ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Matte’s 2011 exhibition, Frontrunners, organized in partnership with Urban Shaman Gallery and Plug-In ICA, on the impact of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (PNIAI). The curatorial initiative was envisioned as a dialogue-driven, community-engaged attempt to decolonize curation and discuss the history of artistic social change in Winnipeg by Indigenous artists. Mattes combines the art historical theory of “littoral art” with the notion of dreaming as a decolonial act to envision what she calls “Indigenous Littoral Curation.” Engaging the metaphorical potential of littoral zones, or shorelines, to imagine spaces of collaboration, dialogue and social engagement, she proposes Indigenous Littoral Curation as a decolonial challenge to traditional curatorial practices. She argues that littoral Indigenous curation centres process and dialogue in attempts to contribute directly to Indigenous communities or nations.
