Threads of Connections:

On view alongside Marcy Friesen’s Shoot the Breeze from now until January 10, 2026

In Threads of Connection, the Mann Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection shines with a stunning array of beadwork that weaves together artistry, mentorship, and kinship. Curated by Jesse Campbell, this exhibition brings together the works of Ruth Cuthand, Catherine Blackburn, and Kaley Svendsen, three artists whose creative paths intersect with that of Marcy Friesen, whose solo exhibition Shoot the Breeze is featured concurrently in the Main Gallery.

Across generations and geographies, beadwork binds artists through shared stories, mentorship, and community care. Drawing from the techniques and teachings of earlier generations, contemporary beaders use their craft to express personal stories, cultural connections, and acts of love. Threads of Connection celebrates how this ongoing practice nurtures relationships; through conversation, teaching, and the simple joy of making art together.

Ruth Cuthand — Boil Water Advisory #2

Ruth Cuthand (Little Pine Cree Nation) has been a leading figure in contemporary beading practices on the prairies. Her work Boil Water Advisory #2 transforms microscopic imagery of bacteria and parasites into glittering, unsettling beauty. Beaded forms are suspended in resin-filled drinking glasses, pitchers, and baby bottles, a stark reminder that access to clean water remains a human rights issue for many First Nations across Canada. Through her materials and message, Ruth highlights the ongoing impact of colonial neglect, transforming the familiar act of drinking water into a reflection on resilience, injustice, and care.

Catherine Blackburn — Waterhen Weaver

Catherine Blackburn, a member of the English River First Nation (Dënesųłinë́), honours matriarchal strength and language in her large-scale photograph Waterhen Weaver. The work, part of her celebrated New Age Warriors series, reimagines regalia as futuristic armour — made not from hide or bone, but from plastic Perler beads shaped by hand. The mother and child at the heart of Waterhen Weaver embody the enduring power of Indigenous women and the languages that carry their love forward through generations.

Catherine Blackburn — Multitasker Series

In her Multitasker series, Blackburn turns the lens inward. These mirrored self-portraits depict her relearning ancestral practices such as preparing fish and gathering food, daily acts that once sustained her Dënesųłinë́ ancestors. Between these mirrored figures, intricate beadwork bridges the gap between past and present, representing how beading binds memory to the body and transforms repetition into remembrance. Multitasker is both intimate and expansive: a visual story of cultural reconnection, labour, and love.

Kaley Svendsen — The Abnormal Matriarch & her Blueberry Baby

Kaley Svendsen’s deeply personal beaded work, The Abnormal Matriarch & her Blueberry Baby, explores themes of matriarchy, identity, and loss. Drawing from the symbolism of berries in Indigenous cultures — representing care, connection, and fertility — Kaley translates her own experiences with infertility into a powerful beaded narrative. The piece embodies both vulnerability and strength, showing how healing and love can be found in the act of making.

A Network of Care

The connections among these artists speak to a rich lineage of mentorship and mutual inspiration. Ruth Cuthand mentored Marcy Friesen in 2019 through the CARFAC SK Foundational Mentorship program, encouraging her to expand her vision and “bead big.” Marcy later shared her own knowledge by mentoring emerging artist Kaley Svendsen, helping her find confidence and voice in her beadwork. In 2025, Marcy and Catherine Blackburn forged a new friendship and creative bond at the UBC Okanagan Indigenous Art Intensive — continuing this ongoing circle of learning, laughter, and kinship.

Together, Threads of Connection and Shoot the Breeze highlight the power of beading as both an art form and a way of relating to one another, to culture, and to the land.

On view now at the Mann Art Gallery until January 10, 2026. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.