Alberta Foundation for the Arts: Tour "Cross Cultura" on Google Arts & Culture

George Littlechild
Cross Cultural Examination #2 
2007
ink jet print on paper
Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

The AFA is pleased to share the virtual exhibition, Cross Cultura, curated by Indigenous curator, visual artist and archaeologist, Autumn Whiteway (Night Singing Woman) is now on Google Arts & Culture.  

Tour the online exhibition now!

About the artist

Autumn Whiteway ("Night Singing Woman") is a Saulteaux/Métis visual artist, traditional craft worker, curator and archaeologist based in Calgary, Alberta. She explores Indigenous themes from a contemporary perspective through painting, digital art and photography.

Her painting and digital art is primarily focused on the heavily symbolic Woodland Style of Indigenous art, while her photography is used as a form of activism to highlight Indigenous issues. Her work has been exhibited at locations such as Arts Commons, cSpace King Edward, ATB Branch for Arts and Culture, and Calgary Public Library.

Autumn recently joined the Glenbow Museum as their new Curator, Indigenous Art.

Autumn's degrees include an M.A. in Anthropology from University of Manitoba (2017), a B.Sc. in Archaeology, and a B.A. in Greek and Roman Studies.

Her curatorial work has focused on elevating the voices of Indigenous creatives through a series of Indigenous focused exhibitions. Autumn's curatorial repertoire includes three group exhibitions held at multiple Calgary venues between 2020-2022, known as "Indigenous Motherhood and Matriarchy."

About the exhibition

Cross Cultura is a group exhibition comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous aesthetics and epistemologies, with the latter centered on Eurocentric settler colonial perspectives. Download the exhibition catalogue.

The exhibition comprises 13 artwork pairings (one for each moon of the lunar calendar that is traditionally utilized by Indigenous peoples). Each pairing features an Indigenous and non-Indigenous artist portraying conceptually similar subject matters from different worldviews.

Subject matters range from community and family relations, to work and social life, the cosmos and human-animal interactions. Additional pairings focus on gender-based representation in portraiture, and the medium of stone carving.

Through the Fellowship for Emerging Curators, the AFA invites individuals and/or groups of individuals to submit a proposal for an online exhibition of Albertan visual art. Funded exhibitions are uploaded to Google Arts & Culture. Autumn was the AFA's 2021-22 Emerging Curator Fellow. 

Watch Autumn describe her exhibition in "Curating from the Collection"

Autumn describes the Cross Cultura starting at 6:25 of the video below: