Biography and Curriculum Vitae
Stephanie Florence is a neurodiverse artist and curator originally from amiskwacîwâskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton, Alberta. The name Florence was previously used in the matriarchal blood line through first and middle names of relatives born in Denmark for generations. The legal-colonial name Wilson was given to Stephanie's ancestors upon entering Canada. In an attempt to usurp this patriarchal-colonial act, Stephanie has chosen to reform their identity as a Florence.
Their artwork is primarily based in collage and collaboration, borrowing from sculptural objects, installations, performative gestures, explorative painting, and photographic means. Currently, Florence is conducting exploratory research on interspecies citizenship, and how living bodies become a commodity for colonial-capitalist culture during their MFA at the University of Waterloo. Specifically, they are producing collaborative artwork with species (flora, fauna, micro-organisms, and humans) in the colonized-city landscape, with an intent to understand and communicate with beings that have been devalued by consumer-capitalist culture and extraction economies. They are a graduate of the University of Lethbridge with a BFA in Art Studio and a Diploma in Fine Art from MacEwan University.
Florence is grateful for the support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, and Pat the Dog in researching and producing artworks. In 2021, they curated the SkirtsAfire Festival, completed a residency at the Yorath House Studio, and exhibited The Human Wheel at the Lowlands Project Space, while launching their collaborative book titled COVID COLLECTIONS(funded by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton). This anthology was funded by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton interweaves collections of experiences, interviews, art, and poetry into a book from an inclusive array of Edmontonians during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a non-binary artist, Florence acknowledges the use of pronouns such as they, their, them, she, her, hers, he, him, and his.
Florence is grateful for the support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, and Pat the Dog in researching and producing artworks. In 2021, they curated the SkirtsAfire Festival, completed a residency at the Yorath House Studio, and exhibited The Human Wheel at the Lowlands Project Space, while launching their collaborative book titled COVID COLLECTIONS(funded by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton). This anthology was funded by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton interweaves collections of experiences, interviews, art, and poetry into a book from an inclusive array of Edmontonians during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a non-binary artist, Florence acknowledges the use of pronouns such as they, their, them, she, her, hers, he, him, and his.
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I, Stephanie Florence, acknowledge that I have conducted creative research and gained as a settler in the Indigenous land, amiskwacîwâskahikan, which is located on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. amiskwacîwâskahikan is home to a diverse range of Indigenous nations and peoples, including the nêhiyawak / Cree, Niitsitapi / Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Haudenosaunee / Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway / Saulteaux / Anishinaabeg, Tsuutʼina, and Inuit. I am committed to combatting colonialization, racism, ablism, and cis-hetero-patriarchy by acknowledging my inherent privilege as a white Canadian settler and attempting to make inclusive safe spaces for all persepctives.
Subsequently, I do not believe the Canadian government or Crown has ever attempted to act with honour in any legal standing with Indigneous peoples as Modern Specific and Comprehensive Land Claims and Treaties are continuously broken. The “Doctrine of Discovery” and terra nullius are racist and antiquated forms of legal standing that do not give the colonial-Canadian-state a right to rule, discriminate, steal, and murder Indigenous peoples, their lands, and their sovereignty. In essence, Indigenous peoples are the rightful heirs of Turtle Island and should be consulted and considered in every decision that affects land and kin.
Currently, I am producing artwork at the University of Waterloo which is located on the Attawandaron (Neutral) of the Haldimand Tract which is the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. As a second generation Canadian, I am grateful to the nations of Turtle Island and believe they are the rightful guardians and keepers of the land I have grown up in. I stand in solidarity with all Treaty peoples that further the systemic breakdown of racism and colonialism that is embedded deeply in so-called Canada.
Subsequently, I do not believe the Canadian government or Crown has ever attempted to act with honour in any legal standing with Indigneous peoples as Modern Specific and Comprehensive Land Claims and Treaties are continuously broken. The “Doctrine of Discovery” and terra nullius are racist and antiquated forms of legal standing that do not give the colonial-Canadian-state a right to rule, discriminate, steal, and murder Indigenous peoples, their lands, and their sovereignty. In essence, Indigenous peoples are the rightful heirs of Turtle Island and should be consulted and considered in every decision that affects land and kin.
Currently, I am producing artwork at the University of Waterloo which is located on the Attawandaron (Neutral) of the Haldimand Tract which is the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. As a second generation Canadian, I am grateful to the nations of Turtle Island and believe they are the rightful guardians and keepers of the land I have grown up in. I stand in solidarity with all Treaty peoples that further the systemic breakdown of racism and colonialism that is embedded deeply in so-called Canada.
