Artist-in-Residence

Artist: Raechel Wastesicoot | Image: STEPS Public Art CreateSpace Residency line up

Raechel Wastesicoot – May-Dec 2024

RESIDENCY PROJECT: áhsire: ceremony is where you are

In partnership with STEPS Public Art’s CreateSpace Public Art Residency program, and sponsored by CN Railway, artist Raechel Wastesicoot created a community-based quilt and poem with the community of Port Hope, over the course of a 9-month residency.

áhsire: ceremony is where you are

áhsire is a quilted blanket and public art project by mixed Kanyen’kehà:ka artist Raechel Wastesicoot that incorporates intricate beadwork, textiles and quilting to depict shared memories and moments of personal and traditional ceremony. Capturing special sentiments in the lives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, áhsire currently hangs inside the Town Hall in Port Hope, Ontario.

The blanket and its corresponding poem explores the idea of placemaking (and what marks something, somewhere, or someone feel like home). áhsire is inspired by Raechel’s personal experience in building connection to community, Indigenous storytelling, participating in moon ceremonies, and her day-to-day interactions with loved ones.

As part of the CreateSpace Public Art Residency by STEPS Public Art, this was Raechel’s first formal time participating in a residency program to create community-inspired public artwork. In partnership Critical Mass, Raechel also received teachings and mentorship from Iakonikonriiosta (Sheree Bonaparte) with quilting assistance from Heather Coates.

ARTIST BIO

Raechel Wastesicoot (Bonomo) is a mixed Kanyen’kehá:ka beadworker and land-based communications specialist. Her mother’s family is from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and her father’s family immigrated to Tkaronto from Northern Italy in the early 1960s. Her spirit name is Mein-gun Kwe, meaning wolf woman, which was gifted to her by an Ojibway Elder. Following a teaching passed down to her: from the land, for the land, and by the land, her contemporary beadwork style features upcycled, vintage, and harvested materials. The land and sustainability is at the centre of her practice. The pieces Raechel creates aim to have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible, often highlighting gifts from the land, including antler, fur, hides, and porcupine quills. She is also passionate about building and healing community through public art praxis and engagement.

Instagram: @wolfwmnbeads

CREATESPACE Public Art Residency program
Critical Mass is thrilled to partner with the 2024 CreateSpace Public Art Residency program, a national public art program for emerging Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and racialized artists to: Build community-engaged public art skills; Receive mentorship and support from peers, artistic advisors and mentors (through 10-15 virtual professional development sessions over 10 months); and Create a temporary public artwork in Port Hope.

STEPS Public Art believes that public art should reflect the diverse identities and perspectives of the communities that host it. The CreateSpace Public Art Residency is designed for artist capacity building and community collaboration to foster more equitable public spaces.