Vanessa Dion Fletcher: Curiosity and Quillwork

Opening September 10, Vanessa Dion Fletcher's solo exhibition Curiosity and Quillwork demonstrates an appreciation for repetition and pattern-making using and diverging from traditional quillwork forms. The exhibition is a part of Vanessa's year-long residency at OCAD University. Curated by MFA Candidate Adrienne Huard. 

Vanessa Dion Fletcher | Welcome Lunch & Artist Talk

Vanessa Dion Fletcher in her studio (left), Artwork right: Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Colonial Comfort, 2016 (right)
Monday, February 4, 2019 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

OCAD University is proud to announce an inaugural residency with artist Vanessa Dion Fletcher at the Rosalie Sharp Pavilion. Vanessa will complete an in-situ six-month Visiting Artist residency, which will be followed by a six-month post-residency to disseminate the results with their guidance and support. Funded by the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund, the residency will be hosted by OCAD University’s Centre for Emerging Artists and Designer and the Indigenous Visual Culture program.

Indigenous vs. western capitalist models separate communal relationships; artists vs. students vs. teachers/scholars and create economic barriers and social hierarchies. This model is antithetical to Indigenous placemaking, economic, and creative expression. My residency time at OCAD U is an opportunity to interrupt and shift these Western institutional values, boundaries, and hierarchies embedded in the arts. I chose to partner with OCAD because decolonization is critical to OCAD University’s forward thinking, I will be able to create great alliances for social change/justice.

Vanessa Dion Fletcher

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WELCOME LUNCH & ARTIST TALK

Monday, February 4th, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers, Level 3, Rosalie Sharp Pavilion, 115 McCaul St.
Lunch catered by Nish Dish
Facebook Event

Vanessa’s residency will run from January 2019 to mid-June 2019. Her time with OCAD University will open with a welcome lunch and artist talk to take place at the Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers. All are welcome.

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VANESSA DION FLETCHER

Vanessa Dion Fletcher employs porcupine quills, Wampum belts, and menstrual blood to reveal the complexities of what defines a body physically and culturally. She links these ideas to personal experiences with language, fluency, and understanding. All of these themes are brought together in the context of her Potawatomi and Lenape ancestry, and her learning disability caused by a lack of short-term memory. Her work is held in the Indigenous Art Center Collection in Gatineau, Quebec, and Seneca College. In 2016, Dion Fletcher graduated from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago with an M.F.A in performance. She is the recipient of the 2017 Textile Museum of Canada Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award.

www.dionfletcher.com

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ROSALIE SHARP PAVILION

OCAD University’s Rosalie Sharp Pavilion is the home of the Experiential Learning Centre. The building’s refurbishment is a milestone in the Creative City Campus project, boldly re-imagining the use of space to expand studio, digital and work-integrated-learning learning.

Located on level 3, the Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers (CEAD) is OCADU’s Career Development office and Experiential Learning Program. The CEAD supports the early-career advancement of all OCAD U students and recent alumni. The Rosalie Sharp Pavilion is a wheelchair accessible space.

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CONTACT

We encourage students and faculty to set up a time with Vanessa for mentorship, critique and conversation.

Please email Vanessa directly to set up a time.

Venue & Address: 
Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers Level 3, Rosalie Sharp Pavilion, 115 McCaul St, OCAD University
Cost: 
N/A