Art Now! Presents: Leith Mahkewa

Art Now! Speaker Series: Leith Mahkewa October 5, 7 PM, Western University Register for the Zoom Webinar. In partnership with the Forest City Gallery, the Art Now Series is pleased to present an artist talk by Leith Mahkewa, Indigenous Artist-in-Residence in the Department of Visual Arts at Western University. Art Now! Presents: Leith Mahkewa 5 October 2023, 7:00PM Master beadwork artist Leith Mahkewa is currently based in Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Territory of Kahnawake (Quebec), where she lives with her husband and four children. Mahkewa’s roots are through the Oneida Nation of the Thames. She has been creating beadwork for over 16 years. She tends to create pieces mainly in the Iroquois raised beadwork style and is moving towards incorporating more Hopi imagery into her creation to honour her father's family. As the incoming Indigenous Artist-in-Residence at Western, Mahkewa will join us to talk about her art practice, which often juxtaposes the geometric shapes found in her Hopi family pottery patterns and Haudenosaunee inspired floral designs. The complexity of both cultures and design styles, when combined and manipulated, create a one-of-a-kind form of beadwork. Her art practice also makes a social statement that speaks to the current social realities of Indigenous life, whether the devastating lack of access to clean water or the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her talk will also offer an opportunity to talk about her vision for her tenure as the Artist-in-Residence. All Art Now Speakers’ Series lectures are free and open to the public.This talk is generously supported by The Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Forest City Art Gallery, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, and the Public Humanities at Western.