Candice Hopkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Candice Hopkins
Born	1977 (age 47–48) Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Nationality	Carcross/Tagish First Nation
Alma mater	Bard College (MA, 2003)
Known for	Curator, writer, researcher
Spouse(s)	Raven Chacon

Candice Hopkins (born 1977) is a talented curator, writer, and researcher. She is a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. Candice focuses mostly on art made by Indigenous peoples. She is currently the leader and main curator at the Forge Project in New York.

Growing Up and Learning

Early Life in Canada

Candice Hopkins was born in 1977 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. She grew up in Whitehorse and Fort St. John, British Columbia. Her family is part of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.

School Days and New Paths

Candice went to the Alberta University of Art in Calgary. She earned her first degree there in 1999. She also spent a year studying art in Birmingham, England. After college, she worked with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. She also helped at the Native Friendship Centre.

Learning About Indigenous Knowledge

Through the Friendship Centre, Candice found a special internship. It was an 8-month program for Indigenous youth in Suva, Fiji. She worked with local medicine experts. They focused on bringing back traditional Indigenous knowledge about medicine. This experience changed her mind. She decided she wanted to work as a curator instead of an artist.

Funding Her Education

To pay for her studies, Candice worked hard. She trained horses on her family's ranch. She also worked as a lab technician at a paper mill. Later, she earned her master's degree in curatorial studies in 2003. This was at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.

Early Curator Work

From 2000 to 2005, Candice worked at The Banff Centre. She was an Aboriginal Curatorial Fellow at the Walter Phillips Gallery. There, she organized her first art shows and performances. She learned a lot from important Indigenous curators and writers.

What a Curator Does

Organizing Art Shows

A curator is like a storyteller for art. They choose artworks and decide how to show them. Their goal is to help people understand the art and its meaning. Candice Hopkins has curated many important art exhibitions.

Big Art Events

Candice was a co-curator for documenta 14 in 2017. This is a huge art show that happens every five years in Germany and Greece. She also helped with the Canadian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019. The Venice Biennale is another very famous international art event. She also helped organize the 2018 SITE Santa Fe biennial.

Working with Important Places

Candice has held curator jobs at many well-known art places. These include the National Gallery of Canada and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. She has also received an award for her excellent work as a curator.

Writing About Art

Sharing Ideas Through Essays

Besides curating, Candice also writes about art. Her essays share her thoughts and research. For example, she wrote "The Appropriation Debates" for Mousse magazine. This essay discusses how different cultures use or borrow from each other's art.

Stories of Indigenous Art

She also wrote "Outlawed Social Life." This piece was about the ban on the potlatch ceremony. The potlatch was a very important gathering for Indigenous peoples. She also wrote about the artist Beau Dick. Another essay, "The Gilded Gaze," explored wealth and economies during colonial times.

Remembering Artists

In 2016, Candice wrote a special article. It was called "An Elegy for Annie Pootoogook." This was a tribute to the artist Annie Pootoogook after she passed away. Candice compared Annie's spirit to Sedna, a powerful figure in Arctic folklore.

The Golden Potlatch

In 2011, Candice wrote "The Golden Potlatch: Study in Mimesis and Capitalist Desire." This text explored how Indigenous lands, gold prospectors, and money were connected. It looked at the impact of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Other Writings

Candice has written many other articles. She has discussed topics like sound in Indigenous teachings. She has also interviewed other artists and thinkers. Her writings help people understand art and Indigenous cultures better.

Art Projects She Curated

Here are some of the art shows Candice Hopkins has helped organize:

• Before the Internet: Networks and Art (2007), Western Front, Vancouver, Canada
• Close Encounters: The Next 500 Years (2011), Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Canada
• Sakahàn: International Indigenous Art (2013), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
• Unsettled Landscapes: SITELINES (2014), SITE Santa Fe. Candice worked with a team of three other curators for this show.
• documenta 14 (2017), Kassel, Germany and Athens, Greece
• 2018 Sitelines Biennial (2018), SITE Santa Fe
• 58th Venice Biennial (2019), Canadian Pavilion
• Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts (2020). Candice co-curated this show. It featured new art, performances, and sounds by Indigenous and other artists.
• Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969 (2023), Hessel Museum of Art, New York