Montréal, April 21, 2026 — The Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) is proud to announce that Skawennati, a Montréal/Tiohtià:ke-based Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) artist, is the winner of the very first Temporary Public Art Competition launched by the organization in late summer 2025 as part of its 70th anniversary celebrations.
An internationally renowned artist
Skawennati’s unique artistic practice blends visual arts and contemporary digital technologies to reinterpret Indigenous narratives in a universe infused with futurism and cyberpunk aesthetics.
Her works have been exhibited in Europe, the Great Ocean (Oceania) and Asia and across Turtle Island (North America), including in such major public and institutional settings as the prestigious collection of the National Gallery of Canada. In 2025, she also presented a public art installation at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
An immersive artwork in the heart of Montréal
Conceptual rendering of Skawennati’s artwork on the Maison du CAM façade
In summer 2026, Skawennati’s artwork will transform the façade of the Maison du CAM (Gaston-Miron Building), located at 1210 Sherbrooke Street East across from La Fontaine Park. Her installation will reinterpret the columns of the heritage building designed by architect Eugène Payette through the lenses of gratitude, peace, interdependence and sustainability.
The heroic figures of the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—will adorn the façade as part of an augmented reality experience, revealing the many dimensions of this world through image, sound and movement. Visible day and night, the installation will offer viewers a sensory and immersive experience, sparking their curiosity and inviting their reflection and contemplation.
The installation will be presented from June to September 2026. A vernissage will be held on June 17, just days before National Indigenous Peoples Day on Sunday, June 21.
About the Competition
The Temporary Public Art Competition was created to mark the CAM’s 70th anniversary with a powerful, accessible and unifying artistic gesture. Its objectives include:
- Reaffirming the place of art in the public space and the importance of free artistic expression as a fundamental value in Montréal
- Transforming the familiar built environment through the creation of an original and temporary outdoor public artwork
- Sparking wonder, reflection and dialogue by giving the public access to a remarkable artistic creation for several months in summer 2026
Skawennati’s project was selected from among nine eligible proposals.
About the Conseil des arts de Montréal
Founded in 1956, the Conseil des arts de Montréal supports artistic innovation and creative expression in all their diversity by offering various forms of support to promote Montréal artists and organizations that create, produce and present art. For 70 years, it has played a unique role as a catalyst and helped make Montréal a vibrant cultural metropolis, recognized at home and abroad for its artistic vitality.
About the Gaston-Miron Building
The Gaston-Miron Building, located on Sherbrooke Street East across from Parc La Fontaine, has been home to the Conseil des arts de Montréal since 2009. Built between 1914 and 1917 by architect Eugène Payette and formerly the Bibliothèque centrale de Montréal, this iconic structure stands as a testament to the city’s rich cultural and architectural heritage. The building has been completely renovated while preserving its original features—including its spectacular atrium topped by a glass ceiling—and is now a living space dedicated to the creation, support and promotion of the arts, providing the arts community with rehearsal and exhibition spaces.
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