Curriculum Vitae
florence.spf100@gmail.com
Education
2023 Master of Fine Art (Art Studio), University of Waterloo
2019 Bachelor of Fine Art (Art Studio) with Great Distinction, University of Lethbridge
2017 Fine Art Diploma with Distinction, MacEwan University
Awarded Research and Project Funding
2022/5 - 2023/04 Principal Applicant, Bombardier: Canadian Graduate Scholarship - Masters, Social Science and Humanity Research Council - 17,500
2022/1 - 2022/12 Principal Applicant, Region of Waterloo Arts Fund: Fall 2021 - 7,895
2022/1 - 2022/7 Principal Applicant, Waterloo Region Microgrant, Pat the Dog, 1,000
2021/12 - 2022/7 Co-applicant, Research and Creation Grant, Canada Council for the Arts Explore and Create Program - 25,000
2021/1 - 2021/8 Principal Applicant, Art Grant Individuals and Collectives - Major Artist-Driven Projects, Edmonton Arts Council - 23,000
2020/6 - 2021/5, Principal Applicant, Creators’ Reserve Grant, Edmonton Arts Council - 6,000
Awards and Scholarship
2022-2023 Ontario Graduate Scholarship offered // declined - 15,000
2022-2023 President’s Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo - 5,000
2022-2023 Arts Graduate Scholarship, The Government of Alberta - 15,000
2021-2022 Keith and Win Shantz International Research Scholarship - 9,350
2021-2022 ECF Bursaries and Awards, Edmonton Community Foundation - 3,000
2019 Island Mountain Arts Endowment Scholarship, Island Mountain Arts - 750
2019 Roloff Beny Award, University of Lethbridge - 4,200
2019 Art Society Award, University of Lethbridge - 50
2019 Art History/Museum Studies Gallery Award, University of Lethbridge - 150
2018-2019Art Endowment Fund, University of Lethbridge - 3900
2016, 2017, 2018 Jason Lang Scholarship, University of Lethbridge and MacEwan University. - 3,000 (total)
2018 University of Lethbridge Scholarship, University of Lethbridge - 700
2018 John Clark Scholarship in Art, University of Lethbridge - 750
2018 Mountain Standard Time: Search Engines Workshop Bursary, Trap\door ARC - 250
2018 Excellence in Art Studio Award, University of Lethbridge - 200
2017 Post-Diploma Entrance Scholarship, University of Lethbridge - 750
2017 Barbara & John Poole Family Scholarship, MacEwan University - 1,250
2016-2017 Student Initiative Grant, MacEwan University - 15,000
Curated Exhibitions
2020/7 - 2021/7 Independently Contracted Visual Art Curator, Systemic Contractions // Covid Collections, SkirtsAfire Festival, Edmonton, Alberta.
2019/9 - 2020/3 Independently Contracted Visual Art Curator, Complicated // Suspension: Em-Pathos, SkirtsAfire Festival, Stollery Gallery at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts, Edmonton, Alberta.
2019/4 Co-Curator: Open Studio Exhibition, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/11 Co-curated: The Student Pixel Exhibition, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/3 - 2018/6 Curated: Here and There, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/4 Co-Curated: The Orange Factory, Grant MacEwan University, Alberta.
Artistic Exhibitions and Public Artworks
2022/07/07 Artist. Intrinsically Linked and . TOAP@21, Island Mountian Arts Gallery, Wells, British Columbia.
2022/05/20 Production Team Lead. LOCUS Bee Sancturary - Hilma’s Hive, Artwork of Tanja Thorjussen and Thale Blix Fastvold, Oslo, Norway
2022/05/06 Collaborator. Nest(ling) Brick. Clay and Glass Art Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/10/03 Curator of Film. Covid Collections. Edmonton International Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta.
2021/06/12 Artist. The Human Wheel. Lowlands Project Space, Edmonton, Alberta.
2020/02/16 Co-Artist. Gluttony. Silverskate Festival, Edmonton, Alberta.
