Marianne Nicolson: Artist activist

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Today I’ve been learning about Marianne Nicolson, a Canadian Indigenous artist, because a solo exhibit of her work is planned for my city next year.

Nicolson describes herself on her website as an artist activist of the Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nations, a cultural researcher and historian, and an advocate for Indigenous land rights. Also from her website:

All her work is political in nature.

It’s certainly beautiful.

There’s the huge outdoor pictograph “Cliff Painting,” an example of what she describes in an artist statement as “extensions on traditional Northwest Coast artistic expressions.”

There’s “Tunics of the Changing Tide: Kwikwasut’inuxw Histories,” an expression of what Nicolson terms “revitalization of cultural forms.”

There’s “Walking on Water (Thin Ice),” which asks us to reflect on climate change.

There’s “Bax’wana’tsi: the Container for Souls,” a stunning affirmation of traditional culture, language and beliefs.

Then there’s her amazing “River in the Sky”:

I can’t wait.

-Amy