Ursula Johnson (born 1980) is a multidisciplinary
Mi’kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
artist based in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, Canada. Her work combines the Mi’kmaq tradition of
basket weaving
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
with sculpture, installation, and
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 ...
. In all its manifestations her work operates as didactic intervention, seeking to both confront and educate her viewers about issues of identity, colonial history, tradition, and cultural practice. In 2017, she won the
Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under w ...
.
Early life and education
Ursula A. Johnson was born in
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...
, in 1980. She was raised in
Eskasoni First Nation
The Eskasoni Mi'kmaw Nation () is a band government of the Mi'kmaq First Nations, located in Unama'ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, Canada. As of 2021, Eskasoni has a membership of 4,675. Of this population, 3,973 live on-Reserve, and 667 live of ...
, Cape Breton, which lays claim to be the largest Mi’kmaq community in the world. She was taught basket weaving by her great-grandmother, renowned artist Caroline Gould. Johnson participated in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations, focusing on creating the first Indigenous Youth Caucus within the institution.
Johnson pursued a secondary education, first enrolling in the Theatre Arts Program at the
University of Cape Breton (1998-2000) in nearby Sydney, NS. She then moved to Halifax in 2002 to attend
NSCAD University
NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The unive ...
, earning an interdisciplinary BFA degree in 2006. Johnson then became the first
Artist-in-residence
Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...
at Cape Breton University.
Basket weaving
Many of Johnson's exhibitions and performances include basket weaving, emphasizing traditional Mi’kmaq techniques and forms. Johnson's work in basket weaving draws attention to the way in which baskets have traditionally been placed in anthropological and historical exhibits instead of being celebrated as a continuing indigenous cultural practice. Her work blurs the line between baskets as artifacts, commodities, and art objects.
Several of her experimental basket works were shown in ''O’pltek'' (It's Not Right), a solo show at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery in 2011. In her 2006 piece for Nations in a Circle in Halifax Johnson wove a basket around herself, employing the traditional methods for the first time since her move off the reserve in an exploration of her self-defined identity as an Urban Aboriginal artist engaged with traditional Mi’kmaq cultural production and traditions.
[ As part of her residency at Cape Breton University, Johnson developed and taught a course called “The Role of the Mi’kmaw Basket in Contemporary Fine Craft”.][ Johnson has also taught basket weaving through NSCAD's extended studies department. Johnson organized a 30-year retrospective of Caroline Gould's work ''Kloqowej'' (Star) at the Mary E. Black gallery before Gould's death in 2011.
]
Nocturne projects
Johnson has produced multiple projects for multiple iterations of ''Nocturne: Art at Night'', an annual free art festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia that takes place between 6pm and midnight:
''Elmiet'' - 2010
For the 2010, Nocturne Festival and the Prismatic Festival Johnson created a performance piece called ''Elmiet'', a Mi’kmaq verb meaning “to go home”, drawing attention to the history of scalping in Nova Scotia. Johnson declared the performance the last scalping in Nova Scotia. Scalping is a practice that dates back to the founding of Halifax and the 1756 Scalping Proclamation has remained in legislation despite a public apology by the Nova Scotia Government in 2000. For the performance Johnson wore a headpiece made from traditional Mi’kmaq basket weaving techniques, covering her eyes and trailing down her back like hair. She began the performance by being led through downtown Halifax by a guide and a group doing parkour
Parkour () is an athletic Training#Physical training, training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment ...
who embodied the idea of energy flowing through the surroundings. At 9 pm the performance culminated on the steps of the Grand Parade (Halifax)
The Grand Parade (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Parade Square") is a historic military parade square dating from the founding of Halifax in 1749. At the north end of the Grand Parade, is the Halifax City Hall, the seat of municipal gover ...
. Johnson then invited a member of the audience to remove her headpiece and symbolically scalp her.
''Hot Looking'' - 2013
For Nocturne 2013, Johnson collaborated with Soto Pow Wow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their ...
dancer, Bert Milberg, to create a response to the 2012 No Doubt music video for ''Looking Hot''. For the performance Milberg danced from 6pm to midnight in the storefront window of a luxury shop on Spring Garden road. He danced in full regalia to ''Looking Hot'' on a loop, intermittently stopping to sit and pose as viewers took pictures and video. The piece was a response to the appropriation and commodification of indigenous cultures and identity.
L'nuisimk: El-noo-wee-simk: Speaking Indian - 2018
For Nocturne 2018 (curated by Raven Davis), Johnson and partner, Angella Parsons,Mi'kmaw
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
and Parsons in English, the conversations engaged with themes of vulnerability, intimacy, and more immediately, their surroundings.
