Left to right, top to bottom - Victoria May: Sabrina Reeves. Tristen Durocher: Courtesy of the Artist. Jason Baerg: Kristy Boyce. Melanie Monique Rose: Sage Wosminity.
Shushkitew Performance Showcase
Enjoy an exciting lineup of Indigenous artists in the Shushkitew performance showcase, featuring dance, music and fashion.
Presented as part of the Gallery’s Free Thursday Nights programming, the showcase begins in the Auditorium with Red River Métis-Michif dancer Victoria May and Métis musician and activist Tristen Durocher. After a brief intermission, the program continues in the Great Hall with a fashion show by Ayimach_Horizons, a collaboration between renowned artists Jason Baerg and Melanie Monique Rose.
Free for members.
Included with Free Thursday Nights ticketing. Onsite capacity will be limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis.
About the artists
Victoria May
Dance
Red River Métis-Michif artist Victoria May began her dance career in Ottawa, later honing her skills at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. For more than thirty years, she has performed with ballet and contemporary dance companies across Europe and Canada. Read more
Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the INDI program at Concordia University in Montreal (Tio’tia:ke), May’s research creation, Kiwaapamitinaawaaaw, is a heartfelt poem dedicated to her ancestors. In it, she explores the embodiment of Michif culture, and the dances that guided her back to her roots.
Originally from the Fox Farm — now Nordale —near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, May's maternal heritage includes family names such as Vermette, Delorme, Pepin, Frobisher, Laliberté, Villebrun, Gaudry, Davis, and Sayer. She proudly holds citizenship with the Manitoba Métis Federation.
Tristen Durocher
Fiddle
Tristen Durocher is a Métis musician and activist who hails from Air Ronge in northern Saskatchewan. He identifies as two-spirited, and is an advocate for the LGBTQ community.Read more
In 2020, Durocher launched an initiative to raise awareness of the mental health challenges faced by Indigenous youth, with a focus on suicide prevention and mental health programs. At the end of a 635-kilometre journey from Air Ronge to Regina, he established a camp at Wascana Park, in front of the Saskatchewan legislature, and undertook a 44-day fast to urge the government to take action.
Durocher is also a skilled Métis fiddle player and teacher, and has been recognized with awards that include the SaskTel Indigenous Youth Award for Art, and the People's Choice in the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition.
His peaceful efforts to promote mental health and share Métis culture through music contribute to the well-being of Canada's Indigenous population, and support reconciliation endeavours.
Ayimach_Horizons | Jason Baerg x Melanie Monique Rose
Fashion
ᐊᔨᒪ / Ayimach_Horizons remixes cultural references into a futuristic Indigenous style, combining new materials and palettes with traditional customs and aspirational visions of transformation. ᐊᔨᒪ / Ayimach translates from Nçhiyawçwin, or Cree, to “a fortunate change of events leading to success.”Read more
Originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Jason Baerg is now a proud member of the Métis Nations of Ontario, and a devoted Indigenous activist, curator, educator and interdisciplinary artist.
Baerg has had solo exhibitions at prestigious international venues that include Canada House in London, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, and the Digital Dome at the Institute of the American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Their accomplishments also extend into the realm of fashion design, with successful collections launched at renowned events such as Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto and Santa Fe’s Indian Market Gala Fashion Show Gala. The artist has received accolades from esteemed experts and media outlets, including Vogue, and ELLE, which in 2023 named Baerg one of the “5 Indigenous Fashion Designers You Need to Know.”
Melanie Monique Rose is a Métis/Ukrainian visual artist from Regina, Saskatchewan. In her work, she explores kinship and our connection to the land. Through plants and flowers, she channels ancestral knowledge and envisions a decolonized future influenced by Métis worldviews.
Rose has a degree in Fibre Arts from the Kootenay School of the Arts, and has showcased her work in solo and group exhibitions, including the recent Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon. Her achievements include receiving the Award for Excellence in Textiles from the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and being named a CBC Future 40 artist. Rose’s recent accolades include the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her work in arts and reconciliation.
As a gallery facilitator, storyteller and art instructor, she shares her expertise with the community, while embracing her role as a full-time mother to daughter Meadow Rose, which has enriched her artistic journey.