ONGOING SOCIAL ART PROJECT
The Collage of Indigenization, 2013-present, social art project, detail from Artback NT workshop, Sydney, Australia. 100+ collages, Dimensions variable.
The Collage of Indigenization is a word play on The Collage of Indignation from the late 1960s as part of the Angry Arts Week organised by the Artists and Writers Protest where over 300 artists participated in making anti-Vietnam war collages. In the Collage of Indigenization, this social art project seeks to re-present what it means to be Indigenous today. This could mean socially, politically, culturally, spirituallly and psychologically.
Collage workshops were conducted for people to participate in this project. At present, collage workshops/ residencies have been conducted at:
Alberta College of Art and Design, 2017, Calgary, Alberta
Decolonizing Conference, 2016, University of Toronto, ON
Roebourne Primary School, WA
Roebourne High School, WA
Barkly Artist Camp, Tennant Creek, NT
Ngurratjuta Many Hands, Alice Springs,NT
MCA Artbar with Tony Albert, MCA, Sydney, NSW
Yamaji Aboriginal Art Center, Geraldton, WA,
GSAC Streeties, Geraldton, WA,
Mullewa Indigenous Women's Art Center, Mullewa,WA,
Artback NT, Alice Springs, NT, 2013 (Launch)
Street Art Project by Or Gallery Vancouver, Berlin, Toronto, Sydney
NEWS
Opening February 22, 2018 at The Art Gallery of Mississauga, Niigaankwewag, curated by Rheanne Chartrand.
Feature in Globe and Mail, Opinion Section, pages 1, 6-8, Saturday January 6, 2018
Coyote Responds: I Like America and America Likes Me, Or Gallery, Public Art Project in Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin, October 2017
BIOGRAPHY
Rolande (Wassay) Souliere was born in Toronto, Ontario and is Anishinaabe and member of Michipicoten First Nation. Souliere became a contemporary artist when she migrated to Australia in the late nineties. Prior to this her artistic knowledge was grounded in her First Nation heritage. She pursued her artistic endeavours and engaged in the arts community by becoming art school trained at Sydney College of the Arts (SCA), University of Sydney. Souliere was the director of the student run gallery Newspace from 2001-2003 and a committee member of ARTPORT (a joint initiative of Sydney's artist-run spaces and the Museums and Galleries Foundation of NSW) in 2003-04 .
Working ing across painting, sculpture, photography, collage and recently screen printing, Souliere's practice is primarily installation that combines the organic, hard edge abstraction and the hand-made with the assisted readymade. The assisted readymade and traditional First Nation processes of weaving, threading, binding, wrapping, stacking, and stitching, to name a few, are important features in her work. These processes act as a vehicle to activate and translate Souliere's conceptual concerns regarding the extended field of painting in conjunction with the socio-political and cultural issues and concerns of Indigeneity on a national and international level. These include Indigenous worldviews, cultural appropriation, land claims and assimiliation policies, to name but a few.
Souliere was a finalist in the Helen Lempriere Traveling Scholarship and a recipient of the Nava Marketing Grant in 2006, and 2007. In 2008 Souliere was a finalist in the Fauvette Lourerio Memorial Traveling Scholarship and had her first international solo exhibition at Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
Souliere was included in an international exhibitions curated by Gary Pearson at Artspace, Sydney. Souliere has participated in artist's presentations and studio residencies, both nationally and internationally, including the University of Manitoba, University of British Columbia (Okanagan), Simon Fraser University, University of Newcastle, Artspace and Firstdraft in Sydney. Souliere continues to exhibit in her home country with solo exhibitions at Urban Shaman, Winnipeg, The New Gallery in Calgary and Grunt Gallery, Vancouver.
She has participated in the 2010 Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, (curated by Gerald McMaster) in Toronto, Canada and was included in the travelling exhibition 'Beat Nation' curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard. Beat Nation initially opening at the Vancouver Art Gallery and will continue traveling throughout Canada till 2014. Souliere is also a recipient of visual art grants, such as the New Work Grant by Canada Council.
Souliere has taught at the three main art institutions in Sydney; College of Fine Arts, Sydney College of the Arts and the National Art School.
She holds practice based doctorate in Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney. Her primary research focused on Indigenous art from Canada and Australia and its integration into contemporary art practice.
