1. Faces, Spaces and Places
  2. Art on Campus

Art on Campus

Although we privilege Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee representation, artwork can be found across campus from many different Indigenous nations. It is important that all Indigenous Peoples coming to Queen’s find welcome and artwork assists with that.

Queen Equity Locator App: You may tour the Indigenous art on campus through the use of the app on your iPhone by downloading the Queen's Equity Locator app. The app is available for download via the Apple App Store.

[whalebone sculpture]

Whalebone Sculpture by Daniel Nookiguak

Where: 2nd Floor Stauffer Library

In 1973, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario purchased a large whalebone sculpture to provide a focal point for a new building on campus. The piece had been carved by a young Inuit artist, Daniel Nookiguak, a resident of Broughton Island in the Northwest Territories.

[artwork]

Group Study Rooms

Where: Stauffer Library

In October, 2018, twelve new study rooms at Stauffer Library were given Indigenous names to increase the visibility of the Indigenous community. To add a unique element to the third- and fourth-floor rooms, the library and Four Directions have formed a partnership with Correctional Services Canada to commission Indigenous artists from Joyceville Institution to create paintings to be displayed in the rooms.

The artists have incorporated the meaning of the new room names into their artworks. The rooms are named, as follows, after the Seven Grandfather Teachings in Anishinaabe (a group of Indigenous Peoples representing many nations in Ontario sharing a similar language):

  • Wisdom - Nibwaakaawin
  • Love – Zaagi’idiwin
  • Respect - Minaadendamowin
  • Bravery – Aakode’wein
  • Honesty - Gwayakwaadiziwin
  • Humility - Dabaadendiziwin
  • Truth – Debwewin

...and the remaining in Mohawk, Cree, Michif (Métis), Mik’maq and Inuktitut:

  • Learning - Keweyentehtahs
  • Teaching - Kishnamakayin
  • Knowledge - Kiskellitamowin
  • Persistence – Munsa’t
  • Community Place - Katimmavik

[outdoor artwork on building wall]

Soundings Exhibit

Each of these artworks functions as a “score,” yet rather than written in music notation these scores are written symbols, language, and recorded instructions.

  • Camille Georgeson-Usher, through, in between oceans, 2018, vinyl transfer on Mackintosh-Corry Hall.
  • Ogimaa Mikana, Never Stuck, 2018, vinyl transfer on Mackintosh-Corry Hall
  • Curatorial Score for the Exhibition, vinyl transfer on Jeffrey Hall
  • Raven Chacon, American Ledger (no.1), 2018, vinyl transfer on Harrison Le-Caine Hall

[outdoor artwork photo]

[image of the plinth]

Queen’s Remembers – Honouring Indigenous Peoples Plinth 

Where: McGibbon Walk, between Ontario Hall and Douglas Library

Queen’s Remembers is an initiative which commemorates those who have made significant and noteworthy contributions to the history of Queen’s University. These groups are remembered and recognized through commemorative plinths installed across campus.

This plinth was unveiled in October 2017 to honor the Indigenous Peoples upon whose traditional lands Queen’s was built.

[photo of hanging art]

Words that are lasting

Where: Law Building

Six of the suspended units in this installation represent existing Haudenosaunee belts:

  • Everlasting Tree
  • Dish and One Spoon
  • Ojibwa Friendship
  • Old Fort
  • Council Fire 
  • Kahswentha or Two Row

Squares and diamonds signify the council fires of distinct nations.

Vertical lines indicate the bonds between them.

The seventh unit however, is an invention. Its blue colour is a reminder of the Bay of Quinte and the sky. Its three diamonds honour the Kanyenkehá:ka, the Algonquin and the Mississauga: the three nations that are the custodians of this territory.

Together, the seven belts speak to the past, present and future of Indigenous relationships.