Hannah Claus (born February 7, 1969) is a multidisciplinary visual artist of English and Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) ancestries and is a member of the

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) (Mohawk: ''Kenhtè:ke Kanyen'kehà:ka'' ) are a Mohawk First Nation within Hastings County, Ontario. They control the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, which is a Mohawk Indian reserve on the Bay of Quinte in so ...

. Claus' installations produce sensory environments that highlight time, place, and elements and her artwork explores the complexities of themes such as community, identity, modernization, and relationships.

Biography

Hannah Claus was born on February 7, 1969 in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada and spent her childhood in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. Her grandmother is of Mohawk descent and Claus was raised to think and identify herself as both Mohawk and European. In 2001, Claus moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

with her two children. She is the Vice-President of the

Aboriginal Curatorial Collective The Indigenous Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones (IC/CA) (formerly the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective) is a Canadian-based fine arts organization that provides professional development opportunities to the Indigenou ...

Board, which is an indigenous run and led non-profit organization that supports and connects artists, curators, and writers together. Claus also spends her time as the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Montreal Arts Council. Claus has taught contemporary Indigenous art at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

and is a sessional lecturer at the Kiuna Institute. Claus is one of the co-founders of ''

daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

,'' the first Indigenous artist-run centre in Québec, along with Skawennati,

Caroline Monnet Caroline "Coco" Monnet is an Algonquin French Canadian contemporary artist and filmmaker known for her work in sculpture, installation, and film. Early life and education Monnet is a multi-disciplinary contemporary artist and filmmaker based i ...

and

Nadia Myre Nadia Myre (born 1974) is a contemporary visual artist from Quebec and an Algonquin member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First Nation, who lives and works in Montreal. For over a decade, her multi-disciplinary practice has been inspired by p ...

Education

Hannah Claus obtained her Associate's degree from the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

with Honors in Toronto, Canada 1997. During a presentation for her "trade-treaty-territory" exhibition, Claus stated she studied both drawing and painting as well as sculpture. She has expressed her rejection of how art school only emphasizes concepts and ideas, not so much beauty. Still desiring the "aesthetic appeal of painting," she chose installation art as her practice instead. Claus went on to pursue her Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Arts at

in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2004.

Artworks

;"Trade is ceremony" (2019) "Trade is ceremony" was displayed as part of Claus' "trade-treaty-territory" exhibition at the Dunlop Art Gallery in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. The art piece is composed of copper ball headpins and wool blanket. Her inspiration is drawn from the illegible hand writing from the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

's registers and provides a view into the Indigenous world perspective during the early fur trade in the 1500s. Even as a French and English speaking woman, it was difficult for her to decipher the words and phrases denoted on each register. She emphasizes how arduous the task of trading must have been for her ancestors. Each art piece of the "trade-treaty-territory" exhibition highlights an element of the earth, and she depicts the element of fire by placing the copper lines in a "central fire-like form" radiating outward. Claus interacts with light, shadows, and "piece together an atemporal space critical of Western ideologies and systems." The artwork itself stands as a symbol of peace between the Indigenous nations and the French. Claus asks the viewers to "enact relations, exchange words and knowledge, and share resources, the foundations for peaceful coexistence." ;"Words that are lasting" (2018) In 2018, Hannah Claus was chosen as the creator of the Indigenous art installation contest at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

Law building in Kingston, Ontario. The materials comprised in this artwork are translucent and frosted acrylic sheets, and this installation is the first time she has ever physically represented the wampum belt. Authentic wampum belts are created from tubular beads found from Atlantic coast seashells. The beaded belts were used primarily by the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands "for ornamental, ceremonial, diplomatic, and commercial purposes." Her belts hang suspended from the ceiling of the MacDonald Hall atrium. Six of the belts are

Haudenosaunee Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

belts: Everlasting Tree, Dish and One Spoon, Ojibwa Friendship, Old Fort, Council Fire and Kahswentha or Two Row. Claus invented the seventh belt to honor the Kanienkehá:ka, the Algonquin, and the Mississauga nations, and these nations inhabit the area of which the University stands. Claus illuminates the symbol of peace, coexistence, and agreement through this installation. Her artwork is meant to be reflected to the University law students, faculty, and staff as a reminder of history and to value these "living" treaties. ;"Water song" (2014) "Water song" is a suspended installation piece apart of the group exhibition "Inaabiwin" in the Ottawa Art Gallery, Ontario. In Anishnaabemowin, inaabiwin means “movement of light," and Claus captures this through her thin acetate discs moving slowly to reflect the light. This artwork is an

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian l ...

, meaning the art dominates the space it resides in. "Water song" is composed of digital print on acetate, thread, PVA glue, and plexiglass. Suspended from the ceiling hang threads holding the thin acetate discs that contain images of rivers, branches, and other pictures of nature on them. Her inspiration is drawn from the relationships with the rivers that flow through the

Miami Tribe The Miami (Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central India ...

, the Gesgapegia’jg, Getnig, Tlapataqanji’jg, and Sipug. The installation's shape is meant to mimic the sound waves of a traditional

Mi'kmaw The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

water song, that "gives thanks for the rivers and oceans." This traditional song was gifted to Claus by Tracey Metallic, Glenda Wysote-LaBillois and Victoria Labillois of Listuguj, all Pugwalesg singers. Claus also pays homage to the Haudenosaunee's

wampum belt Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...

