Joi T. Arcand she used to want to be a ballerina

Leah Taylor, Curator

ARTIST TALK/TOUR
Friday, May 24 at 7:00 pm
OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, May 24 at 7:30 pm

Joi T. Arcand creates transformative conversations around Indigenous language revitalization by inserting nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree) language and imagery into public spaces. In doing so, she interrogates the “interruption of intergenerational language-learning, as a result of the residential school system and other colonial attempts to remove Indigenous culture, that have created serious barriers for access to language for subsequent generations.” she used to want to be a ballerina was inspired by the song of the same title by musician Buffy Saint-Marie. Arcand re-interprets and translates this song and song title into Cree, reflecting on her own personal short-lived experience Powwow dancing in her youth, and her long lost dream of wanting to be a ballerina.

Arcand moves seamlessly through media, including neon sculpture, photographic light boxes and zines, in order to make visible and celebrate Indigenous cultures, while pointedly challenging the way we privilege language. Within the gallery space the neon artworks transcend their literal meaning by speaking visually, making the works accessible beyond their inherent language.