From Ancestry to Artistry
About The Artist
Mangyepsa Gyipaayg - Kandi McGilton is an award winning Ts’msyen artist from Metlakatla, Alaska. Cedar bark is her primary medium, with a focus on the Annette Island weaving style of the Ts'msyen. She's also an accomplished artist when it comes to beadwork with her devilfish bags.
Kandi is self taught when it comes to her beading. Her award winning devilfish bags, which are traditional pieces of regalia, are known for their elegant aesthetic, tasteful color combinations, and creative use of space.
The endangered and unique Annette Island basketry style, preserved and taught to her by renowned Haida weaver Iilskyalas - Dr. Delores Churchill, features an intricate and visually striking element called “false embroidery.” She also apprenticed with Haida weaver Holly Churchill and teaches Annette Island weaving when possible. Two of her award winning baskets can now be found in the Eiteljorg Museums permanent collection.
Her weaving journey intersects with her work in The Haayk Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to rapidly produce new fluent speakers of Sm’algya̱x. With fluent speaker G̱oodm Nluułgm Xsgyiik - Sarah Booth and the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, Kandi created a documentary aimed at preserving not only this unique Ts’msyen art form, but the Sm’algya̱x weaving words too, making it free and available to the public.
Kandi began a new collaboration with Eighth Generation, a Seattle-based art and lifestyle brand now owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe. With this collaboration, Kandi designed the Ancestral Echoes wool blanket and Cedar Inheritance Accent Rugs which were released in 2024.