; she stresses the continuity and unification of rivers, similar to the coexistence principles and symbols of the wampum belt. ;"Cloudscape" (2012) "Cloudscape" is a suspended installation and solo exhibit at the Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, Ontario. The installation is created from reprographic film, thread, and PVA glue, and the process of the installation required three-dimensional programming. Claus' work reflects the Haudenosaunee creation story with the Sky-Woman. The Sky-Woman was a pregnant and celestial woman who fell from the Sky People, Karionake. She is responsible for the creation of human life on earth. The suspended white discs hang in cloud-like form, and are meant to mimic what the Sky-Woman's home must have looked like before she descended down to earth. The artist's "clouds" dominate the exhibit and enable the viewer to participate with the artwork by being surrounded and "destabilized" by it. The cloud-like forms stand to evoke community and creativity, and each individual white disc blend together to erect multiple massive clouds. Critic Justin Santelli from the Queen's University Journal claims Claus' work as an "incredibly unique piece, and it deserves your attention."

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions: *"Trade-treaty-territory," Dunlop Sherwood Gallery

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Jan 17-Mar 13 2020 * "There's a reason for our connection,"

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...

, Montreal, Quebec Mar 7-Aug 2019 * *"Spatial codifications" YYZ

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Sept. 28-Nov. 30, 2019 *"Earth. sea. sky. constellations for my relations" MAI (Montreal Arts Interculturels) Feb.15-Mar.17, 2018 *"Hochelaga rock" McGill Campus Montreal, Quebec Oct. 21-Nov 19, 2017 *"Akikpautik/kanatso" L’Imagier Art Centre,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

2016 *"Our minds are one" National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Sept 20, 2014-Jan 4, 2015 *"Cloudscape" Modern Fuel ARC, Ontario, Canada Jan 11, 2014-Feb 22, 2014 *"Question de temps" Place Ville Marie, Montreal, Quebec 2013 Group exhibitions: * "Àbadakone / Continuous Fire / Feu continuel"

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, Ottawa, Ontario Nov 8, 2019- Apr 5, 2020 *"Blurring the Line"

Eiteljorg Museum The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, United States Nov. 16 to Feb. 2, 2019 * "Inaabiwin"

Ottawa Art Gallery The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) is a municipal gallery in Ottawa, Ontario that opened in 1988 at Arts Court. The gallery has a permanent collection of over one thousand works, houses the City of Ottawa-owned Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, and ...

, Ottawa, Ontario Oct 4, 2019-Jan 19, 2020 * "Voices of the World" Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Sept 28-Nov 30 2019 * "AYEMIYEDAN NISIN (Dialogue 3)" Rouyn-Noranda Exhibition Center, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec June 7-Sept 29, 2019 * "Undomesticated"

Koffler Centre of the Arts The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler and based at Artscape Youngplace in the West Queen West area of downtown Toronto, Ontario. History Established in 1977 as part ...

, Toronto, Ontario Sept. 18-Nov. 2019 * "Red Embers," Allan Gardens Conservatory,

June 8-Oct 3, 20 *"In/visible: Body as Reflective Site" Visual Arts Centre at the McClure Gallery,

June 7–29, 2019 *"Territoire (Land)" Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen Art Gallery, Moncton, New Brunswick Oct. 25-Dec. 17 2017 *"Reading the Talk"

Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

Sept. 20, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015 *"Sentier art3" Belle Rivière Park,

Mirabel, Quebec Mirabel is a suburb of Montreal, located on the North Shore in southern Quebec. Mirabel is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Mirabel. It ...

July 30-Aug 10, 2014

Collections

Hannah Claus' work is included in: * Allan Gardens Conservatory * Canada Council Art Bank *

City of Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Department of Global Affairs Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the Ministry (go ...

* Dunlop Art Gallery *

* L’Imagier Art Centre * McClure Gallery *

* Museum of Art of Canada *

Place Ville Marie Place Ville Marie (PVM for short) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. It serves as the main and official headquarters for Ro ...

* Rouyn-Noranda Exhibition Center

Honors and awards

In 2019, Hannah Claus was selected for the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. Claus and five other artists were chosen to receive a $25,000 award and produce a permanent collection for the

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...

. Claus was also selected for the Queen's University Law building art contest in Kingston, Ontario where she created the piece "Words that are lasting" in 2018.

Publications

*''Rethinking Professionalism: Women and Art in Canada'' (1850) is a book by Kristina Huneault and Janice Anderson that features Hannah Claus. This in-depth study examines the changes "to the infrastructure of the art world" that has resulted in the "powerful discourse of professionalization" that erected in the 19th century. This book focuses on the history of women and art in Canada and celebrates the progress of female artists. *''Inaabiwin'' (2018) is a catalog for the Inaabiwin exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery. This catalog stands as an introduction to the exhibition, and delves into the artists' interactions with colonization and navigation with Indigenous relationships with nature. Hannah Claus, Meryl McMaster, Greg Staats, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Scott Benesiinaabandan are the featured artists and "reclaim ways of being and knowing" after post-contact. *''Reading the talk: Michael Belmore, Hannah Claus, Patricia Deadman, Keesic Douglas, Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Melissa General'' (2014) is a catalog explores the artworks from the "trade-treaty-territory" exhibition and how the art pieces in this exhibition explore distinct indigenous perspectives on the history of treaties" in Canada. Artists denote their interpersonal relationships, understandings of one another, as well as fundamental "Indigenous ontology."

References

External links

Hannah Claus official website"Trade is ceremony" image

"Words that are lasting" image"Water song" image"Cloudscape" image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claus, Hannah 1969 births Living people Artists from New Brunswick Canadian women artists People from Fredericton Canadian women curators Mohawk people