Autumn Whiteway
Calgary, Alberta
ARTIST BIO
Autumn Whiteway (Night Singing Woman, Circling Eagle Woman) is a Saulteaux-Métis visual artist, traditional craftworker, curator, archaeologist and educator based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alberta). She is a member of Berens River First Nation in Manitoba but grew up in Treaty 7 territory. She explores Indigenous themes from a contemporary perspective through painting, digital art, installation, photography, and a diverse range of media including Lego art and ceramics. Her painting and digital art is primarily focused on the heavily symbolic Woodland Style of art, while her photographic practice and installation are used as a form of activism to highlight Indigenous issues and realities. Her curatorial work focuses on elevating the voices of Indigenous creatives through a series of Indigenous focused exhibitions. She previously worked as the Curator for Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, and presently works as the Curator, Indigenous Art at the Glenbow Museum. She is a permit-holding archaeologist in Alberta and holds an M.A. in Anthropology (University of Manitoba), B.Sc. in Archaeology concentrating in Physical Anthropology (University of Calgary), and a B.A. in Greek and Roman Studies (University of Calgary).
PROJECT STATEMENT
"Thank You Edward Curtis, But We'll Take It From Here" is a project that aims to challenge the salvage ethnographic photography associated with Edward Curtis and a bygone era. Utilizing a 19th-century photographic process known as wet plate collodion (tintype) photography, I worked collaboratively with Indigenous models to capture contemporary narratives and images.
