Bonnie Devine (born April 12, 1952) is a Serpent River Ojibwa installation artist, performance artist, sculptor, curator, and writer from

Serpent River First Nation The Serpent River First Nation (), a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, is an Anishinaabe First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario, located midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury along the North Channel of Lake Huron. ...

, who lives and works in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

."Bonnie Devine."
''Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art''. (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) She is currently an associate professor at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...

and the founding chair of its Indigenous Visual Cultural Program.

Background

Bonnie Devine was born in Toronto and is a status member of the

. In 1997 Devine graduated from the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park and Entertainment District neighbourhoods ...

, with degrees in sculpture and installation,"About the Artist: Bonnie Devine."
''University of Toronto'' (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) and she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in 1999."Bonnie Devine Biography."
''University of Toronto'' (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) She has taught studio and liberal arts at

, Queen's University, and the Centre for Indigenous Theatre. She joined

as a full-time instructor in 2008 and was a founding chair of the university's Indigenous Visual Culture program.

Artwork

As a conceptual artist, Devine works with a variety of media, often combining traditional and unconventional materials. At a 2007 solo exhibition, ''Medicine River'', at the Axéneo 7 art space in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, she created eight-foot long knitting needles and knitted 250 feet of copper cable to bring attention to the contamination of the

Kashechewan Kashechewan First Nation, locally known as Kash, is a Cree First Nation located on the northern shore of the Albany River in Northern Ontario, Canada, within territory covered by Treaty 9. The community is located on the west coast of James Bay ...

water system. She has fashioned full-sized canoes from paper and works with natural materials such as reeds in her 2009 piece, ''New Earth Braid''. She also created land-based installations.Rubisova, Lena
"Faculty Profile: Bonnie Devine."
''Ontario College of Art and Design.'' 11 Jan 2010 (retrieved 30 Nov 2010) Devine's work is also primarily influenced by "the stories, technologies, and arts of the Ojibwa people."

Exhibitions

Devine's work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the U.S., South America, Russia and Europe. Her 2010 solo exhibition, ''Writing Home'', curated by Faye Heavyshield, was reviewed in ''Border Crossings''. A solo exhibition of Devine's work, ''Bonnie Devine: The Tecumseh Papers'' was held at the Art Gallery of Windsor from September 27, 2013, to January 5, 2014. Her work is featured in the Art Gallery of Ontario's exhibition ''Before and after the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes''.

Awards and recognition

Devine has received numerous awards, including 2002 Best Experimental Video at the

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First People ...

, the Toronto Arts Awards Visual Arts Protégé Award in 2001, the Curry Award from the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke ...

in 1999, a variety of awards from the Ontario College of Art and Design, as well as many grants and scholarships. She has been chosen for the 2011

Eiteljorg Museum The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Eiteljorg houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as Western Amer ...

fellowship. She received a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2021.

Published work

* Devine, Bonnie,

Duke Redbird Duke Redbird (born 1939) is an Indigenous Canadian poet, journalist, activist, businessman, actor and administrator, best known as a key figure in the development of First Nations literature in Canada. An Ojibwe from the Saugeen First Nation in S ...

, and Robert Houle. ''The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition.'' Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2007. .

Notes

References

* Fox, Suzanne G. and Lucy R. Lippard, eds. ''Path Breakers: The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, 2003.'' Indianapolis, IN: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and West, 2004. .

External links

Bonnie Devine, timeline of images at the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art

Station Gallery Artists Interview: Bonnie Devine - Medicine Basket, Body Bags

Bonnie Devine
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

, accessed September 5, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Bonnie Living people Canadian Ojibwe people First Nations installation artists Canadian women installation artists First Nations conceptual artists Canadian conceptual artists First Nations sculptors First Nations performance artists First Nations filmmakers First Nations women writers Artists from Toronto Writers from Toronto York University alumni OCAD University alumni People from Algoma District 1952 births 21st-century First Nations writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women video artists Canadian women performance artists Canadian women conceptual artists 21st-century Canadian sculptors Canadian video artists Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners First Nations women artists 21st-century Canadian women sculptors Ojibwe artists