Arthur Renwick

A n I n t r o d u c t i o n t o
C o n t e m p o r a r y N a t i v e A r t i s t s i n C a n a d a

A r t h u r R e n w i c k

b. 1965, Kitimat, British Columbia
First Nations Affiliation: Haisla

Arthur Renwick is part of a new generation of First Nations artists who are active in diverse areas of the fine art system, using it to obtain greater exposure and a more nuanced level of discourse on Native issues. Renwick studied photography at Vancouver's Emily Carr College of Art and Design (1989) and Concordia University in Montréal (M.F.A., 1993). His work often utilizes the Northwest Coast form of the totem pole, strategically reinvented to contain not carved representations of family crests, but metaphorical groupings of photos commenting on the issues of personal and community identity, the reclamation of land and culture, and the damaging legacy of uninvited colonial presence. Renwick has also worked as a research assistant at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (1989), and photographed artists for the catalogue of the INDIGENA exhibition. He has served as a member of the advisory board for the exhibition New Territories: 350/500 Years After (1992), and on the board of the Toronto Photographer’s workshop. In 1993, he completed an orientation programme at the National Gallery of Canada, and a curatorial internship at The Power Plant in Toronto from 1993 to 1995. From then until 1998, he worked as assistant curator to Gerald McMaster at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec.

R E C E N T E X H I B I T I O N S

1998	stately monuments. Concordia University, Montréal, Québec
1997	Dis / Location Markers. Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto, Ontario AlterNative. Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Ontario
1995	Nation-to-Nation: Native Love. DAS Communication, Montréal, Québec; Art Space, Peterborough, Ontario; A.K.A. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan HERMIT. The Monastery, Plasy, Czech Republic
1994	Art Bingo. Art Exhibition and Performance, Montréal, Québec Nation-to-Nation. Art Exhibition and Performance, Montréal, Québec
1993-1994	Multiplicity: A New Cultural Strategy. University of BC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, British Columbia
1993	Social Studies / Still Lives. Le Mois de la Photo, Les Maisons de la Culture, Montréal, Québec Contemporary Camera. Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Ontario / Pitt Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia First Nations Art ‘93. Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario
1992	Tracing Locations. Bourget Gallery, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec Experimental Photographic Artworks. Native Indian/Inuit Photographer's Association (NIIPA), Hamilton, Ontario New Territories: 350/500 Years After. Les Maisons de la Culture, Montréal, Québec
1991	Contemporary Indian and Inuit Photography. La Maison de la Culture Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Montréal, Québec Strengthening the Spirit. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario OKANATA. A Space Gallery, Toronto, Ontario Solidarity: Art After Oka. SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1990	Our Home and Native Land. Concordia University, Montréal, Québec

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

Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec
Canadian Native Arts Foundation, Toronto, Ontario
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Hull, Québec
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Vancouver Community College Langara Campus, Vancouver, British Columbia
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario

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

Baele, Nancy. "Visual arts: Looking at reality through alterNative eyes." The Ottawa Citizen, 21 April 1996, p. C-2.

Dompierre, Louise. Naked State: A Selected View of Toronto Art. Assisted by Arthur Renwick. Toronto, Ontario: The Power Plant, 1994. [Catalogue of an exhibition held at The Power Plant at Harbourfront Centre, 16 September - 6 November 1994]

Hill, Lynn. AlterNative. Kleinburg, Ontario: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1995.

Martin, Lee-Ann. Solidarity: Art After Oka. Ottawa, Ontario: SAW Gallery, 1991.

Renwick, Arthur. "La grande spillway: Eight satellite views overlooking the James Bay horizon [The impact of electric power on the author]." FUSE Magazine 20, no. 3 (June 1997): 18-19.

Renwick, Arthur. Faye HeavyShield: Into the garden of angels. Toronto, Ontario: The Power Plant, 1994.

Renwick, Arthur. "Kanata: Indian as voyeurs to the 'two founding nations'." Aboriginal Voices 1, no. 4 (Fall 1994): 29-31.

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.

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