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 anch ...

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 C ...

."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 d ...

and the founding chair of its Indigenous Visual Cultural Program.

Background

Bonnie Devine was born in Toronto and is a status member of 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 d ...

, 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

, 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

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 Cree First Nation band government located near James Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The community is located on the northern shore of the Alban ...

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 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

Robert Houle Robert Houle (born 1947) is a Saulteaux First Nations Canadian artist, curator, critic,"Robert ...

. ''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, 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 f ...

, 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