Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life
A powerful Native tradition comes to life at the M

Montreal, Thursday, June 17, 1999 — The McCord Museum inaugurates Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life, a groundbreaking exhibition of more than 300 stunning and rarely seen examples of beadwork dating from the nineteenth century to the present.  Richly beaded clothing including collars, belts, leggings and skirts are displayed along with an astonishing variety of items first created for the Victorian tourist trade — pincushions, picture frames, decorative boxes and wall-pockets.  The exhibition examines the artistic, cultural and political significance of beadwork in both traditional and contemporary Iroquois culture. It encourages visitors to understand the remarkable beauty of Iroquois beadwork as the product of a long and continuing interaction of creative influences across geographical, political and cultural boundaries. Across Borders beautifully documents the complex processes of cultural change and shows how the artistic activity of a nation is intimately linked to the survival of its people.

The exhibition is divided thematically into six sections — the Introduction features both historical and contemporary beadwork objects and presents large and vibrant images of Iroquois people today. The Iroquois Universe is an evocative installation that uses sound, objects and traditional motifs to explain the Iroquois world-view. The Development of Beadwork examines the transition from quillwork and other early decorative techniques to the use of glass beads, and presents the context in which the Iroquois began to sell beadwork. In the section on Creating, visitors will meet Iroquois beadworkers on video and learn about their techniques and sources of inspiration. A series of late-nineteenth-century objects demonstrates the fascinating interaction of Iroquois and Victorian aesthetics. Marketing portrays the economic dimension of this unique art form with striking presentations that convey the entrepreneurial energy of the Iroquois. The final section, Continuing, documents the strong, ongoing link between beadwork and Iroquois cultural identity, and shows how contemporary Iroquois artists continue to re-invent the language of beadwork. 

This exhibition was prepared by an international curatorial team consisting of Kanatakta (Mohawk), Executive Director, Kanien'kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center, Kahnawake; Kate Koperski, Curator of Folk Arts, Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University; Moira McCaffrey, Director, Curatorial and Research Services, McCord Museum; Dr. Trudy Nicks, Curator of Ethnology, Royal Ontario Museum; Dr. Sandra Olsen, Director, Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University; Dr. Ruth Phillips, Director, Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia; Dr. Jolene Rickard (Tuscarora), Assistant Professor, University of Buffalo. Moreover, beadworkers from the Iroquois communities of Kahnawake and Tuscarora, two major centres of beadwork production, have guided the curatorial process as a whole. They visited museum collections and shared their personal recollections, family histories and photographs.

The exhibition has benefited from unprecedented financial support. As part of its 200th anniversary celebrations, Lombard Odier Trust Company, member of the Lombard Odier Group — Geneva, private bankers since 1798, is supporting the McCord Museum with the launch of their Défi Lombard Odier. The Défi is a competition for third-year students from Montreal's École des Hautes Études Commerciales to propose ways to attract a younger clientele to museums. The McCord was selected this year and Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life was chosen as their focus. As a result of the student's work, a programme of cultural activities planned to accompany the exhibition will include daycamp visits made possible in part by Discount Car and Truck Rental. Funding from the local First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Montreal as well as the École des HEC has enabled the Museum to engage a group of Native animators for the cultural activities.

Generous support for these activities has also been received from Le Château and Oink Oink. The John Bead Company of Toronto, the largest importer of beads to North America, is the official supplier of beads to the exhibition including these cultural activities. The following Canadian and American Foundations have contributed generously: the Rockefeller Foundation, the Succession J. A. DeSève and the McLean Foundation.  Government grants were obtained from Heritage Canada's Museum Assistance Program, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Programme d'Interculturalisme de la Ville de Montréal, the Montreal Urban Community's Arts Council, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, and, via our American partners, the National Endowment of the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts.  The McCord is grateful for the generous support of these organizations.

Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life is a travelling exhibition organized and circulated by the McCord Museum, Quebec, Canada and the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University, New York, in collaboration with the Kanien'kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center, Kahnawake, the Tuscarora Nation community beadworkers within New York State, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

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Source:
Annie Daoust
(514) 398-7100, ext. 251
annie@mccord.lan.mcgill.ca

The McCord wishes to acknowledge the support of the Heritage Canada Museums Assistance Program, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications and the Arts Council of the Montreal Urban Community.