Christi Belcourt

Christi Belcourt
Christi Belcourt as an Artist in Residence at the McMichael Art Gallery, Kleinburg, ON, 2004
Born	1966 Scarborough, Ontario
Residence	Espanola, Ontario
Nationality	Métis, Canadian
Occupation	painter
Parent(s)	Tony Belcourt, Judith Pierce-Martin
Relatives	Shane Belcourt, Suzanne Belcourt
Website	www.christibelcourt.com

Christi Marlene Belcourt (born September 24, 1966) is a Métis visual artist and author living and working in Canada. She is best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art. Belcourt is recognized within the Métis community as one of the preeminent Métis artists in Canada.

Biography

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Christi Belcourt is the daughter of national Métis rights activist Tony Belcourt and Judith Pierce-Martin (née Streatch). Her brother Shane Belcourt is a writer, director, musician and cinematographer known for his feature film Tkaronto, which depicts the life of urban Métis and First Nations people. Her sister Suzanne Belcourt is a graphic designer and artist living and working in southern Ontario. In 1970, her father was elected as the founding President of the Native Council of Canada (now known as the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples) and the family relocated permanently to Ottawa, Ontario from Edmonton, Alberta.

As a Métis visual artist with a deep respect for the traditions and knowledge of her people, the majority of her work explores and celebrates the beauty of the natural world. She is the author of three books: Medicines To Help Us (study prints & book, based on painting of same title; Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2007), Jeremy and the Magic Ball (the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres) and Beadwork (Ningwakwe Learning Press). Her work has been commissioned by the Gabriel Dumont Institute (Saskatoon, 2004), the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Centre for Traditional Knowledge & Museum of Nature (Ottawa, 2002), and is found in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, First People’s Hall. Belcourt is a past recipient of awards from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Métis Nation of Ontario. She has been studying traditional plants (identification of, stories of, medicinal uses for, names in Michif and Cree) for numerous years. She lives and works in Espanola, Ontario, Canada.

Exhibitions

Individual

• Mapping Routes: Perspectives of Land and Water in Ontario, Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2010)
• Identity, Land & Spirit, Red Shift Gallery (2009)
• Off The Map, ArtSpace Gallery (2008)
• Off The Map & Great Metis of My Time, Urban Shaman Gallery (2008)
• Great Metis of My Time, Batoche National Historic Site (2008)
• New Works By Christi Belcourt, Metis Nation of Ontario Annual General Assembly (2005)
• Lessons from the Earth, Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2003/2004)
• Urban Myths: Aboriginal Artists in the City, Karsh-Masson Gallery (2000)^[1]

Group

• Material Girls, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan (2015)
• Before and After the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes, National Museum of The American Institute (2014)
• Sakahan, National Gallery of Canada (2013)
• Faraway Nearby, Art Gallery of Algoma (2012)
• Ancestral Teachings: Contemporary Perspectives Thunderbird Art Centre (2011)
• Contrary Projects in Venice: an Aboriginal Art Intervention at the Venice Biennale (2011)
• Resilience / Resistance: Metis Art, 1880-2011, Batoche National Historical Site (2011)
• Good Medicine, Craft Council of Saskatchewan and the Gabriel Dumont Institute (2011)
• Mantuc, Little Spirits: The Language of Glass Beads, North America Native Museum in Zurich, Switzerland (2010)
• Creation, Land, Treaty: From Sacred to Profane, Ojibway Cultural Foundation (2009)
• Willisville Mountain Project (touring exhibit, 2009)
• Vanishing Seams, Indian and Inuit Art Centre (2008)
• Reflets, Reflections sur L’Eau, Maison de la Nature et l’EnvironnementAix en Provence, France (2008)
• A Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists, Red Lake Heritage Centre (2008)
• West Side Stories: The Metis of Northwestern Saskatchewan, Diefenbaker Canada Centre at University of Saskatchewan (2007)
• Native American Fine Arts Show, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center (2005)
• Manitoulin Artists, 4elements Gallery (2004)
• LaCloche Art Show, Whitefish Falls (2004)
• Métis in the 21st Century, Forest Farm Hall (2003)
• Making the Spirit Visible, New York State University (2001)

Permanent Installations

• Christi Belcourt Permanent Collection Room, Gabriel Dumont Institute (2013)
• Giniigaaniimenaaning, stained glass window to recognize the survivors of Indian Residential Schools, installed in the Centre Block, Parliament of Canada (2012)^[2]

Publications

• Medicines to Help Us Traditional Metis Plant Use (2008), ISBN 978-0-920915-79-0
• Beadwork: First Peoples' Beading History and Techniques, ISBN 978-1-897541-25-8
• Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices (2014), contributor, ISBN 9781554516865
• iLit Strength and Struggle: Perspectives from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada (2011), contributor, ISBN 978-0071067034

Other Works

Belcourt designed the competition medals for 2015 Parapan American Games.^[3]

In 2015 Belcourt's artwork was used as inspiration for a line of clothing by Valentino.^[4]

Collaborative Projects

Belcourt is the project creator and lead coordinator of the Walking With Our Sisters, a crowd-sourced commemorative art installation for the missing and murdered Indigenous women of Canada and the United States. Started in 2012 this project has toured throughout communities in North American and continues to be driven by community volunteers.^[5]

In 2014 Belcourt founded the community based The Onaman Collective with Isaac Murdoch and Erin Konsmo. This project aims to preserve traditional knowledge, language, and teachings.^[6]

Awards

Belcourt is the recipient of numerous awards and grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Chalmers Family Fund and the Métis Nation of Ontario, including:^[7]

• Governor General's Innovation Award (2016)
• Aboriginal Arts Award 2014 Laureate, Ontario Arts Council (2014)
• Influential Women of Northern Ontario, Aboriginal Leadership Award (2014)
• Chalmers Family Fund, Ontario Arts Council (2010)
• Aboriginal Arts Projects Grant and Aboriginal Traditional Arts Program, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council (2009)
• Northern Arts Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council,(2007)
• Aboriginal People’s Collaborative Exchange Program, Canada Council For The Arts, 2007)
• Judges Choice Award, Works on Paper Exhibit, Espanola, Ontario (2006)
• Mid-Career Artist Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council (2004)
• Aboriginal Arts Projects Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council (2004)
• First place, Mixed Media, LaCloche Art Show, Whitefish Falls, Ontario (2004)
• Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council and Canadian Council for the Arts (2000, 1999)
• Metis Cultural Grant Recipient, Metis Nation of Ontario (1998)

See also

• Aboriginal Canadian personalities

References

• Mattes, Catherine. "Metis Perspectives in Contemporary Art." Metis Legacy Ed. Barkwell, Lawrence J., Leah Dorion, Darren R. Prefontaine. Winnipeg, MB: Pemmican Publications, 2001.
• Green, Joyce. Making Space for Indigenous Feminism. Winnipeg, MB: Ferwoond Publishing, 2007.

External links

• Christi Belcourt
• Christi Belcourt