Bonnie Devine is a
Serpent River Ojibwa installation artist, performance artist, sculptor, curator, and writer from
Serpent River First Nation
The Serpent River First Nation ( oj, Genabaajing Anishinaabek), a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, is an Anishinaabe First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario, located midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury along the ...
, who lives and works in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
["Bonnie Devine."]
''Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art''. (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) She is currently an associate professor at
OCAD University
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
and the founding chair of its Indigenous Visual Cultural Program.
Background
Bonnie Devine was born in Toronto and is a status member of the
Serpent River First Nation
The Serpent River First Nation ( oj, Genabaajing Anishinaabek), a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, is an Anishinaabe First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario, located midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury along the ...
.
[ In 1997 Devine graduated from the ]Ontario College of Art and Design
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
, with degrees in sculpture and installation,["About the Artist: Bonnie Devine."]
''University of Toronto'' (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) and she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
in 1999.["Bonnie Devine Biography."]
''University of Toronto'' (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) She has taught studio and liberal arts at York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, Queen's University, and the Centre for Indigenous Theatre
The Centre for Indigenous Theatre is a non-for profit theater educational institution located in Toronto, Ontario. It focuses on performance art from an Indigenous cultural foundation.
History
James H. Buller founded the Centre in 1974 as the ...
. She joined OCAD University
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
as a full-time instructor in 2008 and was a founding chair of the university's Indigenous Visual Culture program.
Artwork
As a conceptual artist
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional Aesthetics, aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes ca ...
, Devine works with a variety of media, often combining traditional and unconventional materials. At a 2007 solo exhibition, ''Medicine River'', at the Axéneo 7 art space in Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, she created eight-foot long knitting needles and knitted 250 feet of copper cable to bring attention to the contamination of the Kashechewan
The Kashechewan First Nation (, cr, ᑫᔒᒋᐗᓐ ᐃᓕᓕᐗᒃ, kêšîciwan ililiwak) is a Swampy Cree, Cree First Nations in Canada, First Nation band government located near James Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The community is locat ...
water system. She has fashioned full-sized canoes from paper and works with natural materials such as reeds in her 2009 piece, ''New Earth Braid''. She also created land-based installations.[Rubisova, Lena]
"Faculty Profile: Bonnie Devine."
''Ontario College of Art and Design.'' 11 Jan 2010 (retrieved 30 Nov 2010)
Devine's work is also primarily influenced by "the stories, technologies, and arts of the Ojibwa people."
Exhibitions
Devine's work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the U.S., South America, Russia and Europe. Her 2010 solo exhibition, ''Writing Home'', curated by Faye Heavyshield, was reviewed in ''Border Crossings''. A solo exhibition of Devine's work, ''Bonnie Devine: The Tecumseh Papers'' was held at the Art Gallery of Windsor from September 27, 2013, to January 5, 2014. Her work is featured in the Art Gallery of Ontario's exhibition ''Before and after the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes''.
Awards and recognition
Devine has received numerous awards, including 2002 Best Experimental Video at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Abori ...
, the Toronto Arts Awards Visual Arts Protégé Award in 2001, the Curry Award from the Ontario Society of Artists
The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...
in 1999, a variety of awards from the Ontario College of Art and Design, as well as many grants and scholarships.[ She has been chosen for the 2011 ]Eiteljorg Museum
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Ame ...
fellowship. She received a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2021.
Published work
* Devine, Bonnie, Duke Redbird
Dr.Duke Redbird (born 1939) is an Indigenous Canadian poet, journalist, activist, businessman, actor and administrator, best known as a key figure in the development of First Nations literature in Canada.
An Ojibwe from the Saugeen First Nation i ...
, and . ''The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition.'' Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2007. .
Notes
References
* Fox, Suzanne G. and Lucy R. Lippard
Lucy Rowland Lippard (born April 14, 1937) is an American writer, art critic, activist, and curator. Lippard was among the first writers to argue for the " dematerialization" at work in conceptual art and was an early champion of feminist art. ...
, eds. ''Path Breakers: The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, 2003.'' Indianapolis, IN: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and West, 2004. .
External links
Bonnie Devine, timeline of images at the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
Station Gallery Artists Interview: Bonnie Devine - Medicine Basket, Body Bags
Bonnie Devine
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
, accessed September 5, 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Bonnie
Living people
Ojibwe people
First Nations installation artists
Women installation artists
First Nations conceptual artists
First Nations sculptors
First Nations performance artists
First Nations filmmakers
First Nations women writers
Artists from Toronto
Writers from Toronto
York University alumni
OCAD University alumni
People from Algoma District
Canadian women artists
1952 births
21st-century First Nations writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
Women video artists
21st-century Canadian women artists
Canadian women sculptors
Women performance artists
Women conceptual artists
21st-century Canadian sculptors
Canadian video artists
Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners