EWS National Gallery Names Jocelyn Piirainen Associate Curator of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization

Nov 21, 2022

by IAQ

Jocelyn Piirainen, who hails from Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), NU, has been named Associate Curator for the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization department at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). She has been living and working on Treaty 1 Territory since 2019, when she was appointed Associate Curator of Inuit Art at Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq, and will be moving to Ottawa for the new position. 

A good portion of Piirainen’s work will happen behind the scenes, helping to bring changes to procedures and policies around NGC’s acquisitions and collections. Piirainen will also assist in upcoming exhibitions, including preparation for the next installment of the international show Àbadakone, which is set for 2025. 

Piirainen’s previous curatorial work includes collaborations such as the 2022–23 exhibition Angirramut / Ruovttu Guvlui / Towards Home at the Canadian Centre of Architecture in Montreal, QC, and the 2018 exhibition Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, ON. Her artistic practice primarily involves analogue photography and film—experimenting with Polaroids and Super 8 film—as well as honing her crochet and beading skills.

Piirainen told the IAQ, "I am very excited to be joining the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization department at the National Gallery of Canada as an Associate Curator. I'm looking forward to bringing Inuit perspectives, along with my own personal expertise, to their collections and exhibitions."