Mutual Cores, 2023, part of The Works International Art & Design Festival
Photo by Melanie Andony.BIOGRAPHY
Arcana Shanks is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, Canada. Their practice is centered around connections between people, nature, belief, and practice, explored primarily through performance, sculpture, voice, sound, and poetry. Her work is characterized by immersive, multi-sensory elements fused with poetic narrative and storytelling, often establishing throughlines that span multiple artworks. Her research interest lies in exploring and establishing ethical practices for working collaboratively with non-human life forms in art, sparked by early collaborations with friend and colleague Stephanie Florence surrounding consumption and ecology. She graduated with distinction from the University of Lethbridge in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Studio Art. Their work has been featured throughout Western Canada, and in publications in Canada, the USA, and England. Most recently, she has been a recipient of a Major Artist-Driven Project grant from the Edmonton Arts Council in 2023 for her sculpture-installation Crown of Fire. She is currently developing a body of work visualizing the impact of wildfires as a manifestation of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature, working alongside fire as a companion, muse, and creative collaborator.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice is fundamentally inspired by human relationships with nature as viewed through mythology, ritual, storytelling, and instinct. For millennia, humanity has lived within the greater ecosystems of the natural world, documenting our understanding of life around us with legend and myth. Only in recent centuries have we begun to perceive ourselves as separate from and beyond the definitions of “animal” and “nature,” yet the impact of our storied history with the natural world remains buried in our psyche. These archetypes of nature are the key subjects of my artwork: the anthropomorphic “Mother Earth” and “Mother Nature,” the divinely sacred yet chaotically untamed femininity of wild spaces, and the delicate relationship between creation and destruction are core concepts across my portfolio. I seek to embody these concepts through performance, voice and sound, and sculptural artworks, presenting them as conduits to ground the omnipresence of nature within the contemporary art space. My recent explorations have manifested in Crown of Fire, a multisensory sculptural installation of a scorched forest. It is a visualization of wildfires and the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature, made from suspended columns of blackened Alberta birch wood, with a haunting sound work featuring distorted ambiance and expanded vocal techniques. It is a portal to a place where the past and future collide, and the beginning of a conceptual and transitional journey within my practice.
Arcana Shanks - Curriculum Vitae
Education
2019 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Distinction), University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge AB
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Crown of Fire, The Roxy Theatre, Edmonton AB
Group Exhibitions
2023 Mutual Cores, The Works Art & Design Festival, Edmonton AB
2023 Smut Nite, NextFest 2023, Edmonton AB
2023 CHEW ON THIS!, NextFest 2023, Edmonton AB
2023 Glow! Artist Showcase, Bao Restaurant, Edmonton AB
2022 TOAP@21, Island Mountain Arts, Wells BC
2019 FemmeWave Fest 2019, multiple locations, Calgary AB
2019 Open Studio Student Exhibition, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge AB
2019 From Where I Stand, The Penny Gallery, Lethbridge AB
2018 Student Pixel Exhibition 2018, The Penny Gallery, Lethbridge AB
2017 Everything Is Temporary, The Penny Gallery, Lethbridge AB
Artist Residencies2021 Toni Onley Artist Project, Island Mountain Arts, Wells, BC
Awards and Scholarships2023 Major Artist-Driven Projects Grant, Edmonton Arts Council - $13,200
2019 Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award in Fine Arts - $2000
2018 Jason Lang Scholarship - $1000
2017 University of Lethbridge Scholarship - $1000
2016 Jason Lang Scholarship - $1000
2016 Gordon Mantle Memorial Scholarship in Art - $1000
Publications and Media Features
2023 A Walkthrough Guide to The Works Art and Design Festival 2023, Fish Griwkowsky,
Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Canada
2023 Selected Poetry from 2022, Arcana Shanks, Circe Magazine Vol. 2, Circe Magazine,
Edmonton, Canada
2022 Selected Poetry from 2022, Arcana Shanks, 2022 Arts Writing Prize Reader, Southern
Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada
2020 Spectral Formations (2018), Nudie Magazine Vol. 2, Denver, USA
2019 Meat Portraits (2018), Extinction, Murze Magazine Issue 9, London, England
Professional Experience2023 Director of Operations, CO*LAB, Edmonton AB
2022 Patio Coordinator, The Works International Art & Design Festival 2022, Edmonton AB
2022 Interim President of the Board of Directors, CO*LAB, Edmonton AB
2022 Market Coordinator, Black Owned Makers, Edmonton AB
2021 Gallery Attendant, Lowlands Project Space, Edmonton AB
2019 Youth Delegate, Future of Urban Work Summit, YouthfulCities, Edmonton AB
2019 Photographer, The Meeting of the Minds 2019, The Meliorist, Lethbridge AB
2019 Lead Coordinator, Open Studio Exhibition, Lethbridge AB
2019 Volunteer Executive Member, University of Lethbridge Art Society, Lethbridge AB
2018 Gallery Assistant, Student Pixel Exhibition and LAMPS18 Film Festival, Lethbridge AB
Professional Development2023 Artist as Shaman: The Mystical in Art, Finding the Truth in Your Soul Expression, Tanja
Thorjussen, hosted online in Oslo, Norway
2020 From Climate Change to Climate Justice: Training Sessions in Addressing Systemic
Racism, Chúk Odenigbo, hosted online in Toronto ON
2019 Everything Has a Story, Marjorie Beaucage, Lethbridge AB
2019 Things-Speak: Devising Performance with Objects, Mia van Leeuwen, Lethbridge AB