Montreal, QC—The public has until Sunday, August 25 to discover the prints of artist and filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). In a first for a Canadian art museum, the Alanis Obomsawin, Printmaker. An Artist and her Nation: The Waban-Aki Basketmakers of Odanak exhibition presents over 40 of her prints, four printing plates and basketwork made by members of the artist’s community.
Acquisition of 24 works by Alanis Obomsawin
The MMFA is also pleased to announce that it has acquired 24 works of this artist from the Waban-Aki nation. These prints made between 1990 and 2007 – including 23 acquired directly from the artist and one donated by philanthropists Freda and Irwin Browns – will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. They will join the unique body of work by Alanis Obomsawin that the Museum received in 2015.
For several decades, and particularly in the 2000’s, Alanis Obomsawin has devoted herself to engraving, which is a lesser known facet of her practice. Some of her compositions are drawn from her dreams, while others relate more generally to Waban-Aki experiences. Many of them represent mothers with their children. On this topic, the artist explained, “I did this series of engravings to pay homage to women, who hold the greatest of powers: to give life. In ancient times, mothers were inseparable from their children both at work and at home.”
Exhibition credits
An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with Alanis Obomsawin and the Waban-Aki Nation. Curated by Hilliard T. Goldfarb, Senior Curator – Collections, and Curator of Old Masters, MMFA
Acknowledgements
Official Partners: Air Canada, MMFA’s Women of Influence Circle
Media Partners: Bell, Montreal Gazette
Public Partners: Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, Conseil des arts de Montréal and Canada Council for the Arts