Souliere lives and works between her home country Canada and Sydney, Australia.
CV
Born Toronto, Canada,
Anishinaabe, member of Michipicoten First Nation
Australian Citizen
| Education | |
| 2010-13, 2017 | Doctorate of Visual Arts (Painting), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2005-2006 | Masters of Visuals Arts (Painting), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2000-2004 | Bachelor of Visual Arts, Honours (Painting), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| Solo Exhibitions | |
| 2017 | Form and Content, (curated by Manuela Well Off Man), IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art, Sante Fe, New Mexico |
| 2017 | Coyote Responds: I Like America and America Likes Me, (curated by Jonathan Middleton), Or Gallery, Vancouver, Toronto and Berlin |
| 2011 | CrossRoads, Urban Shaman, Winnipeg, Canada |
| 2010 | I am JUST not that good at following directions, The New Gallery, Calgary, Canada |
| 2009 | GPS-(The Good Red Road), Peloton, Sydney, NSW |
| 2008 | Materiality and Otherness, Grunt Gallery (curated by Daina Warren), Vancouver, Canada |
| 2007 | Binessiwags in Da House, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 |
Connections/Disconnections, Firstdraft, Sydney, NSW |
| 2005 | Materiality, Exit gallery, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW |
| 2004 | Bahn Trang, Space 3, Sydney, NSW |
| 2003 | Transformation of the Abject into Beauty, newspace, Sydney, NSW |
| Group Exhibition | |
| 2018 | niigaankwewag, (curated by Rheanne Chartrand), Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada |
| 2017 | Language of Puncture, (curated by Joi Arcand), Gallery 101, Ottawa, Canada |
| 2017 | Future Memories (Present Tense):Contemporary Practices in Perspective, (curated by Lorenzo Fusi), Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, Canada |
| 2017 | How to Picture Living Systems No. 2, (curated by Petra Maitz) KLI, Vienna, Austria |
| 2016 | Degree Examinations, Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney, NSW |
| 2016 | Culture Shift: Contemporary Native Art Biennale, Third Edition, curated by Mike Patten, Art Mur, Montreal, Quebec |
| 2015 | SNO 115, Sydney, NSW |
| 2015 | Believe not every spirit, but try the spirts, with Mikala Dwyer and Alterbeast, Monash Museum of Art, Caulfield East, Victoria |
| 2015 | Kiss Me Swiss in "Private Collection" (curated by Beata Geyer) WEST Project Space, Hazelbrook, NSW |
| 2014 | SNO 110, Gallery 9, Sydney, NSW |
| 2014 | 20/200 with Mikala Dwyer, Sarah Cottier Gallery,Sydney, NSW |
| 2014 | Beat Nation, (curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| 2013 | Beat Nation, (curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard), Musee d'art Contemporaine, Montreal, Quebec |
| 2013 | Goodnight, Peloton, Sydney, NSW |
| 2013 | Cabinet of Curiosities, Callan Park Gallery, Sydney,NSW |
| 2013 | Sydney Non Objective turns 100, Sydney Non Objective, Sydney, NSW |
| 2012 | Beat Nation, (curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard), Toronto PowerPlant, Toronto, Canada |
| 2012 | Beat Nation, (curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard), Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada |
| 2011 | 50-500, Urban Shaman, Winnipeg, Canada |
| 2011 | Mikala Dwyer 'Alphabet for Ghosts' for Alterbeast, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, VIC |
| 2011 | Finalist, David Harold Tribe Sculpture Prize, Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, Sydney, NSW |
| 2011 | Alterbeast with Mikala Dwyer, Carla Cescon, Tine Havelock Stevens as special guest, Penrith Regional Gallery, Penrith, NSW |
| 2010 | Scotiabank Nuit Blanche (curated by Gerald McMaster), Toronto, Canada |
| 2010 | An Oeuvre both Abundant and Diverse (curated by Brad Buckley), SCA Galleries, Sydney, NSW |
| 2010 | No. 61, (curated by Rhonda Davis and Camila Tellez), S.N.O., Sydney, NSW |
| 2010 | Safari 2010 (curated by Lisa Corsi) Sydney, NSW |
| 2010 | Minus Space, SNO Group Gallery 9, Brooklyn, USA |
| 2009 | No. 50, S.N.O., Sydney, NSW |
