Sonny Assu draws on his Kwakwaka’wakw heritage as the conceptual focal point of his contemporary art practice. “The impetus behind my work is to bring to light the dark, hidden history of Canada's actions/inactions against the Indigenous people,” he writes, “I often infuse my work with wry humour in an attempt to foster a dialogue; to speak to the realities of being an Indigenous person in the colonial state of Canada.”

Sonny is already the recipient of several honours, including Emily Carr’s Distinguished Alumni award and the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations Art. His work can be found in several galleries and public and private collections.

Liz Carter is a person of First Nations ancestry displaced from her cultural roots, a riddle that has led her to explore questions of lost tradition. Her journey through the mixed meanings embedded within her Native ancestry and blue-collar upbringing is driven by process, using culturally-significant materials like wood, copper, buttons and animal skins in new ways.

Liz is also the recipient of several other awards, including the VADA (Visual Arts Development Award), a First Peoples Heritage, Language and Cultural Award and a BC Arts Council Award. Her work was recently purchased by the Canadian Art Bank in Ottawa and she was awarded a commission of a permanent piece for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Thirza Jean Cuthand has been making short experimental films about sexuality, madness, youth, love and race since 1995. Her work has screened around the world and she has developed a 2D video game based on her experience with bipolar disorder, written three screenplays and sometimes does performance art. She is of Plains Cree and Scots descent, a member of Little Pine First Nation and currently lives in Toronto.

Mark Igloliorte is an Assistant Professor at Emily Carr. As an Inuk, his work draws from his Labradorean background. He has received several awards and grants, has been recognized as a Labrador Inuit Role Model by the Nunatsiavut government and has worked with Inuit youth in workshops funded in part by The National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Mary Longman (Aski-Piyesiwiskwew) was born in Fort Qu’Appelle and is a Saulteaux band member of Gordon First Nation. “My visual narrative reflects my current Indigenous experience, based on personal and socio-political issues or drawn from historical events, archives and cultural context,” she writes. “The objectives of my concepts are to raise public awareness about issues to bridge the gap between cultures.”

Her awards include Emily Carr’s Distinguished Alumni award and the Provost Teaching Excellence Award in Aboriginal Education. She works in sculpture/installation, drawing, digital media and book illustration and has had her work exhibited in several galleries. She is currently an Associate Professor in Art & Art History at the University of Saskatchewan.

Nadia Myre is a visual artist from Quebec and an Algonquin member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Her multi-disciplinary practice has been “inspired by participant involvement as well as recurring themes of identity, language, longing and loss.” She is the recipient of several grants and awards, including the Sobey Art award and a Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Musem. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions around the world and her work The Scar Project was selected for the 2011 Montreal Biennale and the 2012 Sydney Biennale.

Janice Toulouse was born and raised in Serpent River, Ontario and lives in BC and France. “My art is my statement on my life as an Anishinabe Kwe through the language of contemporary art,” she writes. “My research is revising history from an Indigenous perspective, to respect and connect all life. As an artist and teacher, during my lifetime I have worked to bring Indigenous art to the world."

Niki (Nicole) Watts is a Cree artist from rural Bella Coola, BC, inspired by her remote upbringing and her Plains Cree heritage. Her area of focus is drawing and painting, and she often merges these styles to create mixed media works or collages. This past year she has been experimenting with paper cutting and wool felting.