What we do
At Kakekalanicks, we create community-led, site-responsive, multi-sensory exhibits and audio installations across landscapes and institutions, honouring the voices and histories held in a place and turning complex stories into felt understanding through sound, story, artifacts, and design, as respectful learning journeys rooted in relationship.
Kakekalanicks exists to create spaces where stories, histories and creative expressions are not simply observed, but experienced. Through carefully curated, arts-based experiences, Michele-Elise Burnett invites audiences into moments of deep presence and connection. Visitors are not positioned as passive spectators. They are immersed, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually in ways of knowing, being and relating that reflect lived experience.
Many visitors leave these experiences feeling that they have not just learned about Indigenous peoples, but they have been given a glimpse, however brief, into what it means to live, remember, celebrate and heal as Indigenous peoples in this land. This depth of engagement is intentional. It reflects a belief that reconciliation, education and healing are not achieved through information alone, but through experiences that touch the heart, the body and the spirit. What distinguishes Kakekalanicks is the excellence of its artistic production and the way art is used to create transformative encounters—encounters that stay with people long after they leavethe space.
Artist Jill Lunn. Painting is part of the Red Dress Exhibit: If only these dresses could tell their stories.
Exhibits
Enterable, multi-sensory exhibits designed for museums and institutions—where story, artifacts, and space work together to create felt understanding.
Button: Explore Exhibits
Audio Installations
Sound-led experiences that give voice to place, memory, and material—crafted through scripting, recording, sound design, and interpretive flow.
Button: Explore Audio Installations
Sonic Trails and Outdoor Classrooms
Site-responsive audio journeys across landscapes—inviting visitors into deeper relationship with land, history, and community knowledge. Through sound installations, site-based storytelling, and nature-integrated programming, we invite visitors to reflect, explore, and deepen their understanding of history and its impacts.
ReAwakening: Sounds of the Forest audio installation at Balls Falls. in partnership with NPCA
What people are saying about experiences with Kakekalanicks:
“This was my first time attending. But, what I did see, the event brought people from all walks of life to enjoy musical performances from native people. Attendees were also able to witness native dancing, crafts and food during a time when our Mother Earth gives us our first medicine the strawberry.”
“What I enjoyed about the “Strawberry moon festival” is that so many cultures have been suppressed over time. The festival is a small start to right the wrongs of the past and bring the culture of Indigenous people to the community. ”
“It feels very special to be part of this sharing cultural values, unity and diversity.”
