Keesic Douglas
From his website: "Keesic Douglas is an Ojibway artist from the Mnjikaning First Nation in central Ontario, Canada. He specializes in the mediums of photography and video. His work has been exhibited both across Canada and internationally. Keesic focuses on sharing his unique perspective based on his Aboriginal heritage in his photo and video work."
Paul (Lawrence) Yuxweluptun
From the VanArt Gallery website: Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Nationality: Canadian, Born: 1957, Kamloops, BC.
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun was born in Kamloops, B.C. in 1957, though he spent most of his adolescence in the Vancouver area. His father is from Cowichan Salish and his mother is from the Okanagan.
He was active in various art courses in high school and after graduation, enrolled at Emily Carr College from 1978 through 1983. While at Emily Carr, Yuxweluptun was influenced by Don Jarvis, Ken Wallance, Sylvia Scott, Bruce Boyd and Bill Featherston.
Much of the content of his work is derived from contemporarty Native social and political issues. His father at one time was President of the North American Indian Brotherhood and his mother was Executive Director of the Indian Homemakers Association.
Most of his work has been large scale acrylic on canvas pieces with brush and/or a palette knife. He makes use of vivd colours and his work represents a positive aesthetic impression as well as expression of content that is often bi-cultural. In his work, he uses Coast Salish cosmology, Northwest Coast formal design elements and the Western landscape tradition.
Annie Pootoogook
From the website Feheley Fine Arts: "Annie Pootoogook began drawing in 1997 under the encouragement of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative in Cape Dorset. She quickly developed a preference for drawing scenes from her own life, and became a prolific graphic artist in the intervening years. In 2003, Annie's first print was released: an etching and aqua-tint drawn by the artist on a copper plate. The image entitled "Interior and Exterior," is a memory of the artist's childhood, lovingly recording the particulars of settlement life in Cape Dorset in the 1970s."
Christi Belcourt
From the website: "Christi Belcourt is a Michif (Métis) visual artist with a deep respect for Mother Earth, the traditions and knowledge of her people. In addition to her paintings, she is also known as a community based artist, environmentalist and advocate for the lands, waters and Indigenous Peoples. She is currently a lead organizer for the Onaman Collective which focuses on resurgence of the languages and land based practices. She is also the lead coordinator for Walking With Our Sisters, a community-driven project that honours murdered or missing Indigenous women. She was named Aboriginal Arts Laureate by the Ontario Arts Council in 2015. In 2016 she won a Governor General's Innovation Award and was named the winner of the 2016 Premier's Awards in the Arts."
Kent Monkman
From the website: "Kent Monkman is a Canadian artist of Cree ancestry who works with a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance, and installation. He has had solo exhibitions at numerous Canadian museums including the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton."
Kenojuak Ashevak
The National Film Board of Canada, John Feeney, 1963, 19 min. 49 s
From the website: "This film shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to stone, printed and sold. Kenojuak Ashevak became the first woman involved in the printmaking co-operative in Cape Dorset. This film was nominated for the 1963 Documentary Short Subject Oscar."
Chief Lady Bird
From the website: "Nancy King is a First Nations (Potawatomi and Chippewa) artist from Rama First Nation. Her Anishinaabe name is Ogimaakwebnes, which means Chief Lady Bird. She has completed her BFA in Drawing and Painting with a minor in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University and has been exhibiting her work since she was 14 years old. Through her art practice, she strives to look to the past to help her navigate her Anishinaabe identity whilst living in an urban space as well as advocate for Indigenous representation as an integral aspect of Canada’s national identity."
Aura Last
From the website: "I am inspired by storytelling and the healing journey, individually and as a community. Currently, I combine painting, drawing, beadwork and collage to examine stories that are connected to the mind, body, and spirit. I aim to address the pain of intergenerational trauma as well as intergenerational healing to communicate experiences from the inside out. By unearthing my own stories, I am able to strengthen connections where the process creates awareness and understanding; this experience is ultimately part of the healing journey."
Veronica Johnny
From the website: Johnny is a musician who shares her traditional Indigenous percussive techniques with the students who join her each week. The circle acts not only as a place to learn these rhythms but also a safe space for expression.
Louie Gong
From the Eighth Generation Website: Louis Gong is an artist and activist who merges Coast Salish art and influences from his mixed heritage to make bold statements about his identity. His art, social commentary and workshops have been featured in numerous media, including Unreserved: The Work of Louie Gong, a documentary that screened at Festival des Cannes.
Louis Gong writes: The name “Eighth Generation” references the inter-tribal concept of “seven generations,” which tells us that we should consider the consequences of our decisions seven generations into the future. I recognize that I’m standing on a foundation made stable and rich with stories because of my ancestor’s good decisions and sacrifices. By naming my business Eighth Generation, I hope to ensure that this perspective is embedded in all my work.
Unreserved: The Work of Louis Gong (Trailer)
