Deanna Bowen facts for kids

Deanna Bowen is an amazing artist born on November 5, 1969. She creates many different kinds of art. This includes films, video installations, performances, drawings, sculptures, and photos. Her art often explores important stories about her family and history. She looks at how people remember difficult times. These times are often related to slavery, moving to new places, and fighting for equal rights. Her work focuses on these topics in both Canada and the United States. Deanna is a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. She lives and works in Montreal.

Early Life and Learning

Deanna Bowen was born in Oakland, California. Her family history is very interesting. Her ancestors were African Americans who moved from the southern U.S. to Canada in the early 1900s. In 1909, her great-grandparents helped start Amber Valley. This was one of four Black communities in Alberta, Canada.

Deanna grew up in Vancouver with her mother and grandparents. She earned a Diploma of Fine Art from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 1994. Later, she moved to Toronto. There, she received her Masters in Visual Studies from the University of Toronto in 2008.

Her Art Journey

Deanna Bowen first became known for her single-channel video art. These videos explored ideas about family, race, and gender. In 2002, she made her first dual-channel video called Grist.

She then created two big video installations: Gospel (2008) and Shadow on the Prairie (2009). These were shown together in an exhibition called Stories to pass on.... This show traveled to many museums across Canada from 2009 to 2012.

In 2010, Deanna made a video called sum of the parts: what can be named. In this video, she shares a very detailed oral history of her family's experiences. This includes stories about slavery and migration. The video was shown at film festivals in Germany. It was also part of an international traveling exhibition called Project 35_Vol. 2.

The Paul Good Papers

In 2012, Deanna created The Paul Good Papers. This was a special art project that combined installation and performance. It was shown at Gallery 44 in Toronto. The exhibit included video, old documents, and sound art.

From April 5 to April 21, 2012, Deanna and an actor named Russell Bennett performed daily. Their performances were based on an audio recording. This recording was an interview between a U.S. journalist, Paul Good, and a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The exhibit also showed a video about Paul Good's recording of a 1964 event. This event was part of the Civil Rights Movement. It focused on efforts to integrate high schools in Notasulga, Alabama.

Invisible Empires

In 2013, Deanna had a large solo exhibition called Invisible Empires. It was shown at The Art Gallery of York University. This exhibition explored many of the themes Deanna often uses in her art. It featured old materials from the Ku Klux Klan. These included photographs, documents, and copies of Klan banners and robes. The exhibition received a lot of attention from the media.

In 2015, she continued to explore these topics in the U.S. She investigated the Klan's history in Pennsylvania. This work was displayed in an exhibition called Traces in the Dark at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.

Teaching and Sharing

Deanna Bowen has given many guest lectures and artist talks around the world. In 2015, she represented Canada at a big art event in Venice, Italy. She has also worked for several art organizations in Toronto.

From 2007 to 2014, she taught studio and video art at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She also taught at other universities. In 2020, Deanna became an Assistant Professor at Concordia University. She teaches about art that explores different cultures and social justice.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

Deanna Bowen started showing her art in the 1990s. Her early group shows included exhibitions at A Space Gallery in Toronto (1997) and Forest City Gallery in London, Ontario (1999). Her first solo exhibition, Home, was held in 1994 in Vancouver.

Her art has been part of many group exhibitions. These include shows at the Nasher Museum of Art in North Carolina (2011) and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Halifax (2013). Her work has also been shown at the McMaster Museum of Art (2014) and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia (2015).

Some of her major solo exhibitions include:

• The Paul Good Papers (2012) at Gallery 44 in Toronto.
• