Marian Penner Bancroft (born 1947) is a Canadian artist and photographer based in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. She is an associate professor at the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...

, where she has been teaching since 1981. She has previously also taught at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

and the

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is a public university, public art school, art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution tha ...

. She is a member of the board of Artspeak Gallery and is represented in Vancouver by the Republic Gallery.

Life

Marian Penner Bancroft was born in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and currently lives and works in Vancouver. She studied at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, the Vancouver School of Art (now

) and

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

in Toronto. National and international exhibitions include those at the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

and at the Centre Culturel Canadien in Paris. In addition to photography, her work has included text, sound, drawing, sculpture and more recently, video. In 2019, Bancroft was featured in the film, ''Is There a Picture.'' The documentary discusses photographers and their practice in Vancouver.

Work

Her work considers the intersections of the photographic image with history, music and mapping strategies in relation to representations of landscape and nature. In addition to photography, her work has included text, sound, drawing, sculpture and more recently, video. In 2014, Marian Penner Bancroft installed a site-specific public art installation at the Vancouver Yaletown-Roundhouse Skytrain Station. The project was supported by the Contemporary Art Gallery. The photographic work was installed on the windows of the station, creating abstract images of branches and shapes creating a kaleidoscope effect. The trees were a referential homage to the earliest plantings of elms and sequoias in Vancouver.

Publications

''Two Places at Once: Transfigured Wood Part 4'' (1986)

Western Front Society Western Front (Western Front Society) is an artist-run centre located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1973 by eight artists (Martin Bartlett, Mo van Nostrand, Kate Craig, Henry Greenhow, Glenn Lewis, Eric Metcalfe, M ...

publications, Vancouver BC

Selected exhibitions

''the poets have always preceded: art and poetry in Vancouver, 1960 – present'', Griffin Art Projects (2019) ''Radial Systems'', Republic Gallery (2017) ''Pictures From Here,''

(2017) ''Sites of Assembly,''

Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The gallery is housed in a building designed by architect Peter Cardew which opened in 1995 ...

, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (2017) ''Unsettled Sites: Marian Penner Bancroft, Wanda Nanibush, Tania Willard,'' SFU Gallery, Vancouver (2016) ''Silvia Part II: Booming Grounds,'' (2015–16) ''By Land and Sea (Prospect and Refuge),'' (solo),

The Reach Gallery Museum The Reach Gallery Museum is a public art gallery and museum located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It exhibits artwork from across Canada and around the world. The Reach is also the regional archival repository and houses a significant collectio ...

, Abbotsford (2014) ''Auto-Motive,'
Oakville Galleries
Oakville, Ontario (2013) ''Spiritlands: t/here: Marian Penner Bancroft, Selected Photo Works 1975-2000''

(2012) ''By Land and Sea (Prospect and Refuge),''

Southern Alberta Art Gallery The Southern Alberta Art Gallery Maansiksikaitsitapiitsinikssin (or SAAG) is a contemporary art gallery located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It has three gallery spaces and a gift shop. History In 1974, local residents formed the Sout ...

(2001) ''By Land and Sea (Prospect and Refuge)'' Presentation House Gallery (1999)

Public art

''Boulevard'' at Yaletown-Roundhouse (2014) Canada Line Subway Station, Vancouver ''Root System,'' Pipeline Road, Stanley Park (2007–2008, 6 month installation), Davie and Pacific Boulevard, commissioned by TransitBC and the Canada Line ''Lost Streams, Kitsilano'' (1995–96), City of Vancouver Park Board, permanent site-specific installation

Selected collections

* The National Gallery of Canada *

Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver) The Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) is a non-profit public contemporary art gallery in downtown Vancouver. The CAG exhibits local, national, and international artists, primarily featuring emerging local artists producing Canadian contemporary art ...

* Government of Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs *

Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) ( (MCPC)) was a gallery of Canadian contemporary art and documentary photography. Founded in 1985 and affiliated to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), it was housed at the National Gallery ...

Selected awards

* Higashikawa Award for photographic achievements, Japan, 2018 * Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, 2012 * Mayor's Arts Award (Visual Arts), Vancouver, 2009 *

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

Paris Studio Residency Award 2005 * Canada Council Grant to Established Artists 2001, 1996

Selected bibliography

* Laurence, Robin. "Excavating the city’s roots." Georgia Straight. January 2008. * Bancroft, Marian Penner, Ed. "UBC in the Sixties: A conversation with Audrey Capel Doray, Gathie Falk, Donald Gustein, Karen Jamieson, Glenn Lewis, Jamie Reid, and Abraham Rogatnick." Ruins in Process: Vancouver Art in the Sixties. 2009.

References

External links

CCCA Artist Profile for Marian Penner Bancroft

Vancouver Art in the Sixties: Marian Penner Bancroft interviews Audrey Capel Doray, Gathie Falk, Donald Gutstein, Karen Jamieson, Glenn Lewis, and Abraham Rogatnick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Marian Penner Living people Canadian photographers Canadian women photographers 1947 births People from Chilliwack Artists from Vancouver University of British Columbia alumni Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Academic staff of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts