Vanessa Dion Fletcher’s solo exhibition Curiosity and Quillwork demonstrates an appreciation for repetition and pattern-making using and diverging from traditional quillwork forms. As a mode of working through complicated limitations of colonial impacts, on language and limited access to traditional Indigenous knowledge. Dion Fletcher interacts with visual and creative means as a way of connecting to her ancestral relations and reclaiming her culture. The exhibition features three new works: Zigzag in twenty-nine parts (2019), a series of works on paper; Shifting Focus (2019), a microscopic digital video; and Advancing Colors (2019) a delicate installation of an ornate pattern that emulates the traditional practice of birch bark quillwork.

The exhibition and reception is supported by the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund, the Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario, Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University, the OCAD U Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers and the Delaney Family Foundation.

ASL Exhibition Blurb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj5RFNgoK9c&feature=youtu.be

 

RECEPTION / ARTIST TALK

Tuesday September 10th from 5-7pm
ASL Interpretation provided.

Exhibition runs through Friday, September 20, 2019

 

GALLERY LAYOUT & ACCESS INFO

Accessibility: The Ada Slaight Gallery is located on the second floor of OCAD University’s 100 McCaul Street location. Curiosity and Quillwork is located in in room 225 of the Ada Slaight Gallery. Enter through 100 McCaul Street’s main doors located on the west side of McCaul Street, there is a ramp and a flight of stairs to enter the building. Inside the lobby one can get to the second floor by going up the spiral stairwell or elevator to level 2. There are two sets elevators in the lobby. Only the two west-facing elevators (behind the elevators facing the main entrance) will go up to level 2. On level 2 make a right turn down the hallway. The exhibition will be located to the left. Service animals may accompany visitors at any time. Visit www.ocadu.ca/about/hours for hours of operation.

Public transportation & Parking: OCAD University’s 100 McCaul Street location is accessible by the TTC via the Dundas Street Streetcar. The closest accessible TTC station is St. Patrick. Paid street and underground parking is available around the University.

The exhibition includes work that can be touched, and ASL interpretation at the opening reception.

Questions? Contact Shellie Zhang, szhang@ocadu.ca
416.977.6000 x3706

 

ARTIST BIO

Vanessa Dion Fletcher graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016 with an MFA in performance. She has exhibited across Canada and the US at spaces such as Art Mur in Montreal, Eastern Edge Gallery Newfoundland, The Queer Arts Festival Vancouver, and the Satellite Art show Miami. Her work is in the Indigenous Art Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, Joan Flasch Artist Book collection, Vtape and Seneca College. Over 2019, Vanessa received support from the City of Toronto Indigenous partnerships fund to be Artist in residence at OCAD University.

 

CURATOR BIO

Adrienne Huard is an Anishinaabekwe born in so-called Winnipeg and is currently based in Tkarón:to/Toronto. She is registered at Couchiching First Nations, Fort Frances, Ontario. After graduating in 2012 from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in photography, she decided to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in art history at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Huard graduated from Concordia in April 2018 and is currently attending OCAD University’s graduate-level Criticism and Curatorial Practice program.

Date: 
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 5:00pm
Image: 
 Image: Shifting Focus, digital video, 10:00 minutes, colour, sound, no language, 2019
 Image: Shifting Focus, digital video, 10:00 minutes, colour, sound, no language, 2019
Vanessa Dion Fletcher: Curiosity and Quillwork
Tuesday September 10th, 2019

Vanessa Dion Fletcher’s solo exhibition Curiosity and Quillwork demonstrates an appreciation for repetition and pattern-making using and diverging from traditional quillwork forms. As a mode of working through complicated limitations of colonial impacts, on language and limited access to traditional Indigenous knowledge. Dion Fletcher interacts with visual and creative means as a way of connecting to her ancestral relations and reclaiming her culture. The exhibition features three new works: Zigzag in twenty-nine parts (2019), a series of works on paper; Shifting Focus (2019), a microscopic digital video; and Advancing Colors (2019) a delicate installation of an ornate pattern that emulates the traditional practice of birch bark quillwork.

The exhibition and reception is supported by the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund, the Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario, Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University, the OCAD U Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers and the Delaney Family Foundation.

ASL Exhibition Blurb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj5RFNgoK9c&feature=youtu.be

 

RECEPTION / ARTIST TALK

Tuesday September 10th from 5-7pm
ASL Interpretation provided.

Exhibition runs through Friday, September 20, 2019

 

GALLERY LAYOUT & ACCESS INFO

Accessibility: The Ada Slaight Gallery is located on the second floor of OCAD University’s 100 McCaul Street location. Curiosity and Quillwork is located in in room 225 of the Ada Slaight Gallery. Enter through 100 McCaul Street’s main doors located on the west side of McCaul Street, there is a ramp and a flight of stairs to enter the building. Inside the lobby one can get to the second floor by going up the spiral stairwell or elevator to level 2. There are two sets elevators in the lobby. Only the two west-facing elevators (behind the elevators facing the main entrance) will go up to level 2. On level 2 make a right turn down the hallway. The exhibition will be located to the left. Service animals may accompany visitors at any time. Visit www.ocadu.ca/about/hours for hours of operation.

Public transportation & Parking: OCAD University’s 100 McCaul Street location is accessible by the TTC via the Dundas Street Streetcar. The closest accessible TTC station is St. Patrick. Paid street and underground parking is available around the University.

The exhibition includes work that can be touched, and ASL interpretation at the opening reception.

Questions? Contact Shellie Zhang, szhang@ocadu.ca
416.977.6000 x3706

 

ARTIST BIO

Vanessa Dion Fletcher graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016 with an MFA in performance. She has exhibited across Canada and the US at spaces such as Art Mur in Montreal, Eastern Edge Gallery Newfoundland, The Queer Arts Festival Vancouver, and the Satellite Art show Miami. Her work is in the Indigenous Art Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, Joan Flasch Artist Book collection, Vtape and Seneca College. Over 2019, Vanessa received support from the City of Toronto Indigenous partnerships fund to be Artist in residence at OCAD University.

 

CURATOR BIO

Adrienne Huard is an Anishinaabekwe born in so-called Winnipeg and is currently based in Tkarón:to/Toronto. She is registered at Couchiching First Nations, Fort Frances, Ontario. After graduating in 2012 from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in photography, she decided to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in art history at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Huard graduated from Concordia in April 2018 and is currently attending OCAD University’s graduate-level Criticism and Curatorial Practice program.

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