Issue: 2019.2 Resistance Printmaking has always been a tool of resistance movements. As a medium of abundance, of community, and the sharing of space and resources, printmaking has the ability to resist the predominant colonial capitalist narrative. This edition of SNAPline came together naturally in its amplification of the voices, ideas, and artistic practices of Indigenous artists and writers, as well as artists and writers of colour in our community. All the contributors offered their own specific historical, cultural, and personal insights into the powerful role that printmaking can play in acts of resistance. SNAPline featured artist Laura Grier generously opens up their artistic practice and recent research into the importance and power of Indigenous refusal. The transformative power of creative practice within a community is articulated beautifully in Ashna Jacob’s interview with artist and activist Adebayo Katiiti. Missy LeBlanc offers insights into the contemporary practice of artist Alyssa Duck Chief who is reclaiming their familial narrative by asserting their marks and their words in the recreation, erasure, and retelling of archival documents. Art Historian and Curator, Nadia Kurd makes important links between the unique history of Indigenous printmaking in Canada and the activist/community rooted practices of artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch. The collective nature of printmaking can be a powerful force of resistance — bringing artists into community, conversation, and deeper understanding of one another. SNAPline cover image: Laura Grier, Hı̨yuwǝ nę́nę́ Screen Print, 2019 Download PDF
Lasting Impressions: Christi Belcourt and the Potency of Indigenous Printmaking by Nadia Kurd On a bitterly cold January evening, I stood alongside approximately 250 people at Beaver Hills House Park in Edmonton to protest the RCMP’s aggression on Wet’suwet’en Territory. Located in northern British Columbia, the hereditary Elders and Chiefs... Read More
Okii’kaa’sii: Contemporary Indigenous Resistance in the work of Alyssa Duck Chief by Missy LeBlanc The Matriarch, grandmother, outlined in a halo of rose gold. Naahsa, Nitsiipowahsin for grandparent, is an archival photo of Alyssa Duck Chief’s great grandmother, Emily Duck Chief, the family matriarch, on a horse riding in the Stampede... Read More
My Process: An Interview with Adebayo Katiiti by Ashna Jacob As I wait for Adebayo in the SNAP studio, I scroll through posts about the rainbow that graced the sky a few hours earlier, on the Monday after Pride Weekend. It’s a busy time for the LGBTQ+... Read More
The Power of Indigenous Print and The Power of Indigenous Refusal by Laura Grier I often find myself reflecting on how much Indigenous words have influenced my ways of thinking and making. I am filled with feelings of gratitude as I study influential Indigenous thinkers and scholars, who have helped me... Read More
Featured Artist: Laura Grier SNAPline featured artist: Laura Grier Laura Grier is a Délı̨nę First Nations artist and printmaker, born in Somba ké and based out of Alberta. Through the use of traditional print mediums, they instrumentalize the power of the handmade to reflect... Read More