Name Joi Arcand | ||
In huge neon, Joi Arcand is rewriting everyday signs in Cree
Joi T. Arcand (born 1982) is a photo-based artist from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan, who currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
Contents
- In huge neon Joi Arcand is rewriting everyday signs in Cree
- Early life and education
- Work
- Exhibitions
- References
Arcand's work explores personal and political experiences through the lens of her mixed-race identity.Arcand further explores the revitalization of the Cree language.
Early life and education
Arcand was born in 1982 in Hafford, Saskatchewan. She grew up on Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in central Saskatchewan. She spent many summers working in the Muskeg Lake Archives which gave Arcand her love of old photographs and history. Arcand later attended the University of Saskatchewan where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Great Distinction in 2005.
Work
Arcand has served as chair of the board of directors for Paved Art and New Media in Saskatoon, and along with Felicia Gay was the co-founder of the Red Shift Gallery, a contemporary Aboriginal art gallery also in Saskatoon that was in operation from 2006 to 2010.
She was the founder of Kimiwan, a 'zine for Indigenous artists and writers that published eight issues from 2012 to 2014. Arcand curated the zine with her cousin Mika Lafond as a way to showcase Aboriginal-inspired visual art and writings. The magazine focused on decolonization, healing and family. Arcand took inspiration from her involvement in the R.A.I.N. (radical art in nature) collective in Vancouver in order to found Kimiwan.
Arcand's work has been exhibited at Gallery 101 (Ottawa), York Quay Gallery (Toronto), Mendel Art Gallery and Paved Arts (Saskatoon), and Grunt Gallery (Vancouver). Arcand has also been published in BlackFlash Magazine.
Arcand appeared as an extra on the set of the Portlandia TV series in 2015.