Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch
Renowned Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) artist Shelley Niro brings her sharp wit and keen cultural insight to 500 Year Itch. This career-spanning exhibition explores themes of identity, resilience, and history through a dynamic collection of works.
500 Year Itch invites viewers to engage with Niro’s profound and playful commentary on the lived experiences of Indigenous women and communities.
Event/Exhibition meta autogenerated block.
When
April 4, 2025 – September 21, 2025
Where
Marquee Gallery
Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch is the first large-scale touring retrospective of Shelley Niro’s prolific career. It features close to 70 works that span early student work to recent creations by the artist. Remai Modern is the final stop on this five-venue tour of the exhibition. We’re deeply honoured to showcase Niro’s multifaceted artistry.
Working across genres that include photography, painting, film, video, printmaking and beadwork, Niro offers a contemporary perspective on cultural history intertwined with personal narratives, frequently highlighting the experiences of Indigenous women and girls. Other central themes include representation, matriarchy, and the resilience, complexity and beauty of Mohawk culture.
Regardless of scale, Niro instills in her work a monumentality that impacts viewers, evoking empathy. This celebratory and joyful exhibition contains threads of resistance and resilience, inviting viewers to engage with Niro’s sharp wit and keen cultural insights.
Curated by Melissa Bennett, Greg Hill and David Penney. Remai Modern’s organizing Curator is Sally Frater.
Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada. Major support for this project is provided by the Canada Council for the Arts and Terra Foundation for American Art. The Art Gallery of Hamilton would like to thank PACART for supporting this exhibition as the exclusive transportation provider, and acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario.
Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch at Remai Modern is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Artist Bio:
Shelley Niro, born in 1954 in Niagara Falls, New York, is a multidisciplinary artist and a member of the Turtle Clan of the Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) Nation from the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve. She currently resides in Brantford, Ontario. Niro’s diverse practice includes painting, photography, film, installation, sculpture, and mixed-media works. Her art challenges stereotypical images of Indigenous peoples, advocating for self-representation and sovereignty. Niro’s work is accessible, humorous, and peppered with references to popular culture. She delves into the timeless cultural knowledge and generational histories of her Six Nations community to provide purpose and healing.
