I Will Always Want to Come Back Home
BIG Small Talk with Artist: KC Adams
by Sasha Kucas
A long time ago, on McDermot Avenue, in a gallery we know as Plug In; KC Adams was at a desk working as an arts administrator. We all sensed it at the time, but little did we know just how BIG an impact this artist would have. Sasha Kucas meets with KC Adams at the Forks in Winnipeg for a fun conversation full of BIG small Talk.
To be fair- it was an excuse to see what this incredibly disciplined woman was up to. For the last three weeks, this Goddess on the Mountaintop has given up coffee and now drinks only water. We started our conversation around what she has been doing lately. Adams recently graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Masters of Curatorial Studies and has been super busy with land-based learning, a Nibi gathering, becoming a Midewin, attending a conference at the Gardiner Museum, a water retreat, and an install at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Bonkers.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The making process is what drives me. Teaching is another. I went back to school to legitimize my research on Indigenous pottery. I use it as a pedagogical tool to teach about inter-relationships with land, water, and the community. To make a vessel requires a community. It requires a relationship with land, water, and people. People think that when an artist makes a vessel, it is a vessel to be put on a shelf and displayed. I am interested in the ones that cook moose meat and wild rice. The learning does not stop once you make that vessel; it continues when you share that meal with the community. Family is the given third.
What medium do you love to work with and why?
I work just like my ancestors did. It depends on the season. Once the ground thaws, my fingers start to itch to work with clay. In winter, I like making earrings, photography, and doing work when inspired by an idea. I did a piece for the National Portrait Gallery of Canada called We Are Still Here. It was a portraiture series of kids taken away to residential schools. The background involved the seven generations teaching. I used quill and beadwork from the Manitoba Museum and superimposed them on the photo backgrounds to say their ancestors who made those pieces are still with us. We are the generation they dreamed of, which I love. I love pretty much anything where I am working with my hands.
What inspires or motivates you?
The seven generations of teaching inspire me. We think in generations with three generations back, the present generation of ourselves, and three generations foreward. We are part of the equation with blood memory and knowledge flowing through our bodies. It is imprinted on DNA and impacts a person: learning about past knowledge impact future generations. Lita Fontaine convinced me to start a teaching career. She told me that I have to teach kids- to stand in front of them to show them that there are possibilities. I fell in love with it, and I am very aware that the work I am doing now will impact the kids coming up. I want to serve the next generation. Ceremony is what I want to do in the later fall and winter parts of my life and what motivates me now. The past six weeks being out on the land, surrounded by water, unplugged; gave me allowance to think of what I want. I have been missing ceremony so much. I care about that. Doing those things are healing. It is a way of life I want to live.
From what you have created, what is your most meaningful piece?
My son. He is SUCH a special boy- nice, sweet, smart, super friendly. Everyone loves him, and he does well at school. I keep telling him that I hope one day he becomes a leader.
In terms of art, there are lots I am proud of. I recently did a public art piece at the Art Gallery of Guelph called Maada’oonidiwag (Coming together). It was a collection of Indigenous pots. Some pots were based slightly on regional design, while others were in the Anishinaabe style or Contemporary. They were bronzed and sat on a beautiful slab of carved sandstone. Guelph has similar river systems to here. The idea was that people could come and sit or have a picnic with the vessels, like a meeting place. I am proud of that one. Val Vint, Jaimie Isaac, and I created a public piece called Niimaamaa. As water carriers, it just flowed and happened organically. I am super proud of that piece. I am also proud of the Perception series. Lately, I feel proud of every work. If it makes me cry, then I know I love it, and in the past few years, every made piece, makes me cry.
What moment would you relive if you could?
Oh, if I could hold my son again when he was a baby- so special.
If you could possess a superpower, what would it be and why?
Although not a superpower, I would love to be a time traveler, be invisible without affecting history and see what it was like for my ancestors. If I did have a superpower, I would want to fly and know what it is like to be a bird.
What do you think about garden gnomes?
I find them fascinating. In 17-18th century England, from the furs of North America, the newfound rich built incredible estates with Roman-inspired structures. They wanted a hermit to live in quiet contemplation on their property and not speak. They would pay them room and board only if they committed to five years as a hermit. These men often had long beards. It was something owners could brag about. That is where garden gnomes came from, actual real-life hermits. They freak me out. My sister has many in her garden, but I will never have one.
From what you have read or seen this week- What is the most interesting?
I have been reading Dr. Alex Wilson’s work from the University of Saskatchewan. She talks about the importance of people relationships and land-based learning and knowledge. It is not just about going outside and having an outside classroom. It is about storytelling, understanding those relationships to plants and water, and learning about the cosmos and where we fit in. It is about Indigenous people reconnecting to their culture. For non-Indigenous people, it is about a new mindset where land is not just an economic resource but a part of the body and self.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would love to go to Greece and swim in the ocean, be in a villa, or visit the Orkney Islands, where my ancestors come from, or New Zealand. I would enjoy visiting places- but I cannot imagine being away from these lands and waters.
I will always want to come back home.
KC is grateful for the people in her life. This Protector of Water might be found at the Peasant Cookery eating gnocchi or at home shutting down her analytical brain beading in front of The Big Bang Theory. If you are lucky to be in her inner circle, you might attend a Cards Against Humanity game; but remember, whatever’s spoken at the table, stays at the table.
Is it time for a retrospective, KC Adams (flying overhead in circles eagle woman)?
KC Adams (flying overhead in circles eagle woman) is Anishinaabe, Inninew and British, living in Winnipeg. She is an award winning relational maker, a creator whose work connects to Indigenous axiology and epistemology. Recognizing her role as an educator, activist, community member and mentor, Adams creates work exploring technology and its relationship to her Indigenous identity and knowledge systems. Adams’ process is to start with an idea and use a medium that embodies her conceptual intent, resulting in a practice spanning adornment, clay, drawing, installation, painting, photography, printmaking, public art, video and welding. Adams’ holds a BFA from Concordia University and an MA in Curatorial Practices from the University of Winnipeg where she received the graduate student of highest achievement award.– KC Adams (she/her)
