Jaime Black: The REDress Project
Curated by Arin Fay and Lesley Garlow
The REDress Project is an installation art project created by Métis artist Jaime Black.
The installation consists of hundreds of red dresses suspended in public spaces to
mark the absence and evoke the presence of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered.
Indigenous women face higher rates of violence than any other cultural group in Canada and the United States. Indigenous families and communities have been advocating for generations to make changes to the colonial system that often treat the perpetrators of this violence with impunity. The REDress Project works to create space for families of MMIW(missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls) to tell their stories and to find support and solidarity in the struggle to protect their loved ones. The project also provides a space to hear from frontline community workers, Indigenous women academics, elders and knowledge keepers on how we can work together as a community to bring justice to MMIWG and their families.
Founded in 2009, The REDress Project was first exhibited at the University of Winnipeg Campus in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with over one hundred dresses displayed across campus. Over the past ten years The REDress Project has travelled to over 50 locations across Canada and Internationally and has been shown at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, at the National Museum of The American Indian in Washington, DC. It is on permanent display at The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and now lives at our permanent museum here in Nelson. The exhibition included a concurrent off-site installation in the green space in front of Nelson City Hall and several events and educational programming, such as celebrations for International Women’s Day and the National Day of Awareness for Murdered and Missing Women and Girls.
This project is generously funded by the British Columbia Arts Council YEP grant and is part of an ongoing partnership with the West Kootenay Metis Society and artists and knowledge keepers.
We thank the City of Nelson for permission to use the public space in front of City Hall for the offsite installation of the REDress project. We also thank Adam O. Thomas for the work on the video project and the contribution of the artist and Shelly Boyd, Arrow Lakes Facilitator at Colville Confederated Tribes. The music on the video was generously contributed by: Loscil and The Cyrillic Typewriter. Special thanks to the Capitol Theatre for the loan of red dresses for the Gallery B installation.
The exhibition discusses serious and upsetting subject matter, and may be triggering for some members of the community. If you need support, please reach out to the local organizations listed below:
The Circle of Indigenous Nations (COINS) | 250-231-4968 | coinations@gmail.com
Interior Crisis Line Network (24hours) |1-888-353-2273
Nelson Community Services | 250-352-3504 | admin@servicesfyi.ca
Freedom Quest Youth Services | 250-505-9804 | nelson@freedomquestyouthservices.ca
Mental Health Nelson | 250-505-7248
ANKORS | 1-800-421-AIDS
See Also
REDress Roundtable and Discussion with Jaime Black
Their Voices Will Guide Us: Student and Youth Engagement Guide