Jaimie Isaac Explained

Jamie Isaac
Nationality:	Sagkeeng First Nation, Canadian
Alma Mater:	University of British Columbia

Jaimie Isaac is a Winnipeg-based Anishinaabe artist and curator.^[1]

Early life and education

Isaac is of Ojibway and British descent and is a member of Sagkeeng First Nation.^[2] She holds a master's degree from the University of British Columbia and a BA in art history with an Arts and Cultural Management Certificate from the University of Winnipeg. Her Masters of Arts thesis was titled, "Decolonizing curatorial practice: acknowledging Indigenous cultural praxis, mapping its agency, recognizing its aesthetic within contemporary Canadian art."^[3]

Career

Jamie is a founding member of The Ephemerals Collective, an all-female Indigenous arts collective based out of Winnipeg.^[4] She has sat on the boards of numerous Canadian art organizations including the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective and the Aboriginal Manitoba Music association.^[5]

In 2010, Isaac was employed as the visual arts coordinator for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. In 2016, Isaac was co-faculty with artist Duane Linklater at the Summer Institute of the Wood Land School at Plug In Institute.^[6]

From 2015 to 2017, Isaac served as the Winnipeg Art Gallery's Aboriginal Curatorial Resident, a position funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.^[7]

In 2017, Isaac was hired as Curator of Indigenous and Contemporary Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.^[8] In 2021, she was appointed chief curator at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.^[9]

Work

Writing

• "Reflections on Unsettling Narratives of Denial" in The Land We Are Now: Writers and Artists Unsettle the Politics of Reconciliation (Winnipeg: ARP Books, 2015).^[10]
• "In Dialogue: Scott Benesiinaabandan’s waabana’iwewin" in Public 54: Indigenous Art: New Media and the Digital, 2016.^[11]
• With Leach Decter, "(official denial) trade value in progress: Unsettling Narratives" in Reconcile This! (West Coast Line 71, no. 2, 2012).

Exhibitions

• Curated with Julie Nagam, Insurgence/Resurgence, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2017^{[12] [13]}
• Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant, Winnipeg Art Gallery^[14]
• Curator, Border X, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2016.^[15]
• Curator, We Are On Treaty Land, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2015-2016.
• Quiyuktchigaewin; Making Good, Winnipeg Art Gallery^[16]
• With Leah Decter, official denial (trade value in progress), travelling participatory art project, across Canada, 2011-2015.^[17]
• Creator, Burning an Effigy, film, 2014.^[18]

Awards and nominations

• Participant in Canada Council for the Art's Indigenous delegation, Venice Biennale, 2017.^[19]
• Finalist, Making a Difference Award, Winnipeg Arts Council, 2017.^[20]

Notes and References

1. News: 'Appropriation is theft': 3 Indigenous writers speak to CBC on 'appropriation prize' controversy. CBC News. 2018-03-14. en.
2. News: We Are On Treaty Land exhibition acknowledges traditional territory CBC News. CBC. 2018-03-14. en-US.
3. Isaac . Jaimie Lyn . Decolonizing curatorial practice : acknowledging Indigenous curatorial praxis, mapping its agency, recognizing its aesthetic within contemporary Canadian art . open.library.ubc.ca . 2016 . UBC . 10.14288/1.0303135 . 20 November 2022.
4. Web site: The Ephemerals: Trending. www.uwinnipeg.ca. en. 2018-03-14.
5. Web site: bios. www.leahdecter.com. en. 2018-03-14.
6. Web site: Wood Land School Plug In ICA. plugin.org. en. 2018-04-05.
7. News: Winnipeg Art Gallery gets new curator, upcoming exhibit Metro Winnipeg. metronews.ca. 2018-03-14. en.
8. Web site: WAG Hires Jaimie Isaac as Curator of Indigenous and Contemporary Art Media Releases Winnipeg Art Gallery. Lizard. Visual. wag.ca. en. 2018-03-14.
9. Web site: Jaimie Isaac New Chief Curator at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria . www.timescolonist.com . 26 August 2021 . Times Colonist, 2021 . 20 November 2022.
10. News: Reconciliation reconsidered. Dudley. Michael. 2015-07-18. Winnipeg Free Press. 2018-03-14.
11. Web site: INDIGENOUS ART: NEW MEDIA AND THE DIGITAL. www.publicjournal.ca. 2018-04-05.
12. News: Sagkeeng First Nation member named WAG curator of Indigenous and contemporary art. Comments. Posted: 09/6/2017 1:20 PM . 2017-09-06. Winnipeg Free Press. 2018-03-14.
13. News: Winnipeg Art Gallery hosts groundbreaking Indigenous exhibit. CJOB. 2018-03-14. en.
14. News: Boarder X & Vernon Ah Kee: cantchant. 2016-10-31. Galleries West. 2018-04-05. en-us.
15. News: How the art of skateboarding can also be an act of empowerment CBC Arts. CBC. 2018-03-14. en-US.
16. News: Third Annual Symposium on the Future Imaginary: Asinnajaq (Isabella Weetaluktuk), Jamie Isaac, Heather Campbell! - Initiative For Indigenous Futures. 2017-11-15. Initiative For Indigenous Futures. 2018-04-05. en-US.
17. Web site: Blanket statement. Youds. Mike. October 8, 2011. Kamloops Daily. en. 2018-03-14.
18. Web site: Burning An Effigy. VUCAVU. en. 2018-04-05.
19. News: Trouble Me Venice: An Indigenous Curator's View of the Biennale. Canadian Art. 2018-03-14. en-US.
20. Web site: WAC Arts Awards Nominations for 2017 The Winnipeg Arts Council. winnipegarts.ca. en. 2018-03-14.