Daphne Odjig
Who is Daphne Odjig?
Daphne Odjig was born on 11th of September, 1919 on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reseve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario Canada. She is best known for her signature geometric style characterized by bold colors, abstract imagery and solid black outlines, which she developed when contributing to the Woodland school of painters. As her artistic style progressed, she made murals and painting depicting historical events and legends and thus challenged prevalent stereotypes of "Indian" lifestyle. Her works explore the topics of indigenous mythology, reflections of colonial history and landscapes of rural part of Canada. Daphne Odjih died on the 1st of October, 2016 in Kelowna, Canada. Her paintings can be found in the University of Lethbridge Art Collection, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the Nickle Arts Museum at the University of Calgary among others.
She was and is an inspiration and role model for generations of Indigenous artists.
Feminist, Artist and activist
Daphne Odjig was a mentor within the Indigenous art community, dedicated activist and feminist. In 1971 she founded Odjig Indian Prints of Canada, a craft shop and small press in Winnipeg, which she used to distribute prints of her drawings but also works by other Indigenous artists who were struggling to participate in the local art market. She started challenging the barriers Indigenous artists faced in the Canadian art world. Odjig Indian Prints of Canada expanded and changed name to New Warehouse Gallery. This was a first Aboriginal-owned art gallery in Canada. Odijg started exploring the personal and collective memory of Indigenous communities. Her art challenged national stereotypes of “Indian” life.
An interview with Daphne Odjig by National Gallery of Canada Magazine
Achievements
Her feminist approach to the cultural survival and professional success of Indigenous people and artists contributed to receiving numerous awards including the Order of Canada in 1986, the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media in 2007 and five honorary doctorates from various universities across the Canada. In November 2009, Odjig was first First Nation woman artist to show her work at the National Gallery of Canada.
