Welcoming Natesa Medlicott-Kappo to the Garage Studio

The ArtsHub McLuhan House Garage Studio Program turns 9 years old.

Pictured: Natesa Medlicott-Kappo poses with *Pahekin* 2023, a hand-dyed cotton and acrylic held with sinew and agwawan poles. This installation is exhibited at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie.

Arts Habitat Edmonton is proud to introduce Natesa Medlicott-Kappo as the 2025–2026 artist-in-residence at the McLuhan House Garage Studio. An emerging Nehiyaw artist and Indigenous rights activist from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 8 Territory, Alberta, Natesa’s interdisciplinary practice incorporates the traditional Nehiyaw art practices with textile, video performance, and mixed media work.

With a diploma in visual art and design from Northwestern Polytechnic and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta, her work has been shown across Alberta and collected by institutions such as the City of Grande Prairie, Northwestern Polytechnic, and the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre. She has received grants from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Edmonton Arts Council and was shortlisted for the prestigious Ohpinimake award, which supports emerging Indigenous artists.

Currently, Natesa is developing a public monument, which will be located in Grand Prairie, that will honour the traditional caretakers of Treaty 8’s Peace Region, and is set to be completed in late 2025. During her year in the Garage Studio, she plans to create wearable textile pieces for video works and experiment with innovative techniques that combine contemporary materials with traditional Cree practices.