Jason Baerg, aen nistwayr mayshkotoonikayhk / First Story, installation view, A Space Gallery, 2026
aen nistwayr mayshkotoonikayhk / First Story
Jason Baerg
A Space Main Gallery
May 5 – 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
Essay by: Vanessa Dion Fletcher
Copresented by: A Space Gallery and imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
In the spirit of honouring and celebrating family narratives, aen nistwayr mayshkotoonikayhk/First Story 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.
Biographies
Jason Baerg’s maternal great-grandmother died when he was 17. Marie Rose Ledoux was a Moreau—descended from the Moreau family of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation—and a Ledoux, registered in the official Métis registry. Baerg’s Indigenous family names include Moreau, Ledoux, Desjarlais, and, further back, Montour. Raised Red River Métis in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he is now a registered member of the Métis Nations of Ontario. An Indigenous activist, curator, educator, and interdisciplinary artist, Baerg is currently Assistant Professor in Indigenous Practices in Contemporary Painting and Media Art at OCAD University. He holds a BFA from Concordia University and an MFA from Rutgers, and has co-founded The Shushkitew Collective and The Métis Artist Collective, reflecting his commitment to community engagement. Baerg has chaired organizations such as the Indigenous Curatorial Collective and the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition, and his visual art practice integrates digital interventions into drawing, painting, and new media installation. His international solo exhibitions include venues such as Canada House in London, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the Digital Dome at the Institute of the American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He has served on numerous juries and has received awards from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. More about his practice can be found at JasonBaerg.ca.
Vanessa Dion Fletcher is a Lunáapew and Potawatomi nuro divers artist. Her family is from Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiitt (displaced from Lenapawking) and European settlers. Reflecting on an Indigenous and gendered body with a neurodiverse mind, Dion Fletcher looks for knowledge in materials and techniques. Since 2017, Dion Fletcher has used porcupine quills as a primary medium, creating two-dimensional quillwork pieces and expanding the medium through photography, sculpture and performance. She has been working with classes grade 1 – 12 in the Toronto District School Board. She is a lecturer in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University and has taught at McMaster University, and Toronto Metropolitan University. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016 with an MFA in performance and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in 2009. She has exhibited across Canada and the USA at Art Mur Montreal, Eastern Edge Gallery, Newfoundland, The Queer Arts Festival, Vancouver and the Satellite Art Show, Miami. Her work is in the Indigenous Art Centre, Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection, Vtape, Seneca College, Global Affairs Canada and the Archives of American Art. More about her practice can be found at dionfletcher.com.