Michelle LaVallee is a Canadian

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, artist, and educator. She is

Ojibway The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

and a member of the

Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation ( oj, Neyaashiinigmiing Anishinaabek) is an Anishinaabek First Nation from the Bruce Peninsula region in Ontario, Canada. Along with the Saugeen First Nation, they form the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. The C ...

in Cape Croker, Ontario. She has BFA (2000) and BEd (2004) degrees from

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 ...

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 ...

. LaVallee's most recent degree is an MA in Art History and Curatorial Studies from the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university, public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the Unive ...

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, with a special focus on the complex, contextual, and interactive nature of Aboriginal curatorial practices in the development of curatorial and art historical research models. She has been the curator at the

MacKenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...

since 2007. Lavallee won the award for Excellence in Arts Related Service at the Mayors' Arts and Business Awards in

in 2013. Activating and developing greater understanding of misrepresented or marginalized histories is of personal and political import for LaVallee whose critical thought is influenced from her experience working with Indigenous peoples in Canada, El Salvador, Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Curatorial practice

LaVallee began her curatorial practice in 2005 at Aspace gallery in Toronto. She served as curator at the

from 2007 to 2017. Since 2017 she worked at the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Art Centre, in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

, Quebec. LaVallee’s curatorial work explores how colonial relations have shaped historical and contemporary culture in Canada. She has curated several shows exploring narratives resistance to colonialism, including ''7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.'', a retrospective exhibition of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., which featured First Nations artists

Jackson Beardy Jackson Beardy (July 24, 1944 – December 7, 1984) was an Indigenous Oji-Cree Anishinaabe artist born in Canada. His works are characterized by scenes from Ojibwe and Cree oral history and many focus on the relationship between humans and natur ...

Eddy Cobiness Eddy Cobiness, (July 17, 1933 – January 1, 1996) was a Canadian artist. He was an Ojibwe-Native Canadian and his art work is characterized by scenes from the life outdoors and nature. He began with realistic scenes and then evolved into mo ...

Alex Janvier Alex Simeon Janvier, LL.D (; born February 28, 1935) is a First Nation artist in Canada. As a member of the commonly referred to " Indian Group of Seven", Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian Aboriginal art in Canada. Career Alex Janv ...

Norval Morrisseau Norval Morrisseau (March 14, 1932 – December 4, 2007), also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depi ...

, Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray, and Joseph Sanchez. The exhibition celebrated the first incorporated First Nations artist organization in Canada. These artists met in the 1970s and demanded to be recognized as professional contemporary artists. The exhibition opened at the

on September 21, 2013, and was accompanied by a catalogue titled ''7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc'', which won three 2015 Saskatchewan Book Awards The exhibition travelled to the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba (May 9 to August 31, 2014); Kelowna Art Gallery in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

, British Columbia (October 11, 2014 to January 4, 2015); and the

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture garde ...

Kleinburg, Ontario Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conservation. In 2001, the vil ...

(May 10 to August 16, 2015). The Canadian Aboriginal Curators Delegation selected LaVallee to attend 2015 Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, the 2011

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, and the 2010 and 2008

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

. In 2006, the Canada Council gave her the Arts Assistance to Aboriginal Curators Grant for Residencies in the Visual Arts. In 2013, she spoke at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.acrylics and

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

. Her experimental three-dimensional works incorporate materials culturally significant to Anishinaabeg. An installation she debuted in Ottawa in 2007 has since toured. LaVallee's visual work of customary Native iconography has been in several group exhibitions across Canada.

Selected curatorial projects

* 2015: ''Moving Forward, Never Forgetting'' (Co-Curator),

, Regina, Saskatchewan * 2013: ''7 Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.'', Mackenzie Art Gallery * 2012: ''13 Coyotes:

Edward Poitras Edward Poitras (born in 1953) is a Métis artist based in Saskatchewan. His work, mixed-media sculptures and installations, explores the themes of history, treaties, colonialism, and life both in urban spaces and nature.Vernon Ah Kee Vernon Ah Kee (born 1967) is a contemporary Australian artist, political activist and founding member of ProppaNOW. Based primarily in Brisbane, Queensland, Ah Kee is an Aboriginal Australian man with ties to the Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidin ...

'', Mackenzie Art Gallery * 2008: ''Wally Dion'', Mackenzie Art Gallery * 2008: ''Miss Chief: Shadow Catcher –

Kent Monkman Kent Monkman (born 13 November 1965) is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. He is both a visual as well as performance artist, working in a variety ...

'', Mackenzie Art Gallery * 2007: ''Re/translation: Land & Language'', A Space, Toronto, Ontario

Exhibitions

* 2012: ''Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 3'',

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, New York City, New York * 2010: ''Love, Saskatchewan'',

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

, Toronto, Ontario * 2009: ''Flatlanders: Saskatchewan Artists on the Horizon'',

Mendel Art Gallery The Mendel Art Gallery was a major creative cultural centre in City Park, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Operating from 1964 to 2015, it housed a permanent collection of more than 7,500 works of art. The gallery was managed by the city-owned Saskatoon G ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, Saskatchewan * 2008: ''Myths of the Land'',

Ottawa Art Gallery The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) is a municipal gallery in Ottawa, Ontario that opened in 1988 at Arts Court. The gallery has a permanent collection of over one thousand works, houses the City of Ottawa-owned Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, and ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario (show included art from members of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.

References

Sources

"7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc."
''MacKenzie Art Gallery.'' Retrieved 28-02-2016. * Commanda, Erica. (09-02-2015)
"THE INDIGENOUS GROUP OF SEVEN."
''Muskrat Magazine.'' Retrieved 28-02-2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:LaVallee, Michelle 1977 births Living people Artists from Ontario Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation People from Newmarket, Ontario York University alumni 21st-century Canadian women artists Canadian women curators First Nations women artists