Indigenous-led Canadian Pavilion presented by OCAD University features works by alum-artists Shelley Niro, Melissa General and Hannah Claus,
curated by Ryan Rice
TORONTO, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - OCAD University is presenting a Kanien'kehá:ka-led exhibition at the Canada Pavilion during the 2026 Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, opening in September, one of the world's leading contemporary art exhibitions and Asia's most significant biennale.
Skennen'kó:wa ken? (Do You Carry Great Peace?), generously sponsored by former OCAD University Board member David Binet, is being presented at the Lee KangHa Art Museum in Gwangju, South Korea and features works by acclaimed Kanien'kehá:ka artists Shelley Niro, Melissa General and Hannah Claus from Canada.
Curated by Ryan Rice, executive director and curator of Indigenous Art at Onsite Gallery, OCAD University's professional gallery, the exhibition highlights the global reach, ongoing evolution and impact of Indigenous contemporary art while demonstrating OCAD University's leadership in advancing Indigenous artistic and curatorial practices on the international stage.
Rice states: "The pavilion's curatorial premise, carrying philosophical and generational duties of peace, aligns with Biennale Artistic Director Ho Tzu Nyen's proposition, You Must Change Your Life, which considers how transformation unfolds not only through dramatic large-scale events and historical ruptures, but also quietly and continuously within our everyday lives."
The exhibition coincides with OCAD University's 150th year-long celebrations, being launched in October 2026.
"OCAD University is honoured to help amplify Indigenous voices on one of the world's most important contemporary art stages," says Ana Serrano, president and vice-chancellor of OCAD University. "Skennen'kó:wa ken? (Do You Carry Great Peace?) reflects the power, innovation and global resonance of Indigenous contemporary art, while affirming our commitment to advancing Indigenous artistic and curatorial leadership through international dialogue and collaboration."
Lee Sun, chief curator at the Lee KangHa Museum and partner curator for the Canada Pavilion comments: "This exhibition contributes to redefining the international standing of arts and culture between Korea and Canada, while highlighting the participation of Kanien'kehá:ka artists. It is our hope that artists, cultural administrators and a wide range of art professionals in both countries will, through mutual support and collaboration, foster closer and deeper connections, while illuminating and honouring a shared history of cultural creativity and exchange."
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Skennen'kó:wa ken? (Do You Carry Great Peace?) brings together interdisciplinary and lens-based works, including photography, video, sculpture and installation by Niro, General, and Claus.
The artists' practices are grounded in Kanien'kehá:ka teachings of peace, reflected in the daily greeting from which the exhibition takes its name. This greeting, an affirmation of mutual recognition and respect, reflects a foundational value of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (People of the Longhouse), recognized as the oldest continuous democracy in the Americas, predating Western colonization.
Centering the political, cultural, and spiritual roles of Haudenosaunee women, the pavilion emphasizes rematriation—Indigenous women-led efforts to restore intergenerational relationships to ancestral lands, waters, and cultural knowledge—while exploring continuity and self-governance through contemporary artistic practice.
Positioned within Gwangju's history of democratic resistance and collective action, the exhibition fosters dialogue between Indigenous governance philosophies, Haudenosaunee worldview and global movements for justice and renewal. It affirms Canada's commitment to cultural sovereignty, reconciliation, and inclusive contemporary art discourse, while expanding dominant narratives of Canadian art on an international stage.
The exhibition further highlights the distinctiveness of Canada's contemporary art landscape, emphasizing the significant contributions of artists, particularly those who are graduates of OCAD University, Canada's largest and oldest art, design, and media university, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2026.
The exhibition is generously sponsored by former OCAD University Board member David Binet and supported by OCAD University, Onsite Gallery, the Canadian Embassy in Seoul, and presented in collaboration with the Lee KangHa Art Museum in Gwangju.
GWANGJU BIENNALE
Founded in 1995, the biennale hosts artists from around the world to explore important global issues, especially those related to cultural identity, human rights, and social justice topics that connect to the city's history as a center for pro-democracy movements. The theme of the 2026 Gwangju Biennale, "You must change your life," drawn from the final line of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem, Archaic Torso of Apollo, reflects on the transformative power of art in responding to the urgencies and crises of the present moment.
