The “Micmac Indian Craftsmen” operation at Elsipogtog (formerly Big Cove), New Brunswick, led by Indigenous artists Michael Francis and Stephen Dedham, was a major commercial and cultural operation during the mid-1960s. Their tapestry weaving, silkscreen printing, woodturning, pottery and jewelry were sold across the country, and they even boasted fine china by a major English porcelain manufacturer. Regrettably overlooked, with little evidence in the contemporary canon of New Brunswick visual art or Indigenous studies, the studio garnered strong national fanfare in its time. This exhibition and publication will celebrate these artists, who were the first modern Indigenous artists in Atlantic Canada.
Curated by Emma Hassencahl-Perley and John Leroux and organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Exhibition made possible thanks to support from TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment and Canada Council for the Arts.
