YYZ ARTISTS’ OUTLET (401 Richmond St. West, Toronto) | Indigenous Fashion Arts: Reverence and Conviction | In partnership with the imagiNATIVE Arts + Media Festival

June 4 – July 25, 2026

Barry Ace

James Monkman

Darlene Naponse

Sage Paul, Curator

Indigenous Fashion Arts: Reverence and Conviction explores the profound relationship between Indigenous fashion, cultural continuity, and political sovereignty. It centers on the concept of unconditional care—both for the self and the community—as a powerful, systemic expression of love and resistance. It honours the deep reverence creators hold for their ancestral heritage while showcasing the fierce conviction required to protect and advance Indigenous futures.

Ace’s work are from his new series Fragments of Being that convey the concept of breaking down an object into its individual components, while “being” hints at the essence or identity of the object being deconstructed and transformed into something abstract. It suggests a journey from the familiar to the unfamiliar, inviting the viewer to reconsider the relationship between parts and the whole. Ace notes that “in this hyper-digital and cyber-age of existence, we have become increasingly disconnected from our ability to fully experience and comprehend the mnemonic qualities of the hand-made and our ability to decipher the experiential of its sensory and intellectual engagement. My focus on material and materiality is deliberate to evoke a deeper understanding of the impact of colonization on Anishinaabeg traditional knowledge and material culture to give substance to our current trend of resurgence and cultural revitalization.”

The inclusion of Ogimaa-wiiwkwaan (Chief’s Hat) and Convergence of Dissonant Parts is the first public presentation of work from the Fragments of Being series.