I'm an artist, teacher, community cultural programmer and advocate based out of Dawson City, Yukon, previously of Whitehorse, Vancouver, Regina, Saskatchewan (where I grew up on a farm), and a bunch of other cities and towns in between in California, Mississippi, Florida, Colorado, Brazil & Uganda.
I am immersed in the north, making art, teaching high school Art & learning assistance/alternative programs, drumming in some alt-folk and old-time country bands,, and coordinating youth arts programs - just south of the Arctic Circle, on Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) Territory. Come visit.
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I have been involved in the arts, community based work and advocacy for over 20 years.
Studies:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts from UWF in Florida (humanities focus - women's studies, cultural anthropology, gender studies)
- Bachelor of Education (with a High School Art specialty, with anti-racism, FN education, and special-ed focus) from Simon Fraser University in BC
- Masters in Sociology/Community Development from DSU in Mississippi
- 8 CE studio courses at Emily Carr University.
Art Projects:
- exhibited paintings, assemblages and installations in Southern California, Florida, Colorado, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Ottawa, Whitehorse & Dawson
- worked on projects for contemporary artists, Bryan Jungen and Rodney Graham, in Vancouver
- studied with Joe Santore of the NY Visual School, Bob Boyer (Head of Art Department at the First Nations Univ in Saskatchewan), George Littlechild, and Master printmakers Sue Hover and Patricia Branstead. Studied technical painting primarily with Lisa Birke at Emily Carr University.
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Projects:
- Mobius Collective North - co-founded with Jocylyn McDowell, Nate Wood, and local artists, musicians, writers, performers and scientists interested in the connection between humans and nature on macro and micro scales, intimacy, and the cosmos, through high and low-tech modalities. We performed with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 2017 for the 'Canada Scene' Festival with a contingent of Yukon artists/musicians as part of 'Theatre in the Bush'. www.mobiuscollectivenorth.com
- Splintered Craft Youth Art Centre (Skookum Jim's Friendship Centre) - worked with youth on shadow projection shows at the Yukon Art Centre, the Adaka Festival, the Skookum Jim's Folklore show, the Whitehorse International Film Festival, and the Atlin Music & Arts Festival. www.facebook.com/Splintered-Craft. Founded by Jona Barr & Joseph Tisiga
- The Heart of Riverdale - founding programmer for the new arts-based Community Centre in Whitehorse, YT, with a mandate to support youth in the context of multigenerational community. http://www.theheartofriverdale.com/index.html. I coordinated and instructed after school programs, summer camps, coordinated exhibits for the Yukon Art Centre youth gallery, and mentored youth staff.
- SLAC - Southern Lakes Artist Collective - currently working towards an exhibit at the Yukon Art Centre Gallery responding to collective art making during Covid times. We mounted a collaborative installation at the Arts Underground Gallery in 2015. Collective artists facilitated weekend-long workshops at Tagish Lake and Crag Lake in sculpture/welding, paper making, ceramic sculpture and mold making. http://slacnorth.weebly.com. In 2016 SLAC initiated a new gallery in Carcross called ArtHouse Carcross which was a collaboration with the Yukon Art Centre. (Profiled on CBC (see article))
- WIT - Whitehorse Independent Theatre - worked on production, arts education, outreach, and a high school mural in collaboration with the Splintered Craft Youth Centre for a project involving Addictions/Self-Harming with Watson Lake High School, 2016.
- Cedar Walk Aboriginal Alternative School - visiting artist/instructor regularly for printmaking, painting and a mural project in Vancouver.
- Homeground Fest - I coordinated a month long arts, music, and cultural festival during the Vancouver Olympics, 2010, in the Downtown Eastside
- Carnegie Centre & Oppenheimer Park - for 6+ years I worked in arts programming combined with crisis work, street outreach and advocacy based out of Vancouver, primarily with the Downtown Eastside community (Co-Salish Territory).
