Banff Centre alumna Meagan Musseau sets out on cross-Canada speaking tour

BANFF, AB, April 2, 2019 – Interdisciplinary visual artist Meagan Musseau (Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk territory –– Bay of Islands, Newfoundland) will embark on a multi-city, national speaking tour starting April 14, 2019, at The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Musseau is the winner of the 2018 Emerging Atlantic Artist Residency, which includes an eight-week fully funded residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity followed by the opportunity to travel across Canada to speak about her experience and project.

    “The residency opened an exciting space to work towards my original project goals,” said Musseau. “I fully immersed myself in a creative process and came out with a collection of wall drawings, materials and designs for garments, and ideas for a new media installation. During the speaking tour, I will share details about the artwork I created at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and how it fits into the trajectory of my practice.”

Musseau works with customary art practices and new media, such as beadwork, basketry, land-based action and installation to explore notions of memory, language, and the relationship between land and body, object and narrative. During the residency, she focused on creating artwork in response to a collection of Beothuk caribou bone pendants held in the vault at The Rooms provincial museum in St. John’s, NL. Musseau seeks to symbolically reclaim these pendants while honouring the dreams and strength of her relations through artistic creation. 

Musseau’s tour dates include: 

April 14th // The Rooms (St. John’s, Newfoundland)
April 17th  // AXENÉO7 (Gatineau, Québec)  
April 23rd // Urban Shaman (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 
April 25th // Grunt Gallery (Vancouver, British Columbia) 
April 27th // Open Space (Victoria, British Columbia)

The Emerging Atlantic Artist Residency is a partnership with Banff Centre and the Hnatyshyn Foundation, and funded through the support of the Harrison McCain Foundation. The Residency aims to strengthen cultural connections between eastern and western Canada by giving one emerging visual artist from Atlantic Canada the opportunity to create new work within the inspiring surrounds of Banff Centre over a period of eight weeks.

About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home on Treaty 7 territory in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca

About The Hnatyshyn Foundation: Established by the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, Canada’s twenty-fourth Governor General, the Hnatyshyn Foundation is dedicated to promoting and funding emerging, developing, and mid-career artists and curators in Canada through grants, residencies, and prizes totaling $200,000 annually. Its programs are funded by donations from individuals, private foundations, government, including the Department of Canadian Heritage, and corporations. rjhf.com

About Meagan Musseau: Meagan Musseau is an interdisciplinary visual artist of Mi'kmaq and French ancestry from Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk territory (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland). Musseau graduated with a BFA in Visual Art from Grenfell Campus Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her work has shown nationally, in venues such as FLUX Media Art Gallery, Victoria; Open Space, Victoria; Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River; Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna; Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton; MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina; Ace Art Inc., Winnipeg; Grenfell Art Gallery, Corner Brook; and Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s. She was a member of the Indigenous Emerging Artist Program 2015-16 on unceded Coast Salish territory and has participated in artist residencies at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Alberta; Centre for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College Chicago, Illinois, United States; University of Brighton Fine Art Printmaking, Brighton, England; and the National Artist Program, 2011 Canada Games, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Musseau's work has been supported by awards such as the Emerging Artist Award, VANL-CARFAC (2018); Emerging Atlantic Canada Artist Residency at Banff Centre, The Hnatyshyn Foundation (2018); Aboriginal Arts Development Award, First Peoples’ Cultural Council (2016); and Corner Brook Emerging Artist of the Year (2013).  meaganmusseau.com