Indigenous Futures Research Centre

Exceptionally, the IFRC will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, May 20) for an event!

We will be open as usual the following day 💜

Bring your beads, sewing, drawing, or any works-in-progress and join us for an afternoon of making together this Tuesday, May 12, at IFRC! ✨

We’ll be joined by special guest, Tayla Hartemink! is a Tūhoe curator, painter, illustrator, and graphic artist currently visiting Tiohtià:ke from Aotearoa while working on this year’s BACA Biennale.

Gather & Make is a drop in crafting gathering at the IFRC. We’ll have collage materials available but encourage you to bring your preferred materials and projects to work alongside others!

*Image features Tayla’s stamps and prints! Bring a fabric item such as a tote bag, t-shirt, or patch, to stamp on!

As part of our Research Bites series, IFRC member Dailey Trainor presented some of his research on futurist perspectives of Indigenous design, embracing epistemologies ingrained in traditional Haudenosaunee corn husk weaving to challenge contemporary parametric design practices and modelling tools.

Dailey Trainor (he/him) is a mixed settler-Ojibwe design student and member of Thessalon First Nation. Committed to emerging and historical decolonial approaches to design, Dailey’s work centers on contemporary and futurist Indigenous perspectives in architecture and design. His work seeks to empower traditional craft and community-led approaches across design disciplines.

Thanks to Dailey for a great conversation and thanks to everyone who came!

This past Tuesday we were joined by Michéle St-Amand for a conversation on her emerging curatorial practice and her recent exhibition Oya’wih (meaning “This Tastes Good” in Wendat) at Galerie B-312!

We had a layered discussion on the works presented in the exhibition, as well as the collaboration and relations cultivated throughout the curatorial process. Michéle also spoke about ideas of the radical—as in tending to the roots—as well as the creation of uchronia gathering, which imagines positive sexuality through the exhibition’s multidisciplinary works.

Michèle St-Amand is a member of the Wendat Nation through her mother’s lineage. She is a candidate for a master’s degree in research-creation in art history at UQAM. She holds a master’s degree in clinical sexology (UQAM), a degree in visual arts (UQAM), a graduate-level microprogram in art therapy (UQAT), and a degree in museology and art exhibition (UQAM). As a sexologist and psychotherapist for several years, she has integrated art into her practice, primarily with women who are victims of sexual assault and in post-traumatic interventions.

This event is part of Conversations with Indigenous Curators, a mini-series hosted by the IFRC, and generously supported by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Canadian Art.

Our sincere thanks to Michéle for her generosity, energy, and thoughtful conversation!

Sneak peek of what the Wayfinders residents have been up to 👀

Stop by daphne on Friday, May 1 from 5-7 pm for a vernissage to celebrate the work of our student residents and the culmination of the Wayfinders residency!

Over the past week, six artists have been working alongside artist Rolande Souliere on a collaborative workshop and residency at daphne, where they are developing signages and markers for the centre. This student residency is led by Rolande Souliere, in collaboration with Aaron Richmond, co-curator of the exhibition Wayfinders : Au gré des sens, on display at the MAI until May 16, 2026.

The project is generously supported by a SSHRC Connection Grant.

🗓 Friday, May 1
⏰ 5-7 PM
📍 daphne
5425 av Casgrain, #103

Congratulations Skawennati! 💜💜💜

Last week, we were joined by for an engaging conversation on her curatorial practice!

Lori shared insight into a number of her past exhibitions, reflecting on her collaborations with artists like Barry Ace, Shellley Niro, and Jobena Petonoquot—who also joined us in person for the discussion!

This event is part of Conversations with Indigenous Curators, a mini-series hosted by the IFRC. Lori is the Executive Director of , an Indigenous artist run centre in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyang / Montreal, where she also lives and works as an independent curator, art educator, and art historian. She identifies as Michi Saagiig (Mississauga) Anishinaabe and Irish-Welsh settler,and is a citizen of Hiawatha First Nation at Rice Lake, Ontario.

Thank you to Lori for such a generous and thoughtful dialogue and to everyone who joined us! 💜

This event is generously supported by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Canadian Art.