2019/04/08 Artist. The Knife, Meatsacks, Simulacra, and Ex Carne, CaroEst. Open Studio Exhibition: University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2019/03/28 Artist. Red 40, Red 3. Earth Day Symposium, University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2019/03/22 Artist. The Transition. Subaru Of Lethbridge Arts Recognition Awards, Subaru of Lethbridge, Alberta. 2019/03/08 Artist. My Breathless Duvet. Dr. James Foster Penny Building, Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/11/23 Artist. Infinite Falls. Student Pixel Exhibition, Dr. James Foster Penny Building, Lethbridge, Alberta. 2018/09/22 Collaborator. Dispersions. Trap\door pop up gallery, 1267 2A Avenue N, Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/08/24 Artist. Gender Swing. Intimacy: Flip Fest Exhibition, Penny Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/04/16 Artist. Replaceable Parts and Gendered Spine. Faculty of Fine Arts Open House, University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/03/15 Collaborator. Seismic Choreography. Galt Museum & Archives, Lethbridge, Alberta.2018/01/05 Artist. Watering Broken Roots. You Are Here: Art + People = X, Helen Christou Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/07/02 Co-Artist. Weight of the World. Landmarks, Elk Island National Park, Alberta.
2017/06/07 Artist. Floods and Flaying, Conflict, and Conscience. The Works, Exhibition of Landmarks, Alberta.
2017/04/18 Artist. Nightmare, Watering Broken Roots, If Cranes Could Fly, and Floods and Flaying. The Orange Factory, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta.
Performance Art
2021/12/13 Artist. fractured listening: an invitation to displacement. University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/10/26 Co-Artist. Feng, V; Jia, C. Subliminal Domination. University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/10/23 Artist. This is Not a Drill. Artscape, Gibraltar Point, Toronto Island, Ontario.
2019/04/08, 2019/03/30 Artist. The Knife. Open Studio Exhibition, University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2019/03/08, 2019/02/11 Artist. My Breathless Duvet. Dr. James Foster Penny Building in Lethbridge, Alberta.
2019/01/22 Artist. Conscious Horrors. University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/12/04 Co-Artist. Shanks, A; Solís, M. Ave Dominus. University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/10/24 Co-Artist. Shanks, A. Meatsacks. Coulees of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/09/22 Collaborator. Doody, T; Uchikura, G. Saving Seeds Action. Trapdoor Artist-Run Centre, 1267 2A Avenue N, Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/06/12, 2017/06/09 Co-Artist. McGinnis, V. Domination. The Works, Exhibition for Landmarks, Edmonton, Alberta.
2017/03/24 Artist. If the Body is a Temple, Why are the Emotions and the Mind not? Grant MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta.
Artist Residency
2021/10 MFA Residency, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto Island, Ontario.
2021/4 - 2021/6 Yorath House Resident Artist, Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton.
2021/4 - 2021/5 Online Participant Artist, 2021 Toni Onley Artists’ Project - Virtual Edition.
2019/6 - 2019/7 Resident Artist, Toni Onley Artists’ Project at Island Mountain Arts.
Artist Presentations
2021. Artist Talk with Alicia Proudfoot and Stephanie Florence, hosted by April Dean. Yorath House Studio Placement, Edmonton, Alberta.
2021. The Human Wheel. In the Weeds Artist Talks at Lowlands Project Space, Edmonton, Alberta.
Texts, Publications, and Catalogues
Florence, S; Sjølie, A. 2021. COVID COLLECTIONS. 1st Edition: 1-176 pages, printed book.
Florence, S; Shanks, A. 2019. "Minimalism and Extinction: Stephanie Patrice Florence". Murze. (9) 41-44 pages.
2019/4 Open Studio Studio Exhibition, 2018-2019. Ed. by Maruschak, N. University of Lethbridge.
Broadcast Interviews
2021/10/24 Interview with Hiba Kamal-Choufi on COVID COLLECTIONS, CityNews, Edmonton, Alberta, Rogers Media.
2021/06/21 Artist Talk and Interview with Curator April Dean, SNAP Gallery and Edmonton Arts Council, YouTube.
2021/03/09 Interview with Tony King: SkirtsAfire exhibits ‘Systematic Contractions’, CKUA Radio Network, Edmonton, Alberta, CKUA Radio Network.
2021/03/04 Interview with Cassidy Shandro: SkirtsAfire exhibits ‘Systematic Contractions’, NAIT Broadcasting program, Edmonton, Alberta.
