The National Gallery of Canada invites the public to help create a work of art by donating a wool or natural fibre blanket with a story to tell to artist Marie Watt. The blankets will be part of the artist’s ambitious installation Blanket Stories: Seven Generations, Adawe, and Hearth, which will be shown at the NGC next year, as part of the summer exhibition Sakahàn: First Quinquennial of New Indigenous Art.

The blankets will be assembled into seven columns, reflecting the Indigenous teachings of seven generations. These teachings call upon the community, leaders, and individuals to consider how their actions and decisions will affect not just the next generation, but also seven generations forward. The installation will be the most ambitious community collaboration by the artist and her tallest sculpture to date.

Blankets: bearing witness to important life events

Marie Watt's work is centred around the community, particularly in her use of wool blankets. This installation will highlight the rich history of commerce and trade in Ottawa. The word Ottawa comes from the Algonquian word adawe, which means “to trade.” Watt is interested in the way blankets and humble pieces of cloth are often markers for memories or stories. Blankets also have a very personal meaning for her: in the Seneca community, as in other Indigenous groups, blankets are given to honour those who are witnesses to important life events.

It is with this perspective that Marie Watt is asking people to share the stories of their blankets. Donors are invited to write their stories on tags, which will be attached to the blankets. The latter will then be folded and stacked, to create a skyward-reaching column and welcoming pole, greeting those who enter the NGC's Rotunda next summer.

How to participate

Blankets can be brought to the Gallery’s cloakroom at the Main Entrance. Donors will be asked to fill out a tag telling their story. Blankets may also be mailed to Blanket Stories Project, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9N4. Please note that blankets will not be returned. For more information, visit www.gallery.ca/sakahan

Get a signed artwork from the artist

In exchange for their blankets and stories, donors will each receive a small silkscreen print signed by the artist as a gesture of her appreciation.

Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1967, Marie Watt (Seneca) has produced lithographs and sculptures dealing with contemporary Native American topics, using a variety of materials, including fabric, alabaster, slate and corn husks. Her works can be found in both private and public collections, including those of the National Gallery of Canada and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, D.C.