Roxanne Charles-George

Not to be confused with Roxane George-Wiltshire.

Roxanne Charles-George is a mixed media artist, activist, curator, storyteller, and cultural historian of Strait Salish and European descent. She previously was a councilor,[1][2] and continues to be an active band member of Semiahmoo First Nation in Surrey, British Columbia, promoting art, language, and culture. As an artist, she works with a wide range of media. She directly responds to the problems of colonialism, and documents issues that reflect her life experiences such as spirituality, identity, urbanization, food security, resource extraction, trauma, and various forms of systemic violence. As a contemporary storyteller and cultural historian, her goal is to touch, move, and inspire others through her work. Her work employs traditional Semiahma forms of knowledge such as visual representation, oral history, and ceremony.[3][4]

Her work is in the collection of Surrey Art Gallery.[5][6]

Exhibitions

Solo

Group

  • Ninety-Seven Days, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 2014[9]
  • Views from the South Bank I: Histories, Memories, Myths, Surrey Art Gallery, 2015[10]
  • Gross Density Parcel, AgentC Projects, 2015[11]
  • Intangible: Memory and Innovation in Coast Salish Art, Bill Reid Gallery, 2017[12]
  • Ground Signals, Surrey Art Gallery, 2017[13]
  • how do you carry the land, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2018[14]
  • Connecting Threads, Surrey Art Gallery, 2018[15]
  • Li iyá:qtset – We Transform It, Reach Gallery Museum, 2019[16]
  • The Lind Prize 2019[17], Polygon Gallery, 2019
  • In 2020, Charles-George began a collaboration with Laiwan and Daniel Negatu on a story-based artwork installation, in conjunction with the opening of Simon Fraser University's School of Sustainable Energy Engineering in Surrey.[18]

Education

Charles-George holds two undergraduate degrees from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and completed a Master of Fine Arts at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.[4] She also holds a certificate in Northwest Coast Jewelry Design from the Native Education College in Vancouver, BC.[2]

Teaching

Charles-George has taught arts workshops with Surrey Art Gallery,[19] the White Rock Museum & Archives,[20] and ArtsStarts.[21]

Curating

In 2017, Charles-George co-curated the exhibition Ground Signals at Surrey Art Gallery.[13] In 2018, Charles-George was a guest curator for the Vancouver Mural Festival.[22]

Publications

  • pensamientos en la Frontera, Moniker Press, 2018[23]
  • Northwest Coast #5 Roxanne Charles, Or Gallery, 2019[24]

Community involvement

Charles-George has been vocal and influential in addressing issues related to water quality and infrastructure, to the Semiahmoo First Nations.[25] She has participated in organizing land-defense, and movement against fossil fuel expansion projects such as the Trans Mountain pipeline.[26][27]

Awards

Charles-George received a Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Semiahmoo Rotary Club in 2015.[28] In 2018, she was recognized with a Surrey Civic Treasure award in 2018, which honours those “who have achieved excellence in the production of the arts and/or made significant contributions to the development of arts and heritage in the City of Surrey and beyond,” for her work as an artist and educator.[29] In 2019, she was nominated for the Lind prize.[30]

References

  1. ^ "Semiahmoo | British Columbia Assembly of First Nations". www.bcafn.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. ^ a b "White Rock Sun - [ Meet The Neighbours ]". www.whiterocksun.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  3. ^ "116: Get UNCOMFORTABLE and GO WITH YOUR FEAR! (w/ Roxanne Charles)". Your Creative Push. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  4. ^ a b "Roxanne Charles". Capture Photography Festival. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  5. ^ Roxanne Charles - Surrey's Urban Sprawl, retrieved 2021-03-30
  6. ^ Roxanne Charles - ŚЌE,ЌÁL / Microphone, retrieved 2021-03-30
  7. ^ "The Strata of Many Truths". Capture Photography Festival. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  8. ^ Lederman, Marsha (April 8, 2019). "The Museum of Vancouver shows a different, darker way into Canada's residential schools with exhibition There Is Truth Here". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  9. ^ "Complex issues explored at fine arts exhibit". Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  10. ^ "Views from the Southbank I: Histories, Memories, Myths | City of Surrey". www.surrey.ca. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  11. ^ "Gross Density Parcel". www.agentcprojects.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  12. ^ "Coast Salish art takes on contemporary edge at the Bill Reid Gallery". The Georgia Straight. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  13. ^ a b "Ground Signals | City of Surrey". www.surrey.ca. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  14. ^ "how do you carry the land?". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  15. ^ "Connecting Threads | City of Surrey". www.surrey.ca. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  16. ^ "Li iyá:qtset – We Transform It – The Reach". Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  17. ^ "The Lind Prize 2019". The Polygon. 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  18. ^ "New art at SFU's Surrey campus to showcase Indigenous ways and build community".
  19. ^ "Sharing Perspectives: Indigenous Contemporary Art Workshop Grades K - 3" (PDF).
  20. ^ "Salish Weaving Workshop with Semiahmoo Artist Roxanne Charles" (PDF).
  21. ^ Design, Atef. "Arts Integration Learning Lab". ArtStarts in Schools. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  22. ^ "2018 Guest Curators: Roxanne Charles". Vancouver Mural Festival. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  23. ^ "pensamientos en la frontera". Moniker Press. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  24. ^ "Art Metropole / Northwest Coast #5 Roxanne Charles: Hybridity". Art Metropole. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  25. ^ "Semiahmoo First Nation emotions run high as water deadline looms". Surrey Now-Leader. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  26. ^ International, Radio Canada (2021-03-11). "Roxanne Charles-George speaks as protesters to the Trans Mountain Pipeline". RCI | English. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  27. ^ "TMX: 'We're being criminalized on our own territories'". Ricochet. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  28. ^ "Paul Harris Fellow Award Dinner".
  29. ^ "Artist, history buff named Surrey Civic Treasures for 2018". Cloverdale Reporter. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  30. ^ Woodend, Dorothy (2019-06-05). "Art for an Anxious Age". The Tyee. Retrieved 2021-03-24.