| 2009 | Remote Control, Tortuga Studios Gallery, Sydney, NSW |
| 2009 | Fundraiser, The Narrows, Melbourne, NSW |
| 2008 | Finalist Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship |
| 2008 | Point of Origin (curated by Gary Pearson) Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 | Echelon, Peloton, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 | Smash Hits, Parramatta Studios, Parramatta, NSW |
| 2007 | Square Dance, Firstdraft, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 | Intermediaries, MOP Projects, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 | Helen Lempriere Traveling Art Scholarship (Finalist), Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| 2006 | Helen Lempriere Traveling Art Scholarship (Finalist), Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| Awards/Grants/Studio Residencies/Presentations | |
| 2017 | Artist Talk, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada |
| 2017 | Aaksokgowamoski (Making Relations), Symposium, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada |
| 2017 | Artist in Residence, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada |
| 2017 | Transcultural Collaborations, Panel discussion, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, Sydney |
| 2017 | Artist Presentation, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada |
| 2016 | Shortlisted for Indigenous Artists' Project, Winnipeg Art Council, Winnipeg, Canada |
| 2016 | Decolonizing Conference, OISE, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada |
| 2016 | Sydney University Postgraduate Research Support Scheme Grant, Sydney |
| 2015 | Artist in Residence, Hunan Normal University, Hunan, China |
| 2015 | Bringing back Wabakinine, Public Art Commission by The City of Toronto, Bala Underpass, Toronto, Canada |
| 2015 | Canada Council New Work Grant, Canada |
| 2015 | Finalist Bala Underpass Public Art Project, Canada |
| 2015 | Artist in Residece, Yamaji Art Centre, Geraldton, Western Australia |
| 2015 | Artist in Residence, Roebourne Disrict High, Roebourne, Western Australia |
| 2014 | Artist in Residence, Yamaji Art Center, Geraldton, Western Australia |
| 2014 | Artist in Residence,Barkly Artist Camp, Tennant Creek, Northern Territory |
| 2014 | Artist in Residence, Ngurratjuta Art Center, Alice Springs, Northern Territory |
| 2013 | Artist in Residence, Yamaji Art Center, Geraldton, Western Australia |
| 2013 | Artist in Residence, Artback, Alice Springs, Northern Territority |
| 2012 | New Work Grant, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada |
| 2012 | Shortlisted for the Blake Prize, Sydney, Australia |
| 2012 | Simon Fraser University, Artist Presentation and studio critiques for Masters students, Vancouver, Canada |
| 2011 | University of Manitoba, Artist Presentation, Winnipeg, Canada |
| 2011 | Artist-in-Residence, The Sofitel on Colllins, Melbourne, VIC |
| 2011 | Finalist David Harold Sculpture Award, SCA Galleries, Sydney, NSW |
| 2009 | Finalist Urbanest/BatesSmart Public Art Project, Sydney, NSW |
| 2008 | Australia National University, Artist Presentation, Canberra, NSW |
| 2008 | University of Newcastle, Artist Presentation, Newcastle, NSW |
| 2008 | Studio Residency, Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| 2008 | International Visiting Artist, University of British Columbia (Okanagan), British Columbia, Canada |
| 2007 | National Association for the Visual Arts, Marketing Grant, NSW |
| 2007 | Studio Residency, Firstdraft, Sydney, NSW |
| 2007 | Finalist, Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| 2006 | Post Graduate Research Support Scheme Grant, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW |
| 2006 | Finalist, Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney, NSW |
| 2006 | Michipicoten First Nation Incentive Grant, Wawa, Ontario, Canada |
| 2006 | Shortlist, Ripe, Art & Australia/ANZ Private Bank Contemporary Art Award |
| 2005 | Michipicoten First Nation Post Graduate Student Support Scholarship, Wawa, Canada |