RYAN RICE, CURATOR
Ryan Rice, Kanien'kehá:ka of Kahnawake, is a Toronto-based curator, critic, and creative consultant. With a curatorial career spanning over 35 years, he has worked across communities, museums, artist-run centres, public spaces and galleries. Rice currently serves as executive director and curator, Indigenous Art at OCAD University's Onsite Gallery. He is the 2025 recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation's Margo Bindhardt and Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award. With a deep commitment to fostering and advancing Indigenous artistic expression and visibility, Rice continues to be a vital figure in the arts and culture sector, championing Indigenous perspectives and contemporary art.
LEE SUN, KOREAN PARTNER CURATOR
Lee Sun, chief curator at the Lee KangHa Art Museum, has curated exhibitions focused on contemporary art that connects the past and the present and breaks down the boundaries of cities and nations. She served as co-curator for the Gwangju Biennale special exhibition, Maytoday: Between the Visible and the Speakable, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and as the executive curator for the Korea-Canada Arctic Research Project, a joint international arts fund project of the Korea Arts Council in 2023-24. She also managed Canadian Pavilion exhibitions at the 14th Gwangju Biennale.
SHELLEY NIRO
Shelley Niro, a member of the Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, was born in Niagara Falls, New York. A multidisciplinary artist working in painting, photography, and film, her work challenges colonial narratives while celebrating the resilience, strength, and beauty of Indigenous women and Mohawk culture.
Niro's art has earned national and international recognition. She received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2017), the Scotiabank Photography Award (2017), and the Ontario Arts Foundation's Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award (2020). She has also been recognized with honorary doctorates from OCAD University, Western University, and Wilfrid Laurier University.
MELISSA GENERAL
Melissa General is Mohawk/Oneida from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a graduate of OCAD University and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from York University. She is a multidisciplinary artist working in photography, audio, video and installation. Her practice is focused on her home territory of Six Nations and the Grand River and the concepts of memory, language and land.
She is a Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Award laureate and was named as the 2018 Ontario Arts Council Indigenous Arts Award Emerging Artist laureate.
HANNAH CLAUS
A member of Kenhtè:ke | Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Hannah Claus engages with memory, identity and histories through material and cultural expressions in her artistic practice. Often working within Kanien'kehá:ka frameworks, her installations and two-dimensional artworks explore ways of understanding as active and transversal concepts. She is a recipient of the Eiteljorg Fellowship (2019) and the Prix Giverny (2020).
She is an associate professor in the Studio Arts Department at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke | Montreal where she holds a Concordia University Research Chair in Onkehonwené:ha (2021-26), and is co-director of the Indigenous Futures Research Centre (2024-2027). Claus lives and works in Kanien'kehá:ka territory, Tiohtià:ke | Montreal, since 2001.
ABOUT LEE KANGHA ART MUSEUM
The Lee KangHa Art Museum is a first-class public art museum located in Yangnim-dong, a modern history and culture village in Gwangju. It newly opened in 2018 after remodelling the Yangnim-dong community office building as part of an urban regeneration project.
The museum honours the legacy of the late artist Lee KangHa, known as the "Painter of Mt. Mudeung" and a member of the citizen militia during the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. It connects this legacy internationally and introduces contemporary art from both Korea and abroad.
Against the backdrop of Korea's historical significance and international exchange projects, the museum operates various exhibitions and cultural education programs that bridge generations and eras. Since 2018, in collaboration with the Gwangju Biennale, it has organized exhibitions of the Philippines National Pavilion and the Canadian National Pavilion. The museum aims to be a hub for creative activities that fosters cultural communication, empathy, and knowledge by providing citizens with diverse artistic experiences.
ABOUT OCAD UNIVERSITY
OCAD University (OCAD U), located in downtown Toronto, is Canada's largest and oldest art and design university. It is a world-famous hub for art, design, digital media, research, innovation and creativity. Students gain employable skills, benefit from hands-on practice-based learning and have access to state-of-the-art shops and studios for both traditional and digital creation. Graduates work in different sectors such as urban planning, environmental design, gaming, film, animation, publishing, illustration, graphic design, visual arts and arts administration.
SOURCE OCAD University
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