Solo exhibitions
*2023: "Emmitukwemk: The Visit." The Blue Building, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2021: "ITHA: The Livingroom." The Blue Building, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2018: "Ke'tapekiaq Ma'qimikew: The Land Sings / La terre chante." SBC Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
*2018: "The Indian Truckhouse of High Art.''"'' Central Art Garage, Ottawa, Ontario
*2017: "Mi'kwite'tmn (Do You Remember)." The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
*2015: "Mi'kwite'tmn (Do You Remember)." Confederation Centre Art Gallery
The Confederation Centre Art Gallery (CCAG; ) is an art museum that forms a part of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The art museum pavilion forms the northeast portion of the Confederation Centre ...
, Charlottetown, PEI
*2014: "Mi'kwite'tmn (Do You Remember)." College Art Gallery 1, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Group shows
*2023: "Landscape and Stories." The Blue Building, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2021: "Soft Launch." The Blue Building, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2019: Àbadakone , Continuous Fire , Feu continuel. National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
Ottawa, Ontario
*2018: "#callresponse." St. Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2018: "Nanabozho's Sisters." Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2017: "INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE." Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
*2017: ''UnSettled''. Queer Arts Festival, Vancouver, BC
*2017: "Landmarks2017."
*2014: "Memory Keepers." Urban Shaman Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
*2014: "Making Otherwise: Craft and Material Fluency in Contemporary Art." Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
Curatorial projects
*2011: Kloqowej: A 30 Year Retrospective of Caroline Gould. Mary E. Black Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2004: Showcase of Aboriginal Arts and Crafts. King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia
*2001: Aboriginal Youth Art Exhibit. Micmac Friendship Center, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Residencies
*2022: Ocean Fellowship, TBA21 Academy, Venice, Italy
*2014: Artist-in-residence, The Pictou Island Portages (part of The Great Canadian Pilgrimages Project, curated by Eryn Foster), Pictou Island, Nova Scotia
*2013: Artist-in-residence, University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, Edinburgh College of Art & Design with Scottish Sculpture Workshops and The Naked Craft Network, Scotland, UK
*2013 – 2014: As the first Artist-in-residence, Johnson has been teaching a class entitled “The Role of the Mi’kmaw Basket in Contemporary Fine Craft”. Cape Breton University Art Gallery and Unama’ki College, Glace Bay, NS
Awards
*2019: Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award (for ''Moose Fence,'' 2017), Nova Scotia MasterworksSobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under w ...
Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a 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 foster and promote the study a ...
*2013: Grants to Individuals Presentation Grant, Arts Nova Scotia
*2010: Grants to Individuals Presentation Grant, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture & Heritage
*2010: Flying Eagle Program, Canada Council for the Arts
*2010: Grants to Individuals Creation Grant, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture & Heritage
*2009: Aboriginal Peoples Collaborative Exchange Travel Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
*2008: Aboriginal Traditional Visual Art Forms Research Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
Teaching
*2013: "The Role of the Mi’kmaw Basket in Contemporary Fine Art". University College of Cape Breton, Glace Bay, NS
*2012: "Intro to Mi’kmaw Language". Micmac Child Development Centre, Halifax, NS
*2011–2012: "Intro to Mi’kmaw Basketry". NSCADU School of Extended Studies, Halifax NS
*2010: "Mi’kmaw Basketry".Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay ON
*2004–2008: Facilitator/Instructor Various Workshops for At-Risk Youth
Community involvement
On January 25, 2014, as part of the Ideal Law Conference hosted by the Social Activist Law Student Association of Dalhousie University, Ursula Johnson performed a durational song as a form of social resistance, joined by a Mi’kmaq elder. For the performance Johnson called “IKATK” (“She Protects”) the two women extended invitations for audience members to join in their performance or to stand in solidarity with them. The protest lasted four hours, from 9 am to 1 pm, and was held at the Schulich School of Law
The Schulich School of Law is the law school of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1883 as Dalhousie Law School, it is the oldest university-based common law school in Canada. It adopted its current name in October ...
in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On May 22, 2009, Johnson participated in the UNICEF sponsored panel “Taking Advocacy Digital: Emerging Online Indigenous Networks”, in New York, USA. The panel, a “side event of the Eighth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.” featured representatives of various Indigenous Youth Organizations brought together to discuss the engagement of indigenous youth with “the global community in a digital age.”
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ursula
1980 births
Living people
21st-century First Nations artists
21st-century First Nations women
Artists from Nova Scotia
Feminist artists
First Nations basket weavers
Canadian basket weavers
Eskasoni First Nation people
NSCAD University alumni
People from Sydney, Nova Scotia
Canadian queer artists
First Nations women artists
First Nations feminists
LGBTQ First Nations people
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
Canadian LGBTQ artists