| 2004 | Michipicoten First Nation Student Support Scholarship, Wawa, Canada |
| 2000-2003 | Michipicoten First Nation Student Support Scholarship, Wawa, Canada |
| Writings on the Artist: | |
| 2018 | Alicia Elliott, A memo to Canada: Indigenous People are not your incompetent children, Globe and Mail, Opinion, January 5, 2018 |
| 2018 | Rick Garrett, Michipicoten artist's new installation in New Mexico, Anishinabek News, January11,2018, http://anishinabeknews.ca/2018/01/11/michipicoten-artists-latest-installation-in-new-mexico/ |
| 2017 | McDonald's Youth Campaign, television commecial, Skin and Bones Film Company, https://abancommercials.com/ca/vid/750/det/mcdonalds-we-believe-in-canadian-youth-tv-ad-commercial |
| 2017 | U Turn, music video, Warner Music Canada |
| 2017 | Zoom Zoom Magazine, Mazda Motor Corporation |
| 2012 | Beat Nation, Catalogue, Vancouver Art Gallery and Grunt Gallery, November 2012. |
| 2012 | Marsha Lederman, A New Native Art, Globe and Mail, February 29, 2012, p. R1, R3. |
| 2011 | Elizabeth Fortescue, David Harold Tribe Sculpture Prize, The Daily Telegraph, June 6, 2011 |
| 2010 | Nancy Tousley, Artist Doubles her Direction, The Calgary Herald, July 24, 2010 |
| 2010 | David Garneau, Rolande Souliere's Sign Language, catalogue essay, The New Gallery |
| 2009 | Gary Pearson, ‘Point of Origin: a curatorial essay in seven parts’, Column 3, Artspace Visual Arts Centre Ltd. 2009, p. 15-24. |
| 2009 |
Suzanne Boccalatte and Meredith Jones, Trunk Volume 1: Hair, Sydney: Boccalatte Pty Ltd, 2009, p. 153-155. |
| 2008 |
Skeena Reece, ‘Rolande Souliere’, brunt grunt gallery in print, Issue 4, September 2008, p. 28-31 18. |
| 2008 | Video Interview: ‘Materiality’; Interview with Rolande Souliere http://www.grunt.ca/the-kitchen.html |
| 2008 |
‘Preview’, Canadian Art, Winter 2007, v 24, no. 4, p. 20. |
| 2008 | ‘Art Attack’, Harpers Bazaar, March 2008, p. 385. |
| 2008 | Kevin Griffin, ‘Exhibition opens a door to another world’, The Vancouver Sun, March 13-19, 2008, p. D18. |
| 2008 | ‘Art Exhibition -Rolande Souliere’, Michipicoten First Nation News, March 2008, p. 15. |
| 2008 | ‘Vancouver’, Preview, February/March 2008, p. 41. |
| 2008 | Vancouver< em> 2010 Cultural Olympiad 2008 Program guide, Cultural Olympiad, Vancouver, 2008, p. 107. |
| 2008 | Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, ‘Rolande Souliere Materiality and Otherness’, FRONT Contemporary Art and Ideas, January/February, p. 6. |
| 2007 | Tony D’Fabrici, ‘Intermediaries’, catalogue essay, MOP Projects. Sydney, 2007, p.3. |
| 2007 | ‘Rolande Souliere- Another Artisan of MFN, Michipicoten First Nation News, April, p. 2. |
| 2006 |
Le Flaneur, ‘Rolande Souliere: G&A Studios’, Australian Art Blog, June 4, http://blogon.saatchi-gallery.co.uk |
| 2005 | Rick Garrick, ‘Anishinabe Artist Down Under’, Anishinabek News, April, p. 18. |
| Related Experience | |
| 2016-2017 | Guest Tutor, (Painting-Masters Program), National Art School, Sydney, Australia |
| 2013-15 | Guest Tutor, (Painting-Honours Program), National Art School, Sydney, Australia |
| 2013 | Sculpture, Performance, Installation (SPI), sessional academic, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney |
| 2012 | Guest lecturer (Painting- Honours Program), National Art School, Sydney, Australia |
| 2012 | Foundation Studio, Sessional Academic, Painting, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2010 | Foundation Concepts Sessional Academic, Painting, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2009 | Studio Coordinator, Painting, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2008 | Database Administrator University of Sydney Galleries, University of Sydney |
| 2008 | Studio Coordinator, Painting, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2003-2004 | ARTPORT, Artists Run Initiatives Committee member |
| 2003 | Representative, Board of Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney |
| 2003-2001 | Director, newspace, 680 Darling Street, Sydney, NSW |
Included in Private Collections in Australia and Canada