Parents Tony Belcourt | Name Christi Belcourt Siblings Shane Belcourt Role Artist | |
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Website www.christibelcourt.com Books Beadwork: First Peoples' Beading History and Techniques People also search for Shane Belcourt, Tony Belcourt, Judith Pierce-Martin, Suzanne Belcourt | ||
Metis artist christi belcourt discusses painting my heart is beautiful mov
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. Belcourt's work often focuses on questions around identity, culture, place and divisions within communities.
Contents
- Metis artist christi belcourt discusses painting my heart is beautiful mov
- Mm interview with metis artist christi belcourt on walking with our sisters wwos
- Biography
- Community Activism Projects
- Individual
- Permanent Installations
- Other Artistic Works
- Publications
- Awards
- References
Mm interview with metis artist christi belcourt on walking with our sisters wwos
Biography
Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Christi Belcourt is the daughter of national Métis rights activist Tony Belcourt and Judith Pierce-Martin (née Streatch). Her family's roots are connected to Manitou Saskhigan (also known as Lac Ste. Anne), Alberta. 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 artistic 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.
Community Activism 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.
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. In recent years Belcourt has become a vocal advocate for the need for a Métis land base and the power of Indigenous language restoration. The Onaman Collective has also worked to connect traditional knowledge keepers and elders with Indigenous youth. The Collective has also engaged in advocacy around water protection and raising awareness of the need to protect the Great Lakes and other bodies of water.
In the same year Belcourt was also involved in promoting the "blue dot" movement as a way of visually protesting government decisions around the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act. The blue dots added to photographs in this movement were used as a way of identifying the marginalized people left out of the conversations by the Canadian Government.
As a form of activism in 2016 Belcourt requested the Métis Nation of Ontario remove her name and the name of her daughter from the organization's registry. Belcourt's request was in part based on her disagreement with the organization's decision to sign deals with mining companies such as Energy East and Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
Beginning in 2017 Belcourt was involved in the establishment 150 Acts of Resistance project. This initiative was designed to counter the Canadian government narrative around the "Canada 150" sesquicentennial celebration and to promote a discussion of the realities of colonialism and Indigenous resistance in Canada.
Individual
Permanent Installations
Other Artistic Works
Publications
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: