Bringing Dreams to Life Through Indigenous Art

March 26, 2026

Bringing Dreams to Life Through Indigenous Art

Have you ever woken up from a dream and didn’t know what to make of it? Maybe it left you feeling anxious, angry, or even optimistic.

For artist Darren Weaselchild, he knows that his dreams have a deeper meaning.

“Dreams are pretty significant to the Blackfoot,” Darren explains. “When I'm sleeping, especially after seeing a lot of different various art forms, my dreams are really strong. I'll wake up and I'll draw it out.”

Darren is Calgary Public Library’s 2026 Indigenous Artist in Residence. During this residency, Darren will be helping the community connect with and find inspiration from the art they see and create.

Blending Art with Blackfoot Teachings

Darren is a Siksika Nation member and often blends art with Blackfoot teachings.

Darren creates a wide range of artwork including digital artwork, watercolour paintings, large murals, and sculptures.

“I've been exploring with a lot of different materials and different techniques, but I think my strong point is abstract art and things that connect back to my dreams in terms of the Indigenous artwork style," says Darren.

Darren enjoys using colours to evoke different emotions. For example, a colour like red in this piece below might represent feelings of danger.

“The colours of the art will bring out emotions and let people feel what they want to feel through it,” Darren shares.

The Library as a Place to Connect

Darren feels grateful to be able to create and share art at the Library. He appreciates the Library as a connected space, specifically with how Elders are an integral part of the Library community.

One of the first Elders that Darren followed years ago was a man named William Bellegarde, or Okatok, which means rock.

“It was his dream to have an oral textbook for the public to access — maybe children that grew up in foster care and don’t know their culture or don’t know who to reach out to so they can learn about their roots. He unfortunately passed on, but now I’m here seeing his dream come true at the Library.”

Darren has connected with many people and continues to consult with Elders from the Elders’ Guidance Circle on the artwork he creates during his residency. He has been able to spend time creating art, while also meeting both non-Indigenous and Indigenous visitors who want to learn more about his work.

Creating Something With and For the Community

One of the larger projects Darren is creating is a large map of Blackfoot Territory using land-based mapping. It will include significant sites that Elders will be able to share stories about.

This map will be created with and for the community. Darren and community members are working with pigments and paints and will draw symbols and pictographs to create this map.

“As long as it has to do with Blackfoot history, it can go on the map. With those pictograph diagrams, anybody can come and do that and get to use the earth pigments to draw. It's going to be a little messy, but it's going to be fun for them to make art with the original pigments that we had that were available to us."

Before the final piece is unveiled to the community at the end of Darren’s residency, he is working with Elders who can present it in a peaceful, good way.

For more information on Darren’s residency, including his office hours and programs, visit our website.

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