Conversations on Carl Beam’s The Columbus Suite

Images (left to right): Carl Beam, Self-Portrait as John Wayne, Probably; King and Kennedy; From Calvary to Cavalry, from The Columbus Suite, 1990. Photo-etching on Arches paper, 128 x 87 cm each (framed). Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough. Anonymous gift, 2024.

Conversations on Carl Beam’s The Columbus Suite

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | 11 am – 2:30 pm
University of Toronto Scarborough

Presented by the Doris McCarthy Gallery in partnership with the Department of Arts, Culture & Media and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, University of Toronto Scarborough

Join us in celebrating the late Ojibwe artist Carl Beam (1943-2005) as we discuss one of his most ambitious series, The Columbus Suite, recently donated to the Doris McCarthy Gallery. This program will feature a keynote presentation by Carl’s daughter, Anong Migwans Beam, followed by a conversation between artist Bonnie Devine and U of T Scarborough faculty member Alexander Irving. Lunch will be provided.

This program is free and open to the public. Space limited, registration required.

If you have accommodation needs, please let us know through the registration form or by contacting dmg.utsc@utoronto.ca. This is a seated program. This program will take place on the 3rd Floor of the Sam Ibrahim Building, U of T Scarborough, 1050 Military Trail; the building is wheelchair accessible.

Schedule

11 am – 11:15 am: Welcome by Elder Josh Eshkawkogan
11:15 am – 12 pm: Keynote Presentation by Anong Migwans Beam
12 pm – 1 pm: Lunch
1 pm – 2:15 pm: In Conversation: Bonnie Devine and Alexander Irving
2:15 pm – 2:30 pm: Closing by Elder Josh Eshkawkogan

About The Columbus Suite

Carl Beam’s The Columbus Suite (1990) was created in anticipation of the 1992 public celebrations of the quincentennial of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to North America. Reflecting on five hundred years of colonialism, Beam’s ambitious series juxtaposes martyrs—Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King—with Indigenous resistance fighters Louis Riel, Poundmaker, and Sitting Bull. The Columbus Suite confronts the prevailing colonial narrative, drawing viewers to connect images and uncover Indigenous realities. By pairing images from his family history with well-known cultural figures, Beam dissolves notions of time and space to deconstruct linear perceptions of history and highlight the ongoing impacts of colonialism.

Carl Beam (1943-2005) was an Ojibwe artist from M’Chigeeng on Manitoulin Island. He is the first contemporary Indigenous artist whose work was acquired by the National Gallery of Canada and is a leading figure within Canadian contemporary art.

Generously donated to the Doris McCarthy Gallery in 2024, The Columbus Suite is now on view on the 3rd Floor of the Sam Ibrahim Building, U of T Scarborough, 1050 Military Trail. The building is open Monday-Saturday, 8 am-10 pm, and is wheelchair accessible.

About the Speakers

Anong Migwans Beam is a painter, art historian, and arts administrator from M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island. She was born to artist parents Carl Beam and Ann Beam and was raised with a meaningful connection to her artistic familial roots and rich ancestral heritage. Alongside her art practice, Beam has been actively involved in her local community and in curatorial work and teaching.

Bonnie Devine is a member of the Serpent River First Nation, an Anishinaabe/Ojibwe territory in central Ontario on the north shore of Lake Huron. She is an installation artist, painter, curator, writer, and educator. Her work emerges from a deep interest in and commitment to the storytelling and pictorial traditions that are central to the history and development of Anishinaabe culture. These interests are central to her art practice and are expressed in image and object, video and teaching, storytelling and political ideas.

Elder Josh Eshkawkogan is a Traditional Healer, Knowledge Keeper, Pipe Carrier, Sweat Lodge Conductor, Anishinaabe language speaker, orator, and cultural teachings provider. He is a descendant of Chief Ozawanimiki and a member of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, home of the Three Fires Confederacy.

Alexander Irving was born in Ottawa on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory. An artist and educator, he has exhibited his work nationally and internationally and is a recipient of awards from the Ontario, Toronto, and Canada Councils. Irving currently teaches in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at the University of Toronto, Scarborough.

Doris McCarthy Gallery
University of Toronto Scarborough
1265 Military Trail
Toronto, ON M1C 1A4
416.287.7007
dmg.utsc@utoronto.ca
dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca
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Image Description:
Composite of three photo etchings in three different colour schemes. On the left is a large etching of a child in orange tones, under which smaller images in blue tones are arranged: one is of Carl Beam in a brimmed hat, standing with his arms crossed in front of an artwork; one shows a figure standing in front of a crucifix; and one image of a group of people smiling. The middle etching, in black and white, shows Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech, with images of John F. Kennedy in profile and facing forward beneath. The right etching, in red tones, is bisected in two images: on top is a depiction of Jesus’ crucifixion and beneath is a photo of five First Nations men in 19th century soldiers’ uniforms.