Âhasiw Maskêgon-Iskwêw
Âhasiw Maskêgon-Iskwêw (1958–2006) was a
An archive of Maskêgon-Iskwêw's work is maintained by Grunt Gallery.[2]
Early life and education
Âhasiw Maskêgon-Iskwêw (Donald Ghostkeeper) was born in 1958 in McLennan, Alberta. He graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Vancouver, British Columbia in 1985, and also studied at Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Community College.[3]
Artwork
Maskêgon-Iskwêw created both Web-based and video-integrated performance artworks. Significant works include: Mestih'kusowin (Holocaust), Pitt Gallery, Vancouver (1990); Sakehi'towin Onipowak, Western Front Gallery, Vancouver (1992); and Hunter, Pitt Gallery, Vancouver (1993). In 1996, working as artistic director, writer, and producer, Maskêgon-Iskwêw brought ten artists together to create isi-pîkiskwêwin-ayapihkêsîsak (Speaking the Language of Spiders).[4] This Web-based artwork was exhibited at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris in the group exhibition Cyclic and at the Walter Phillips Gallery in the 2003 group exhibition BACK/FLASH.
Maskêgon-Iskwêw's artworks have been exhibited in multiple group exhibitions, including Exposed: The Aesthetics of Aboriginal Erotic Art at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in 1999; multiple iterations of the Indigenous Net art network CyberPowWow; and in the exhibition Language of Intercession at the Art Gallery of Hamilton in 2003.
Curatorial and arts administration
Maskêgon-Iskwêw maintained an active curatorial practice across Canada. He held positions as director at Vancouver's Pitt Gallery (1988-1990); the
Maskêgon-Iskwêw also worked as artistic director for the development of community-based media art projects with groups such as sex trade workers and youth at risk for Common Weal in Regina (1998–1999) and advocated for increased support for community/artist collaborations at St. Norbert Arts Centre (1999–2000). A significant force for online development of Indigenous communities, Maskêgon-Iskwêw was a member of both the Canada Council Inter-Arts Office Advisory Committee (1999-2003) and its Media Arts Internet Dissemination Working Group (2001).
In 2002 Maskêgon-Iskwêw curated Signified: Ritual Language in First Nations Performance Art, with Reona Brass and Bently Spang at Sâkêwêwâk Artists’ Collective in Regina. In both 2003 and 2004 he was a facilitator at the annual Connecting Aboriginal Canadians Forum in Ottawa, presented by the Aboriginal Canada Portal Working Group. In his position of New Media Curator at Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery, in 2005 Maskêgon-Iskwêw developed the online platform Storm Spirits: The Cultural Ecology of Aboriginal New Media Art.
Writing
Maskêgon-Iskwêw's writing has appeared in Talking Stick First Nations Arts Magazine, Mix (formerly Parallélogramme), and Fuse Magazine, and in multiple anthologies, including Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women (2004),[7] and Transference, Tradition, Technology: Native New Media Exploring Visual & Digital Culture (2005).[8]
References
- ISBN 978-1-55238-706-1.
- ^ Alteen, Glenn. "Ghostkeeper - the Work of Ahasiw Maskegon-Iskwew". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ Maskêgon-Iskwêw, Âhasiw. "EDUCATION: Ahasiw Kitotcigan Maskegon-Iskwew (Site Discontinued)". Archived from the original on 2002-01-12. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ Maskegon-Iskwew, Ahasiw. "Isi-pikîskwewin ayapihkêsîsak (Speaking the Language of Spiders)". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "Drumbeats.org: Aborigineal Media Arts". Drumbeats to Drumbytes.
- ^ "Aboriginal New Media Art". Storm Spirits. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ISBN 0-920397-84-0.
- OCLC 55105991.