Rebecca Belmore

Rebecca Belmore (born 1960) is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist currently residing in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Rooted in the political and social realities of Indigenous communities, Belmore’s works make evocative connections among bodies, land and language. Her work has appeared in two major survey touring exhibitions: Facing the Monumental (2018); The Named and the Unnamed (2002). Belmore was Canada’s official representative at the 2005 Venice Biennale. She also exhibited in major international exhibitions such as Whitney Biennial (2021); 16th Istanbul Biennial (2019); documenta 14 (2017); Havana Biennial (1991). A recipient of many accolades, she was recently recognized with the 2024 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts and Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2013).

Performances include: Facing the Monumental (2012); Victorious (2011); X (2010); Vigil (2002); Wild (2001); and Creation or Death We Will Win (1991). Belmore’s sculptures and installations include Wave Sound, Parks Canada, 2017; Trace, Canadian Museum for Human Rights (2014); and Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother, (performances 1991, 1992, 1996 and 2008).

Rebecca was awarded the prestigious Gershon Iskowitz Prize in 2016, the Hnatyshyn Visual Arts Award in 2009, the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation’s VIVA Award in 2004. She holds honorary doctorates from Université Laval, Quebec City; Nova Scotia College of Art and Design; Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver; and Ontario College of Art & Design University, Toronto.