Jordan Bennett, photo courtesy of the artist.
Join us for an afternoon talk with visual artist Jordan Bennett. Bennett is L’nu (Mi’kmaq), from Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland (Ktaqmkuk), and is based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS). His talk will focus on how exploration, collaboration, sharing, and mentorship have become central pillars of his artistic and community-based work. Reflecting on play, family, and ancestral community belongings, Bennett will discuss how land is at the root of his non-disciplinary practice.
Bennett is a faculty member for the Winter 2026 Banff Artist in Residence program, a transformative five-week residency that provides mentorship, critical feedback, and studio time to visual artists at any stage of their career.
This event is part of the Visual Arts Open Lecture Series, which presents talks by leading Canadian and international artists, curators, and academics.
Visual Arts is supported by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Outstanding Artist Program.
About Jordan Bennett
Jordan Bennett
Jordan Bennett is L’nu (Mi’kmaq), from Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland (Ktaqmkuk). He currently works and lives in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS). Having a methodology that is deeply guided by the Land of his ancestors, his ongoing work possesses qualities of familiarity that can serve as a connection for a wide range of audiences spanning culture and generation. His work, though not always directly challenging colonial perceptions of Indigenous histories and presence, lends itself to discussions regarding contemporary Indigenous realities within urban and rural communities. His ongoing practice utilizes sculpture, painting, video, immersive installations, and sound to explore land, language, the act of visiting and his familial histories. Bennett currently holds the position of Associate Professor, Expanded Media at NSCAD University. He received his BFA from Memorial University (Grenfell Campus) 2008, and an MFA from the University of British Columbia Okangan, 2016. Since 2008 he has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally in over 100 group and solo shows as well as created multiple public art commissions throughout Canada. Jordan continues to explore, collaborate, share, and mentor within his practice as these have become the pillars of his artistic and community-based work. Bennett has been the recipient of several awards and honours, most notably shortlisted for the 2018 Sobey Art Award; a Long list winner of the 2020 Sobey Art Award, the 2020 winner of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award for his 100-foot installation “Tepkik”; represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2015 Venice Biennale’s collateral events and was named the 2014 Newfoundland and Labrador Art’s Council’s Artist of the Year.