Kent Monkman’s solo exhibition closes at the ROM next month. Read our October 2022 story before it does.

On October 8, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) unveiled a brand-new major exhibition conceived by acclaimed Cree artist Kent Monkman. Being Legendary places 35 new paintings by Monkman alongside fossils, meteorites and other select pieces from the ROM’s collection in a grand re-telling of history – from an Indigenous perspective.     

“With Being Legendary, I am exploring how Indigenous presence and knowledge is embedded in this land much longer and deeper than how it’s been presented in the colonial version of history here on Turtle Island,” says Kent Monkman. “Using storytelling, this exhibition refers to the interruption of knowledge caused by the colonial attempts to erase us, but it also talks about life before Europeans arrived and how leaders in our communities shine a path for us to move forward into the future.”

As in several Monkman’s earlier works, Being Legendary casts his alter ego – Miss Chief Eagle Testickle – as the story’s narrator and central character. In the exhibition’s first section, visitors enter the cosmos via two large-scale works depicting Miss Chief floating through the stars at the moment of her inception. On accompanying panel text, she explains that the subsequent journey through Being Legendary will tell the acimowin (story that carries history and knowledge) of her people. Monkman’s works from this section are presented along with the St. Robert meteorite from the ROM collection.    

Being Legendary is on view until March 2023 at the ROM. Did you know? As an AGO volunteer, you can visit the ROM for free as part of the Reciprocal admissions agreement. Just show your volunteer badge at the front desk (you cannot reserve free tickets online).