OCAD University presents Canada’s Pavilion at the 2026 Gwangju Biennale with the exhibition, Skennen’kó:wa ken? (Do You Carry Great Peace?).
The exhibition, which opened September 5, is curated by Ryan Rice, executive director and curator, Indigenous Art, at Onsite Gallery, with Lee Sun, chief curator of the Lee KangHa Art Museum, as the Korean partner curator.
Skennen’kó:wa ken? (Do You Carry Great Peace?) is presented in collaboration with the Lee KangHa Art Museum with support from Onsite Gallery and the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, and is generously sponsored by David Binet.
The exhibition centers the work of three Kanien’kehá:ka contemporary artists, Hannah Claus, Melissa General, and Shelley Niro, whose creative practices are grounded in the philosophy of peace embedded in the Kanien’kehá:ka 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. All three artists are graduates of OCAD University.Â
Centering the political, cultural, and spiritual roles of Haudenosaunee women, the pavilion emphasizes rematriation — Indigenous women-led efforts to restore sacred 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, the Haudenosaunee worldview, and global movements for justice and renewal.
Learn more at ocadu.ca.
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