Emerging Indigenous and Racialized Artists Across Canada Research Assistantship

This research project aims to identify the emerging voices in the Canadian art scene, especially those working with new media and deploying interdisciplinary approaches. Further, the project aims to tackle the lack of representation of racialized and Indigenous artists in the field of Art History. In particular, there are gaps in knowledge and understanding of the themes, methodologies, and contributions of BIPOC artists, and research is needed to fill the gaps. I am particularly interested in the Canadian context because recent social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Idle No More and protests over residential schools have had a positive impact on the art world by generating opportunities for racialized and Indigenous artists to participate in residencies, public speaking events, and exhibit their work in artist-run centers, galleries and museums across Canada. Additionally, a number of artists who have not yet found opportunities to exhibit their work in professional art spaces, have developed their own virtual galleries or use social media such as Instagram to promote their work. By looking at the programming of Canadian art spaces and virtual galleries, this research will identify new and rising artists. Moreover, by researching artists' personal accounts and independent groups in social media, the project will fill the institutional gaps. This research will enable me to include the work of emerging Canadian artists of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds into the Art history curriculum at MacEwan. Outputs: the student will produce an annotated database of emerging racialized and Indigenous artists working in Canada.  the student will identify key themes and methods, rather than assuming, as it is often the case, that marginalized artists engage with issues of identity and representation. Outcomes:  developing a greater understanding of racialized artists, the themes they engage with, and their contributions to Canadian art history; updating the curriculum of ARTE 304 Theory of Contemporary Art and ARTE 324 History of Interdisciplinary Art at MacEwan; identifying key raising artists that can be included in the exhibition professor Vergara-Vargas will curate in Montreal in May 2024.