About








Ahkwayaonhkeh is located on the Nionwentsïo, an unceded Wendat territory.






Mission


Ahkwayaonhkeh is the very first Wendat artist-run centre, located on the Nionwentsïo. Its mission is to promote, develop and disseminate current Wendat artistic practices. The goal is to support today's artists and promote their interests, but above all, to create a legacy for the younger generations and those to come, who will benefit from an organization dedicated to them.


In addition to its exhibition program, the center will offer animation and training activities, conferences, publications, a documentation center, and provide artists with advice to enhance their creative process and their access to the art world. It will set up residency programs, as well as other partnerships focused on the development of artistic innovations and the dissemination of works. It will carry out these various initiatives in a spirit of equity, encouraging collaborations with Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists.







Background



Over the past two decades, several Wendat artists have cherished the dream of an artist-run centre for their community. In 2020, the Wendat collective was formed as part of Yahndawa': portages entre Wendake et Québec, an exchange between fourteen artists from Wendake and Quebec City.


This project, which culminated in a series of exhibitions, made it clear that the creation of a Wendat artist-run centre was an essential condition for the promotion and development of Wendat art, but also for the consolidation of a community working together. Taking advantage of the synergy of Yahndawa', a new structuring phase began in the winter of 2023, enabling the Wendat Collective to set up a center for artists. Ahkwayaonhkeh was officially founded in 2023.


In 2023-2024, the center is participating in the Aux confluents de l'Akiawenrahk project, an alliance with VU, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Strategic Innovation Fund. As part of this alliance, it will inhabit one of VU's exhibition spaces for the year 2023-2024, participating in visualization exercises, consolidating collaborations with various Quebec City arts organizations, and helping them develop more inclusive practices.



Photo: Vincent Drouin





Why Ahkwayaonhkeh?



The center's name translates into Wendat as "At the Old Moccasins". Moccasins carry us wherever we go. They are message carriers, symbolizing transmission, communication, and tradition. While verbs play an important role in the Wendat language, moccasins suggest several: walking, setting out, warming up by the fire, slowing down, feeling the ground, tuning into the Land, are all actions they embody. Emblematic of know-how - implying long work and a complex technique - these moccasins, described as "old", also invoke the wisdom necessary to carry out a project such as that of a Wendat artist-run center.








Board of Directors




Teharihulen Michel Savard
President


Manon Sioui
Vice-President


Anne L’Heureux
Treasurer


Ève Bastien
Secretary


Andrée Levesque Sioui
Director






Programming Comittee


Ludovic Boney
Frédérique Gros-Louis
Nicolas Renaud
Guy Sioui Durand






Our team


Julia Caron Guillemette
Project coordinator

coordination@ahkwayaonhkeh.org
Also responsible of the protection of personal information






Graphics
Christiane Vincent



Logo
Manon Sioui


Translation
Linda Sioui




        
© 2023, Centre d’artistes Ahkwayaonhkeh