EXPRESSION presents Miwotaw, an exhibition by the interdisciplinary Atikamekw Nehirowisiw artist Eruoma Awashish.
“Miwotaw means to transport. I chose this title because, in my view, transporting is what my people have done for millennia: we transport our culture, our spirituality, our identities through art.” – Eruoma Awashish
Art – ensembles of forms, gestures, and symbols – has always been an essential vector for the preservation and updating of Atikamekw knowledge. Songs, dances, stories, motifs that are embroidered, painted, or beaded: each of these languages acts as a living medium that perpetuates the Atikamekw collective memory.
Unlike knowledge that is written down, which could have been destroyed or censored during colonization, the Atikamekw traditions were passed down orally, through art, and in symbols. These forms of transmission, invisible to most colonial eyes, fostered resilience and preserved the nation’s immaterial heritage.
Animals are precious presences, full of meaning and memory, and they are central to Awashish’s approach. They reflect a way of seeing the world in which each creature, plant, and mineral possesses life and strength, and in which the land, living beings, and spirits are intertwined in reciprocal kinship.
The animal figures weave a delicate dialogue between Indigenous traditions and contemporary realities, between the visible and the felt. The crow, an attentive messenger, accompanies words and prayer, whereas the fox, vulnerable and resilient, navigates through pain to forge a path toward healing and comfort. It is through these figures that Awashish respectfully ensures the passing on of Atikamekw knowledge.
At Miwotaw, the public is invited to recognize the richness of these modes of transmission, both ancient and contemporary, and to understand their essential role in the vitality and conservation of the Atikamekw identity.
Vernissage January 24, 2026
– Vernissage from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Awashish will be in attendance
– Guided tour and performance around 1:30 p.m.
Performance by the Trickster Sisters collective with Sarah Cleary, Innu artist from Mashteuiatsh, and Eruoma Awashish,