansion of a golf course into and activist contributions.
sacred land. The retrospective is organized in collaboration with MoMA
Beyond film, the exhibition highlights Obomsawin’s early PS1, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), the Vancouver
creative practice, including her music and storytelling, Art Gallery, and the National Film Board of Canada, with
as well as engravings and prints that explore themes of curatorial contributions from Richard Hill, Hila Peleg, and
strength, compassion, and resilience. Audio recordings, Elena Ketelsen González.

Alanis Obomsawin. Trick or Treaty? 2014. Digital video: color, sound, 85 min.
Courtesy National Film Board of Canada

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