Meagan Musseau

Meagan Musseau works from her contemporary perspective as a L’nu woman living on Ktaqmkuk [Newfoundland].

In her practice, she explores the history of interterritorial relationships between Mi’kmaq and Beothuk nations to enact Indigenous survivance, which is a way of life that nourishes Indigenous ways of knowing, and bring to light the immemorial history of the importance of land to Indigenous peoples.

Meagan Musseau (Mi’kmaq, born 1990), *Pi’tawkewaq | our people up river / Re/Awakening*, 2019-ongoing, laser etched on Plexiglas with stainless steel hardware, 37 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Mazook Studio. © Meagan Musseau. Photographs by Dennis Ha

In 2017, Musseau was granted access to visit with Beothuk caribou bone pendants at The Rooms Provincial Museum and Archives in St. John’s, NL. Inspired by visiting with these cultural belongings, she embarked on a new body of work titled Pi’tawkewaq / our people up river that consists of various sculptures, performance, and video. The title is borrowed from a Mi’kmaw term, pi’tawkewaq, that describes people being up river, stream, or coast, and is also used to describe those of Beothuk descent as ‘our people up river.’

Musseau’s sculptures on view recall the Beothuk pendants yet differ in scale, size, and color. Her chosen material exposes the ways in which a medium possesses meaning and how a slight adaptation offers new ways of seeing and interpreting. In museum displays, for example, Plexiglas vitrines create a physical and visual barrier between the viewer and encased artworks, artifacts, and other cultural objects. The use of acrylic provides a renewed agency via scale and color by emphasizing the substitution of organic for man-made and ecological loss. The work Pi’tawkewaq / our people up river brings the cultural significance of Mi’kmaq and Beothuk visual cultures on Ktaqmkuk into the present day.

Meagan Musseau (Mi’kmaq, born 1990), *Pi’tawkewaq | our people up river / Re/Awakening*, 2019-ongoing (detail), laser etched on Plexiglas with stainless steel hardware, 37 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Mazook Studio. © Meagan Musseau. Photographs by Dennis Ha

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Guest UserFebruary 11, 20222022 nat artist

Meagan Musseau

Meagan Musseau works from her contemporary perspective as a L’nu woman living on Ktaqmkuk [Newfoundland].

Explore more artworks from North Atlantic Triennial

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Meagan Musseau

Meagan Musseau works from her contemporary perspective as a L’nu woman living on Ktaqmkuk [Newfoundland].

Explore more artworks from North Atlantic Triennial

VISITEXHIBITIONSPROGRAMS & EVENTSPMA FILMSJOIN & GIVELearnWINSLOW HOMER STUDIO

Art For AllSustainabilityABOUT THE PMADonate OnlinePRESS ROOMANNUAL REPORTSPMA Recommends

Facility RentalBOARD OF TRUSTEEScareersDIRECTORYIMAGE SERVICESTerms of UseContact US

LOG IN: Staff | Docents | Trustees

VISIT
EXHIBITIONS
PROGRAMS & EVENTS
PMA FILMS
JOIN & GIVE
Learn
WINSLOW HOMER STUDIO

Art For All
Sustainability
ABOUT THE PMA
Donate Online
PRESS ROOM
ANNUAL REPORTS
PMA Recommends

Facility Rental
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
careers
DIRECTORY
IMAGE SERVICES
Terms of Use
Contact US