Lii Zoot Tayr (Other Worlds) wass the third in a series of exhibitions curated by Amy Malbeuf and Jessie Ray Short exploring the work of Métis artists. In this iteration, the artists—Malbeuf, Suzanne Morrissette, Tannis Nielsen, Tiffany Shaw-Collinge, and Short—grounded themselves within and move beyond the earth and solar system to ruminate on outer, inner, and deep space.

The discussion between the artists, curators, and exhibition essay author explored the genesis of the Lii Zoot Tayr exhibition. Amy Malbeuf, Suzanne Morrissette, Tannis Nielsen, Tiffany Shaw, and Jessie Ray Short were joined by Cheryl L’Hirondelle in a discussion about the intersections of science, belief, spirituality, and technology as it informed the work presented as part of the exhibition. Together they discussed the ideas behind each work with an eye to future directions in considering the possibility of dreaming other worlds into being.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Cree/Halfbreed) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and critical thinker whose Indigenous family roots are from Papaschase First Nation and Kikino Metis Settlement, Alberta. Her work investigates and articulates a dynamism of nêhiyawin (Cree worldview) in contemporary time-place incorporating Indigenous language(s), audio, video, VR, the olfactory, sewn objects, music, audience/user participation, and community engagement to create immersive environments and events towards “radical inclusion.” As a songwriter, L’Hirondelle’s focus is on both sharing nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) and Indigenous and contemporary song-forms and personal narrative songwriting as “survivance” methodologies. In 2021, Cheryl was awarded a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art.