Local artist Tanya Zilinski’s (Little Crow) exhibition “Ó:xwest kw’e Shxwelí lá ye Mestiyexw (Giving Spirit to the People)” is currently running at Abbotsford’s The Reach Gallery Museum until Jan. 7.
Featuring tapestry loom beadwork, the exhibition is a contemporary blend of traditional Coast Salish storytelling with traditional Anishinaabe storytelling. Zilinski says it was important for them to show this cultural connection, as well as the creativity and artistic evolution found within Indigenous art.
“They’re tapestries that are telling all of our Coast Salish history and stories from this area but in a very Anishinaabe way,” says Zilinski. “My husband and my children are Coast Salish from this area. And I did get permission [from Coast Salish weavers] to be able to do [Coast Salish] weaving, but I felt like I wanted to be able to to tell the stories in my own way. Because I’m Anishinaabe, I wanted to blend both cultures for our children and our grandchildren and great-great grandchildren…because they have such cultural significance for us.”
Zilinski, whose pronouns are They/Them, was born in and has lived their entire life in the District of Hope. They are a member of the Manitoba Metis Federation, with ties to Dakota, Cree, Anishinaabe and Huron Wendat Nations throughout the Plains and Great Lakes regions on their mother’s side. They are Polish and Ukrainian on their father’s side.
A member of the Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada (IACC) — a charitable organization that acts as a directory for verified Indigenous artists across Canada — Zilinski’s love for traditional loom beadwork started when they were a teenager; at the age of 15, they were taught the craft by the late Mary Sandoval, an Elder from Chawathil First Nation.
“I just found that I really loved doing that particular craft…I loved playing around with doing different designs on the graph paper and then and then beating them onto the loom and seeing them come to light. It was so exciting.”
After being taught by Sandoval, Zilinski continued to develop their craft and soon develop their own, self taught, style to create their art. Much of their process is instinctive especially when it comes to choosing colours and trusting how each design will turn out. However, due to life and then becoming a parent to six kids, Zilinski had to put loom beading on hold. As such, it would take until 2019 for Zilinski to give the craft their full attention.
In 2020 they would create their first tapestry, which is intended to be a family heirloom. Zilinski says that making that first tapestry was incredibly important to them as they wanted to leave something behind for their children and future descendants.
“It’s about passing on the cultural significance, and the histories, and passing on the oral teachings to family,” says Zilinski. “So, my very first one that I did, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to do it. So it was kind of like my experimental one to see if I could actually do something that big. And then once once I was I figured out okay, I can actually do this, like, this is something that’s doable. Then it just grew from there and the tapestries started getting larger and larger.”
Their latest project, which is still in the works, is a fully loom beaded tapestry, sized at six foot three by three foot eight, that they’ve been working on for 11 months. Zilinski says they are planning to reveal the work, once its finished, on their social media and may display it in an upcoming exhibition.
Aside from completing this new tapestry, their next goal is to have their work exhibited nationally; they are currently in talks with Rachelle Dickenson, the senior curator at the Ottawa Art Gallery, and with Carla Taunton, from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), about displaying their work.
“For me, it’s important to also share [my work] just so that people can see the possibilities. Because it was even hard for me to imagine that something like [these tapestries] could be made out of those tiny little seed beads. And you don’t know what’s possible until you actually try it.”
For those interested in driving down to Abbotsford to see their work, admission to The Reach is free. Zilinski also has an upcoming show from Feb. 23 to April. 10, at the Langley Civic Centre gallery. They have also been commissioned to create a permanent piece for the upcoming cultural centre at Seabird Island First Nation.