We Are Called
BHNCDSB INDIGENOUS ARTISTS’ EXHIBIT ’24
Works by: Delbert Jonathan, January Rogers, Savannah Skye-Smith, Shayde Sandy, and Michael Barber.
Opening Reception: May 22, 7 PM, 2024
Dates: May 22 – August 22, 2024
The Indigenous Exhibition, We Are Called is generously supported by
SAVANNAH SKYE-SMITH
I am 28 years old, currently enrolled at Mohawk College in the Concurrent Disorders program. I have three children, 10, 8, and 3. Two girls and a boy. I began beading in 2013, while I was pregnant with my daughter, as a new hobby and I quickly fell in love with it.
I was always interested in art because it’s one of the best forms of expression. Beading is a stress reliever for me and it’s a bonus that I get to see my vision come to life in the completed work. I am very happy and proud to represent the Six Nations community as an Artist. I love sharing my passion, culture, and my knowledge (when I am able) with people from all walks of life. I am glad to be a positive role model for the people around me.
Nya:weh
SHAYDE SANDY
Shayde Sandy (b. 2000) is a multi-disciplinary artist, who is Haudenosaunee from Six Nations. She has recently graduated from Queen’s University with a degree in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hon.), majoring in visual art and minoring in film.
Shayde specializes in oil painting and portraiture, and her palette is notably vibrant. Her artwork is primarily based on her identity and experience of life on the reserve.
Shayde’s goal is to broaden the understanding of the modern-day Native by sharing the beauty, humour, and complexities that make the reserve an iconic place. Her artwork has been exhibited at Martin Luther University College, Queen’s University, FirstOntario Arts Centre, Woodland Cultural Centre, and Hamilton Artists Inc. Shayde has also been featured in QWIL (Queen’s Women in Leadership) magazine for the artist spotlight, APTN’s social media for Indigenous History Month, and Seeing Red Media’s social media for “reflecting authentic indigenous representation”.
JANUARY ROGERS
January Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer from Six Nations of the Grand River. She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1963 and raised in southern Ontario. She traveled throughout 2017-2019 doing back-to-back residencies in Vancouver BC, Santa Fe, NM, and Edmonton, AB. January lives on Six Nations of the Grand River territory where she owns and operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions.
She works in page poetry, spoken word, performance poetry, video poetry and recorded poetry with music. She is a radio broadcaster, media producer and sound artist. Her literary titles include Splitting the Heart, Red Erotic, Unearthed, “Peace in Duress”, Totem Poles and Railroads, “As Long As the Sun Shines”, “Ego of a Nation”, and Blood Sport.
January has produced and written media for gallery and broadcast with 2Ro Media since 2015. She won the American Indian Film Festival BEST MUSIC VIDEO 2020 with “Ego of a Nation” and the imagineNATIVE Media BEST EXPERIMENTAL SOUND PRIZE 2021 for her sound piece, The Struggle Within. She wrote, produced, and directed a 10-episode comedy web series, NDNs on the Airwaves, and penned the play Blood Sport which received two Ontario Arts Council Theatre Recommender Grants for development in 2023 and four stage readings.
MICHAEL BARBER
I’m a Mohawk artist living in Norfolk County. My work examines the dark realities that are rarely spoken. Memories and thoughts are never clear and my paintings reflect the layers that hide or protect our past, the things we cherish, and the things we’d love to forget.
Quite often in life, things that are out of our control have such impact on our lives, not physically really but emotionally, and we carry them with us forever. The good and the bad both weigh us down and fill us up, to the point that there’s no room left. Then one day, something happens that forces you to shift things, reposition and prioritize the weight to a more manageable point for the time being.
I paint on mahogany plywood and use a mix media approach. Resist techniques are used with the paint application. Gouging and scratching is done with various hand tools to scrape the work and expose the earlier layers to create a sense of time. Images are applied to the work by using a self developed printing technique and manipulating the cut after various applications.
The creation of a piece is a very physical activity. I get lost in the painting and struggle between layers, caught in a dilemma of exposure and protection. It’s an exhausting process and yet I find it so satisfying.
DELBERT JONATHAN
Delbert Jonathan is a Mohawk artist from the Turtle clan who belongs to the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. He enjoys creating works of art that vary in style from traditional to contemporary. Delbert has learned from and been mentored from a long generational line of artists within his family. Among the many styles of art that he creates; Delbert enjoys painting, digital art, traditional arts and leatherwork, inspirational dancing, and developing professional designs with his natural ingenuity. Some of his works are across Canada and United States. His work can be seen at the Brock University, Peace Bridge Authority building in Fort Erie Ontario Health System of Niagara.