Native Arts Society

Established in 2021 by Brianna Olson Pitawanakwat and Nanook Gordon, Native Arts Society is an Indigenous and 2S-owned gallery and studio space located in so-called Toronto, ON. Grounded in values of Indigenous self-determination in the arts, the Native Arts Society is a grassroots space that supports the flourishing of art that is rarely platformed, with a focus on art created by the street community, incarcerated or recently incarcerated artists, and contemporary Inuit artists. The gallery space was conceived of as an outgrowth of Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, and has been a dream of TIHR since the success of “Art Days” that began in May 2020. Through these gatherings, where TIHR provided art supplies and a time and space to gather to create visual art, Nanook and Brianna were able to hear firsthand from artists not only the importance of art creation in their day to day lives, but also the way that many artists often struggled to find an appropriate market for their work that would pay a fair rate. Native Arts Society was developed as a response to not only the lack of Indigenous-owned galleries in the GTA, but also to the often exploitative and harmful dynamics present in the art market. In June of 2021, fundraising began to help secure a permanent physical space for the Native Arts Society on Church Street in the heart of the downtown core, and officially opened to the public in November 2021, with the online store launching in December 2021. The space has featured original works from Indigenous artists, as well as merchandise that directly supports the operations of Native Arts Society and Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction. As a community driven space, the future of the gallery includes further exhibitions, studio hours, and gatherings.