To see the exhibition or to purchase a piece: click here or on the image above

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Show Dates: September 11, 2026 – October 3, 2026

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm, Saturday 10:00am - 2:00pm

Opening Reception: Friday, September 11th, 2026 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Smithers Art Gallery - Artist in attendance

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Smithers, BC — The Smithers Art Gallery is pleased to present SET LIST by Indigenous artist, Whess Harman.

 

Whess Harman is a member of the Lake Babine Nation and currently resides on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. He doesn’t like cops and believes in land sovereignty for Indigenous peoples all across the globe, including Palestine. Identifying as a queer, trans member of Carrier Wit’at nation living away from his territories, he considers his Indigeneity to be both a cultural and spiritual reality, as well as a political identity.

 

The Potlatch Ban, a piece of legislation that had been in effect since 1885, ended in1951. Over its 67 years of being an active piece of law in the colonial government it banned Indigenous ceremonies and systems of governance and broke the pre-colonial systems of commerce and mutual aid. With this, it impeded the cultural work of preservation and production of new Indigenous songs, dances, regalia, masks and other cultural items. Coinciding with the ban, the residential school system was in effect since the 1880s, with the last school in BC, the Christie Indian Residential School, closing in 1983. These two systems of abuse and colonial genocide continue to cause harm to this day even as indigenous communities prioritize healing.

 

“This new series of drawings, Set List, is a part of a larger continuing banner of work under my Potlatch Punk series. These works try to find a balance between the ruptures of colonization and urban Indigenous diasporas, the places where joy relentlessly pushes itself through the trauma that crowds around us. Starting with thrifted and gifted denim and leather jackets that are embellished with traditional and non-traditional materials, the series continued into the creation of works using the format of button blankets. However, the trouble with both of these is they did not quite capture the spirit of what I was trying to convey; the stink of sweat and sliding on beer-drenched floors, the chaos of ear-splitting guitars and hair whips tingling your skin as bodies spill from one side of the pit to the other and trying to rush tips to the front for drag queens, kings and things. These drawings nod towards that consenting but seemingly violent flow of mosh pits and the glittery embrace and pageantry of drag in an imagined Indigenous punk venue that blends together tradition and urban living.”– Whess Harman

 

This exhibition is available to view September 11th to October 3rd, 2026 at the Smithers Art Gallery and offers visitors a unique opportunity to dive into Whess’s world of culture, identity, and performance, through this thought-provoking, energetic series.

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