b. 1951, Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
First Nations Affiliation: Chipewyan; Cree

After her mother died from tuberculosis, Jane Ash Poitras was adopted at the age of five by a German-Canadian widow and for the next twenty years her Native ancestry was denied. Poitras earned first a degree in microbiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In 1981, she reconnected with her ancestral community, and subsequently chose to study art full-time, completing an M.F.A in 1985 at Columbia University in New York. Central to her work is an exploration of the impact of colonialism, both past and present, as well as the political and spiritual strength of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Poitras's expressionistic mixed media-assemblaged works employ a postmodern vocabulary which reflect her advanced formal training and place her at the forefront of a new generation of  Native artists.

R E C E N T   E X H I B I T I O N S

S E L E C T E D   C O L L E C T I O N S

Alberta Indian Arts & Crafts Society Collection, Edmonton
Alberta Art Foundation, Edmonton
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec
City of Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal, Québec
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre, Sudbury, Ontario
McMichael Art Gallery, Kleinburg, Ontario
Native Services Unit, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Peace Hills Trust, Edmonton, Alberta
Thunder Bay Art Gallery Collection, Thunder Bay, Ontario
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
York University, Toronto, Ontario

S E L E C T E D   B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Ace, Barry, and July Papatsie. Transitions: Contemporary Canadian Indian and Inuit Art. Ottawa, Ontario: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1997.

Archuleta, Margaret. "4th Biennial Native American Fine Arts Invitational at the Heard Museum." American Indian Art Magazine 15 (Winter 1989): 56.

Biennial Native American Fine Arts Invitational. The 4th Biennial Native American Fine Arts Invitational: October 21, 1989- Spring 1990 : Marcus Amerman, R.E. Bartow, Frank Bigbear, Jr., Jesse Cooday, Allen Harmon, Cheyenne Harris, Faye HeavyShield, Jane Ash Poitras. Phoenix, Arizona: Heard Museum, 1989.

Canadian Museum of Civilization, ed. In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art. Hull, Québec: The Museum, 1993.

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. "In the red." In Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, eds. Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao, 122-133. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. Time for Dialogue: Contemporary Artists. Calgary, Alberta: Aboriginal Awareness Society, 1992.

Clark, Janet. Who Discovered the Americas?: Recent Work by Jane Ash Poitras. Thunder Bay, Ontario: Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1992.

Daniels, Marilyn. "Erasure and retrieval in mixed media." FUSE Magazine 18, no. 3 (Spring 1995): 43-45.

Duncan, Ann. "Aboriginal artists open new territory." The (Montréal) Gazette, 8 August 1992, p.15.

Duffek, Karen and Tom Hill. Beyond History. Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1986.

Enright, Robert. "The synchronic spirit: An interview with Jane Ash Poitras." Border Crossings 11, no. 4 (December 1992): 10-21.

Fabo, Andy. "Rethinking history: Beyond the valley of the other (Mercer Union, Toronto)." C Magazine 34 (Summer 1992): 36-43.

Fry, Jacqueline. "Stardusters." Parachute, no. 48 (September/October/November 1987): 53-54.

Gaede, Moritz. "Frances Dorsey, Charlie Murphy & Jane Ash Poitras: Image rites." ARTSatlantic 15, no. 3 (Fall/Winter 1997): 4-5. [Review: Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia]

Hill, R William. "Jane Ash Poitras: Fragments from a holocaust." Aboriginal Voices 5, no. 1 (January / February 1998): 56-59.

"Jane Ash Poitras." Border/Lines Magazine 17 (Winter 1989/1990): 22-23.

Killam, Sherry. "Gallery: Jane Ash Poitras." (Vancouver Edition) Western Living 21, no. 5 (May 1991): 98.

Kostash, Myrna. "The shaman: Jane Ash Poitras believes her paintings help heal the wounds of Canada's Native people." Chatelaine 70, no. 4 (April 1997): 113-116.

Lunn, Dr. John, et al. Canada's First People: A Celebration of Contemporary Native Visual Arts. Fort McMurray, Alberta: Syncrude Canada; Alberta Part Art Publications Society, 1992.

MacKay, Gillian. "Lady Oracle: Jane Ash Poitras and the First Nations phenomenon." Canadian Art 11, no. 3 (1994 -10th Anniversary): 74-81.

MacKay, Marilyn. " Changers: A spiritual renaissance." ARTSatlantic 11, no. 2 (Winter 1992): 34-36

Mainprize, Garry. Stardusters: New Works by Jane Ash Poitras, Pierre Sioui, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Edward Poitras. Organized by the Thunder Bay Art Gallery; Translation, Sylvain Topping. Thunder Bay, Ontario: The Gallery, 1986. [Catalogue of a travelling exhibition: 8 November 1986 - 22 December 1987]

McMaster, Gerald, and Lee-Ann Martin, eds. INDIGENA: Contemporary Native Perspectives. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992./ INDIGENA.: Perspectives autochtones contemporaines. Hull, Québec: Musée canadien des civilisations, 1992.

Review: Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto. Toronto Star, 11 May 1993, p. D1, D22.

Review: Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto. FUSE Magazine 18, no. 3 (Spring 1995): 43-45.

Richardson, Joan, Robin Metcalfe, and Charlotte Townsend-Gault. "Full houses." Canadian Art 14, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 62-71. [Reviews of: Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art '96, London Life Young Contemporaries '96, and Topographies: Aspects of Recent BC Art]

"Robert Houle, Jane Ash Poitras & Others. Re-Visions: Contemporary Native Art." Winnipeg Free Press, 26 September 1992, p. B6. [Review: Winnipeg Art Gallery]

Tétrault, Pierre-Léon, Dana Alan Williams, Guy Sioui Durand, Alfred Young Man, et al. New Territories: 350/500 Years After: An Exhibition of Contemporary Aboriginal Art of Canada. Prefaces by Robert Houle, Tom Hill. Montréal, Québec: Ateliers Vision planétaire, 1992.