aen nistwayr mayshkotoonikayhk / First Story

Jason Baerg

A Space Main Gallery

April 30 – July 11, 2026

Reception is part of imagineNATIVE's annual Art Crawl June 4, 2026, 5:00 pm–10:00 pm

Artist Talk May 22, 2026, 7:00 pm–8:00 pm

Copresented by: A Space Gallery and imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

In the spirit of honouring and celebrating family narratives, "aen nistwayr mayshkotoonikayhk" explores the deep connections between memory, place, and continuity by building on a media project first exhibited at the OCADU Graduate Gallery for Truth and Reconciliation Day, where I presented my family's archival images and stories. The initial media loop animated photographs of my Métis ancestors, bringing their memories to life and sparking a powerful response—most notably from my mother, Doris Lanigan, a Senator for the Métis Nations of Ontario, whose emotional engagement with the work led to renewed conversations and sharing of family stories and images. This experience underscored the healing power of shared narratives and inspired me to reflect on my creative process. In light of ongoing concerns about AI's environmental impact and questions of content ownership and sovereignty, I am currently pausing my use of AI in this work until these issues are addressed. Instead, I am focusing on editing technologies such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro, as well as digital tools like TouchDesigner, to continue developing innovative approaches to animating and sharing ancestral stories.

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