Regina welcomes five Indigenous artists for 2026 artist in residence program

Five First Nations and Métis artists living in Regina have been selected for the 2026 Indigenous Artist in Residence program through an open call and review process led by a panel of Indigenous artists and art professionals from Treaty 4 Territory.

“We are pleased to welcome this year’s Indigenous Artists in Residence and support the work they will create for the City of Regina’s Civic Art Collection,” said Diana Burton, Director, Recreation and Cultural Services. “Each artist brings important perspectives, cultural knowledge and creative practices that will offer residents meaningful opportunities to connect with Indigenous art, culture and storytelling.”

The selected artists for 2026 are Brianna LaPlante, Lorne Kequahtooway, Melanie Monique Rose, Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett and Torrie Ironstar.

Now in its fifth year, the program supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists through a paid residency focused on artistic creation, community connection and cultural continuity. The selected artists will create artwork for the City of Regina’s Civic Art Collection and lead public workshops as part of the residency.

The 2026 residency is guided by the theme “belonging, kinship and continuity,” encouraging artists to explore connections to place, relationships and the transmission of culture across generations. The program reflects the City’s commitment to embedding Indigenous worldviews in municipal operations through kâ-nâsihcikêwin, the City’s Indigenous Framework. Rooted in the Treaty Principle of miskâsowin — finding one’s sense of origin, belonging and centre — it creates opportunities to showcase Indigenous art and shape spaces that honour the history and culture of the original peoples of Treaty 4 Territory.

The residency runs from June to October 2026. During this time, artists will host public workshops at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre, giving residents opportunities to learn from the artists and connect with Indigenous art and storytelling. A final exhibition will be held at the Art Gallery of Regina from November 27 to the end of December 2026, featuring artwork created through the 2026 residency alongside selected works by previous artists from the program.

The 2026 artists are:

• Brianna LaPlante is an Anishinaabe/nehiyaw/Michif artist, muralist and emerging curator from Fishing Lake First Nation. Her practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, muralism, performance and design, and is rooted in community-engaged creation and Indigenous knowledge systems. For the residency, she will create a large-scale mixed-media beaded painting titled The Future Is a Pattern We Make, incorporating braided materials and reflecting the 2026 theme.
• Lorne Kequahtooway is originally from Zagimē Anishinabēk First Nation in Treaty 4 Territory and is a co-founder of Buffalo People Arts Institute. His practice includes hide tanning, beading, drum making, regalia production and ceramics. For the residency, he will create a buffalo sculpture using a buffalo bone ash casting slip and a sacred medicine glaze infused with smudge ash and buffalo blood.
• Melanie Monique Rose is a Métis/Ukrainian artist from Regina and a citizen of the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan. Her practice explores kinship and relationships among land, people and more-than-human relations using plant-based imagery and Métis worldviews. For the residency, she will create 11th – the place where we live, a new work extending her ongoing series The Flower People, using felted pieces, collected blankets and floral imagery.
• Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett is a Regina-based Métis artist who creates vibrant floral beadwork-textured paintings honouring her Métis heritage. Her work weaves together botanical imagery with animal symbolism and reflects respect for the natural world. For the residency, she will create a triptych of floral beadwork-textured paintings based on plants and animals observed during daily walks, along with a short seasonal video compilation.
• Torrie Ironstar is a deaf Nakoda artist from Regina whose practice is shaped by Deaf experience and ways of engaging through sight, body and intuition. Their work blends Indigenous worldviews with beadwork-inspired geometry, bold colour and spiritual elements, and is informed by their Two-Spirit identity. For the residency, they will create three to four new paintings exploring belonging, kinship and continuity through visual language.