- Hapapalooza Fest - Production manager for a 'mixed-race' festival at UBC Robson Square and Vancouver Public Library
- Emily Carr University - Painting instructor and assisted with the Summer Teen Painting Intensive, 2011
- United Nations - national coordinator for the World Youth Forum/World Urban Forum, and on local and international development projects, 2005
- Colorado Mountain College - guest instructor for photography and painting, 2000
I am immersed in the north, making art, teaching high school Art & learning assistance/alternative programs, drumming in some alt-folk and old-time country bands,, and coordinating youth arts programs - just south of the Arctic Circle, on Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) Territory. Come visit.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I have been involved in the arts, community based work and advocacy for over 20 years.
Studies:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts from UWF in Florida (humanities focus - women's studies, cultural anthropology, gender studies)
- Bachelor of Education (with a High School Art specialty, with anti-racism, FN education, and special-ed focus) from Simon Fraser University in BC
- Masters in Sociology/Community Development from DSU in Mississippi
- 8 CE studio courses at Emily Carr University.
Art Projects:
- exhibited paintings, assemblages and installations in Southern California, Florida, Colorado, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Ottawa, Whitehorse & Dawson
- worked on projects for contemporary artists, Bryan Jungen and Rodney Graham, in Vancouver
- studied with Joe Santore of the NY Visual School, Bob Boyer (Head of Art Department at the First Nations Univ in Saskatchewan), George Littlechild, and Master printmakers Sue Hover and Patricia Branstead. Studied technical painting primarily with Lisa Birke at Emily Carr University.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Projects:
- Mobius Collective North - co-founded with Jocylyn McDowell, Nate Wood, and local artists, musicians, writers, performers and scientists interested in the connection between humans and nature on macro and micro scales, intimacy, and the cosmos, through high and low-tech modalities. We performed with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 2017 for the 'Canada Scene' Festival with a contingent of Yukon artists/musicians as part of 'Theatre in the Bush'. www.mobiuscollectivenorth.com
- Splintered Craft Youth Art Centre (Skookum Jim's Friendship Centre) - worked with youth on shadow projection shows at the Yukon Art Centre, the Adaka Festival, the Skookum Jim's Folklore show, the Whitehorse International Film Festival, and the Atlin Music & Arts Festival. www.facebook.com/Splintered-Craft. Founded by Jona Barr & Joseph Tisiga
- The Heart of Riverdale - founding programmer for the new arts-based Community Centre in Whitehorse, YT, with a mandate to support youth in the context of multigenerational community. http://www.theheartofriverdale.com/index.html. I coordinated and instructed after school programs, summer camps, coordinated exhibits for the Yukon Art Centre youth gallery, and mentored youth staff.
- SLAC - Southern Lakes Artist Collective - currently working towards an exhibit at the Yukon Art Centre Gallery responding to collective art making during Covid times. We mounted a collaborative installation at the Arts Underground Gallery in 2015. Collective artists facilitated weekend-long workshops at Tagish Lake and Crag Lake in sculpture/welding, paper making, ceramic sculpture and mold making. http://slacnorth.weebly.com. In 2016 SLAC initiated a new gallery in Carcross called ArtHouse Carcross which was a collaboration with the Yukon Art Centre. (Profiled on CBC (see article))
- WIT - Whitehorse Independent Theatre - worked on production, arts education, outreach, and a high school mural in collaboration with the Splintered Craft Youth Centre for a project involving Addictions/Self-Harming with Watson Lake High School, 2016.
- Cedar Walk Aboriginal Alternative School - visiting artist/instructor regularly for printmaking, painting and a mural project in Vancouver.
- Homeground Fest - I coordinated a month long arts, music, and cultural festival during the Vancouver Olympics, 2010, in the Downtown Eastside
- Carnegie Centre & Oppenheimer Park - for 6+ years I worked in arts programming combined with crisis work, street outreach and advocacy based out of Vancouver, primarily with the Downtown Eastside community (Co-Salish Territory).
- Hapapalooza Fest - Production manager for a 'mixed-race' festival at UBC Robson Square and Vancouver Public Library
- Emily Carr University - Painting instructor and assisted with the Summer Teen Painting Intensive, 2011
- United Nations - national coordinator for the World Youth Forum/World Urban Forum, and on local and international development projects, 2005
- Colorado Mountain College - guest instructor for photography and painting, 2000