Academic and Artistic Work Experience
2022/05 - 2022/07 Artist Intern with LATERNA (Inger-Reidun Olsen and Marianne Skjeldal), Oslo, Norway
2022/05 - 2022/07 Artist Intern with LOCUS (Thale Fastvold and Tanja Thorjussen), Oslo, Norway
2022/06 - 2022/07 CTE7013 Research & Reconciliation: Unsettling Ways of Knowing Through Indigenous Relationships: A Learning Circle Series, University of Waterloo, Ontario
2022/05 - 2022/05 CW2005 Alleviating Anxiety, University of Waterloo, Ontario
2022/05 - 2022/05 INI202 You Don't Know What You Don't Know Part I, University of Waterloo, Ontario
2022/02 - 2022/02 Culturally Responsive Teaching (CTE2409), Fundamentals of University Teaching, University of Waterloo, Ontario
2022/01 - 2022/04 Teaching Assistant, FINE 223, Fine Arts, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/09 - 2021/12 Fundamentals of University Teaching 20 hour program, The Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, Ontario
2021/9 - 2021/12 Teaching Assistant, FINE 100, Fine Arts, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/10 - 2021/11 Artwork Installation Technician, Art$Pay, Waterloo, Ontario.
2020/10 - 2020/11 Round Table: Grants Consultation for Individual Artists, Edmonton Arts Council, Alberta.
2019/5 - 2019/9 Research Assistant for Leslie Sharpe, Fine Arts, Grant MacEwan University, Alberta.
2018/4 - 2018/9 Research Assistant for Mary Kavanagh, Fine Arts, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/1 - 2018/4 Museum Studies Internship, Art History/Museum Studies, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/4 - 2017/8 Fine Art Faculty Assistant, Fine Arts, Grant MacEwan University, Alberta.
2017/4 - 2017/8 Contracted Independent Photographer for Landmarks with Partners in Art, Grant MacEwan University, Alberta.
Relevant Volunteer and Leadership Experience
2022/04 Volunteer for Sugar-Bush Clean Up, White Owl Sugar Bush, Kitchener, Ontario.
2022/02 - 2023/03 Elected Fine Arts Graduate Student Association, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2022/02 Participant, An Evening with the Author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gonzaga University, British Columbia. Online
2021/11 Participant, Research-Creation and Global Crisis: Interdisciplinarity, Creativity, and Collaboration with Natalie Loveless, SPAR²C, University of Alberta. Online.
2021/11 Participant, Art, Activism and Global Crisis: Fiona Foley, SPAR²C, University of Alberta. Online.
2021/10 - 2021/12 University of Waterloo Fourth-Year Mentorship Program, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/10 Participant, LitFest Presents: Covid Collections, Latitude 53, Edmonton, Alberta.
2021/9 - 2021/10 Volunteer COVID Screener, IMPACT 21, Waterloo, Ontario.
2021/09 Grant-Writing Clinic and Coworking Day, Inter Arts Matrix, Kitchener, Ontario. Online Workshop.
2021/7 Volunteer Gallery Attendant, Lowlands Project Space, Alberta.
2021/7 Guest Speaker, Microlearning Program Presentation by SkirtsAfire, Alberta. Online.
2021/5 - 2021/8 Mentee, Lauren Fensterstock, Living in Question, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine. Online Workshop.
2019/11 Volunteer for Schmoozy, Latitude 53, Edmonton, Alberta.
2019/3 Participant, Cindy Baker: Words of Wisdom, University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Workshop.
2019/2 Participant, Winter Survival Course, Karamat Wilderness Ways, Boreal Forest, Alberta.
2019/2 Participant, Trail of Crumbs: An Interdisciplinary Creation Workshop with Andrea Spaziani, University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Workshop.
2019/1 - 2019/4 Art Booth for Earth Day, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/10 - 2019/4 Art Society Mentorship Program, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/9 Participant, M:ST 9 Search Engines Workshop with Adriana Disman & Didier Morelli, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Alberta. Workshop.
2018/8 - 2019/4 Public Relations Executive for the Art Society Club, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/6 Play Day with the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2018/5 Participant, Leather-tooling workshop with Flint Leather, Lethbridge, Alberta. Workshop.
2018/2 Participant, Articulations: Dr. Erin Manning - Synaesthesia, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Alberta.
2018/1 Participant, Glass-blowing Workshop with Pixie Glass, Edmonton, Alberta. Workshop.
2017/10 - 2018/4 Volunteer for the Art Society, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/9 - 2018/1 Volunteer for the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2017/9 Volunteer Installation technician for the exhibition FIFTY, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
2016/1 - 2017/4 Public Relations Executive for the Fine Art Club, Grant MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta.
2016/10 Volunteer for Schmoozy, Latitude 53, Edmonton, Alberta.
W e b s i t e D e s i g n e d b y A u 7 u m n
