Sherry Farrell Racette (Metis/Algonquin/Irish) was born in Manitoba and is a member of Temiskaming First Nation in Quebec with links to historic Eastmain and Moose Factory fur trade communities. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts in the Faculty of Media, Art and Performance at the University of Regina. Her principal areas of interest are Metis history and visual culture, Indigenous photography, traditional media in contemporary Indigenous art, and visual storytelling through curation. Farrell Racette also has an active arts and curatorial practice.
Farrell Racette’s work includes Sewing Ourselves Together: Métis Dress, Art and Identity a project that explores the history and context for Métis and Half Breed dress and arts production. It is based on the idea that clothing worn by Métis and Half Breed people reflects historic events that have impacted them over time including the fur trade, changing economies, resistance and displacement. Her work demonstrates her extensive knowledge of not only archival and oral history research but also the interpretation of material culture, and, in particular, art, clothing and aesthetics. Farrell Racette’s work ultimately seeks to retrieve and interpret women’s voices and women’s work through the art of beading, embroidery and other material.
Farrell Racette’s recent curatorial and artistic projects include From Here: Story Gatherings from the Qu’Appelle Valley (Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2015), We Are Not Birds (Canadian Museum for Human Rights, 2014), and An Eloquence of Women (solo exhibition, Wanuskewin, 2018). She also is a children’s book illustrator and has collaborated with noted authors Maria Campbell, Ruby Slipperjack, Freda Ahenakew and Wilfred Burton.
• Sherry.Farrell-Racette@uregina.ca
• 306-585-5515
Select Publications:
Farrell Racette, Sherry. “‘Enclosing Some Snapshots’: James Patrick Brady, Photography, and Political Activism.” History of Photography 42, no. 3 (2018): 269–87.
Farrell Racette, Sherry. “Tuft Life: Stitching Sovereignty in Contemporary Indigenous Art”, Art Journal 76, no. 2 (2017): 114-123.
Farrell Racette, Sherry with Crystal Migwans and Alan Corbiere. “Pieces Left Along the Trail: Material Culture Histories and Indigenous Studies.” In Sources and Methods in Indigenous Studies, eds. Chris Andersen and Jean M O’Brien, 223-229. London: Routledge, 2017.
Farrell Racette, Sherry, “Ball Gowns, Moccasins, and Black Beaver Hats: York Factory and Red River as Sites of Fashion Innovation,” National Museum of the American Indian, April 22, 2017.
Racette, Sherry Farrell. “Tawow: Canadian Indian Cultural Magazine (1970–1981).” Canadian Journal of Art History, Special Edition: Network Print Culture 36, no. 1 (2016): 53-75.