Visiting Artist Lecture: Nicole Roessel Neidhardt

Nicole Roessel Neidhardt is Diné (Navajo) of Kiiyaa'áanii clan on her mother’s side and a blend of European ancestry on her father’s side. Her Diné family is from Round Rock, Arizona and she grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Tewa territory. She received her Master of Fine Arts from OCAD University in Toronto, ON and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Neidhardt’s Diné identity is the heart of her artistic practice which encompasses Indigenous Futurisms, Diné Storytelling, and children’s book illustration. She works in a variety of media and contexts such as: illustration, mylar stencilling, installation, mural painting and design, hand-poke tattooing, and facilitating community-engaged art. Neidhardt is the co-founder of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium, alongside Gina Mowatt. She is also a co-founder of Groundswell Climate Collective. 

This talk is free and open to the public, all are welcome. If you have accommodation needs, please let us know through the registration form or contact dmg.utsc@utoronto.ca.

U of T Scarborough students attending for course credit should register through CLNx rather than Eventbrite. See https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/acm/visiting-artist-lecture-series-2022-2023 for more details.

This talk is part of the Visiting Artist Lecture Series, co-presented by the Doris McCarthy Gallery & Studio Art program, Department of Arts, Culture & Media, University of Toronto Scarborough. This semester's series addresses Indigenous sovereignty, a long-established statement of Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. By working towards autonomy and recognition as sovereign authority of the land, Indigenous sovereignty works to undo colonial narratives and assumptions of land ownership here in what is now called Canada. Each of us play a role in this goal, with much of the work beginning in an education on what Indigenous sovereignty looks like and how we can work towards it. For VALS 2022-2023, we will learn from Indigenous artists on how this work is manifested through their respective practices.

Image: Nicole Roessel Neidhardt, detail, Stories Held in a Time Traveller’s Hogan, 2021