Last night, the immense artist, film-maker and singer Alanis Obomsawin was at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for the opening of the first presentation of the Museum’s collection devoted to Aboriginal artists from the River and Great Lakes confederations, from 1970 to the present day.
Between two mouthfuls of seal dipped in yellow mustard, we were able to visit the exhibition Rising Suns: Art from the Confederations of the Rivers and Great Lakes in the presence of some of the artists whose works, some acquired as recently as last week, are brought together on the 4th floor of the Claire and Marc Bourgie pavilion.
This is the first in a cycle of temporary exhibitions designed to take a fresh (and largely decolonized) look at the history of Quebec and Canada at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, following Kent Monkman’s monumental exhibition on view until March 2026.
Rising Suns: the art of the Confederations of Rivers and Great Lakes
With ease and simplicity, Léuli Eshrāghi (Tagata Sāmoa), Curator of Aboriginal Practices at the Museum of Fine Arts, and Katsitsanò:ron Dumoulin Bush (Kanien’kehá:ka), Aboriginal Art and Design Intern, introduce the exhibition.
In a historicity and present-day reality that Education Canada’s history books tend to forget, the exhibition revolves around “nation-to-nation exchanges between aboriginal confederations” in the first instance. Relations between nations and the French, Dutch and British communities are also present in the works on display.
The artists featured in the first exhibition of the new cycle of temporary exhibitions on the 4th floor are aboriginals from the Rattanhsión:ni, Wendat, W8banakiak confederations and the Anishinaabeg alliances of the rivers and great lakes, active from the 1970s to the present day.
These artists’ artistic and creative vision of territory, society and history seems, compared to the portraits of powdered ladies to which we’ve unfortunately become accustomed, incredibly organic.
We recommend that you hurry to see the works in this exhibition, as there will be a rotation of works (to be reviewed) on the themes of recent Aboriginal resistance movements and demands.
Practical info
Where? 4th floor of the Claire and Marc Bourgie pavilion, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1380 Sherbrooke Street West
When? November 29, 2025 to October 11, 2026, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
How much? $31 for those aged 26 and over, $15.50 on Wednesday evenings, free for those aged 25 and under, members of aboriginal communities and people with disabilities and their companions.
Enjoy your visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts!