Skawennati
Skawennati makes art that addresses history, the future, and change from an Indigenous perspective. She is best known for her machinimas—movies made in virtual environments—but also produces still images and sculpture. Her pioneering new media projects include the online gallery/chat space and mixed-reality event, CyberPowWow (1997–2004); a paper doll/time-travel journal, Imagining Indians in the 25th Century (2001); and the machinimas TimeTraveller™ (2007–2013), She Falls For Ages (2017) and The Peacemaker. These have been widely presented in major exhibitions across the globe, including “Uchronia | What If ?,” in the HyperPavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale; B3 Biennale of the Moving Image, Frankfurt, Germany; “Now? Now!” at the Biennale of the Americas; and “Looking Forward (L’Avenir)” at the Montreal Biennale. Her award-winning work is included in both public and private collections. Born in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, Skawennati holds a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, where she resides. She is Co-Director, with Jason E. Lewis, of Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC), a research network of artists, academics and technologists investigating, creating and critiquing Indigenous virtual environments. She also co-directs their Skins workshops for youth in Aboriginal Storytelling and Digital Media. In 2014, AbTeC launched IIF, the Initiative for Indigenous Futures.