Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) – Travelling Exhibition (TREX)

Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) – Travelling Exhibition (TREX)

Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) is a photography series designed to expand the interpretation of story within the contemporary art practices of artists with Blackfoot heritage. The work of these women artists aims to foster a deeper public awareness of the complexities of Indigenous identity and the voices of these emerging artists: Marjie Crop Eared Wolf and Star Crop Eared Wolf. This exhibition sets out to develop a new literacy of visual culture and invites a fresh perspective on Indigenous story. The works in the exhibition seek to reflect on the ways in which Blackfoot history intersects with contemporary thought, as the question of modern identity has become fluid and fluctuating.

Indigenous story is shared through song, dance, language and visual culture. We use story to teach and share our culture and our connection to the land. In this way, our story is a tool to teach future generations and to welcome people into our community. The artists in this exhibition have produced images that express a contemporary interpretation of story that raises awareness and hopes to influence how we move forward as a society within Canada.

The exhibition Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) was curated by Jennifer Bowen and organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. This exhibition was generously funded by Syncrude Canada.

A big thank you to the TREX NW Program Sponsor KMSC Law!

Program Guides & Activities

Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) - Visual Learning Activity Book

Aakíí isskská’takssin (Woman – Thought) - Exhibition Guide

Activity Examples

While the Visual Learning Activity booklet provides suggested activities for different grade groupings, you can modify these activities or create your own to suit your creativity and learning needs! For example, the Grade 3 class at St Catherine Catholic School, Grande Prairie created an activity called the Silhouettes project. Each student was asked to draw the outline of an animal that was significant to them. From here, a stencil was created by cutting along the drawing’s outline. Equipped with their animal stencil as a frame, students explored the school for different textures and settings to use as the backdrop for the cut-outs. This activity playfully helps teach students visual elements like texture, pattern, balance, and composition. For a version of this activity that is suited to grades 7-12, see the My World Stencil project in the Visual Learning Activity book!