Tanya Mars (born 1948) is a performance and video artist based 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 ...

, Canada.

Biography

Mars was born in Monroe, Michigan in 1948, and has lived in Canada since 1967. She was married once, and has one daughter. Mars is also known as Tanya Rosenberg. She was educated at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ann Arbor, Sir George Williams University in Montreal, and at Loyola College, Montreal (now incorporated into

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

). Mars currently teaches performance art and video in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media in the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough (abbreviated as U of T Scarborough or UTSC) is a division of the University of Toronto and one of its three campuses, located in the Scarborough, Ontario, Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

and is part of the graduate faculty of the Master of Visual Studies Program at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Work

Tanya Mars has been an active member of the Canadian arts scene, creating

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

and video works since 1974. She has performed widely across Canada, in Valparaiso, Chile, Mexico City, Sweden, France and Helsinki. Her work draws on feminist discourse and imagery, and often uses humour and satire. Mars is a founding member of and director o
Powerhouse Galleries
(

La Centrale La Centrale galerie Powerhouse is an artist-run space in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1973. For decades, it was known as the city's only feminist art gallery. History The idea for the gallery grew out of a consciousness-raising group th ...

) in Montreal, the first women's art gallery in Canada. She was the editor of ''Parallelogramme'' magazine from 1977–1989, and very active i
The Association of National Non-Profit Artist-run Centres
for 15 years. During the 1970s and 1980s, Mars was a member and secretary of The Association of National Non-Profit Artist-Run Centres, a national lobby group for artist-run centres (1976-1989). She is a past president and member of FADO, a non-profit artist-run centre for performance art based in Toronto, Canada. Currently, she is also a member of th
7a*11d
Collective that produces a bi-annual International Festival of Performance Art in Toronto. ''Tyranny of Bliss'' took place in 2004 in

which had audiences travel by car to 14 tableaux representing the seven heavenly virtues and seven deadly sins. With Johanna Householder, Mars co-edited the 2004 anthology ''Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women''. A second volume, also co-edited by Mars and Householder, entitled ''More Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women'' was published in 2016. Mars' performance work received in-depth treatment in a 2008 critical anthology edited by Paul Couillard.

Videography

* The Granny Suites, Part 1: Happy Birthday to You - 2006 * 7 Deadly Sins/ 7 Deadly Virtues - 2004 * Hot! - 1998 * Doom - 1996 * Bronco's Kiss - 1996 * Mz. Frankenstein - 1993 * End of Nature, The - 1991 * PURE HELL - 1990 * Pure Sin - 1990 * Pure Nonsense - 1987 * Pure Sin - 1986 * Pure Virtue - 1985 * 24 Postcards of Rage: No Man's Land - 1983 (with Rina Fraticelli) * Picnic In The Drift - 1981

Performance Art

*Good Buy!, 2018 *Crone, 2017 (FADO, part of MonoMyths curated by Shannon Cochrane and Jess Dobkin) *Homage to the City of Women: Leaves of Gold, 2016 *Rare Parity, 2015 *The Artist is A Present, 2015 *Vanitas for an Arctic Landscape, 2015 *Tyranny of Bliss, 2004 * Performance Art Starter Kit, 2000 *Pure Virtue, 1984 *Pure Sin, 1987 *Pure Nonsense, 1987 *Pure Hell, 1990 * Fat - 1978 (Thirteen Jackies) * All Alone Am I - 1977 (Thirteen Jackies) * Super Secretary - 1977 * Tanya-in-the-Box - 1976 * Codpieces: phallic paraphernalia - 1974

Awards

* 2008 - Awarded

Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are annual awards for achievements in visual and media arts in Canada. Up to eight awards are presented annually, each with a prize amount of $25,000. Created in 2000 by then Governor General ...

. * 2005 - Awarded "Artist of the Year," Untitled Arts Awards, Toronto. * 1981 - Received Chalmers Award for innovative collaboration in the performing arts for ''Picnic in the Drift'' with Rina Fraticelli.

Residencies

* 2008
The Cité internationale des arts
in Paris, International Artist in Residence. * 2008
Lilith Performance Studio
in Malmö, Sweden. Presented ''In Dulci Jubilo'' curated by Elin Lundgren and Petter Pettersson. * 1993 - Western Front in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented ''Mz Frankenstein'' with Judy Radul">Western Front Society">Western Front in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented ''Mz Frankenstein'' with Judy Radul and Brice Canyon as part of six-week residency, curated by Kate Craig. * 1984 - Western Front in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented ''Pure Virtue''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Tanya 1948 births Living people American performance artists American expatriates in Canada American video artists American women artists Artists from Michigan Artists from Toronto Canadian performance artists American women performance artists Canadian women performance artists Canadian video artists Women video artists Canadian women artists Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners People from Monroe, Michigan University of Michigan alumni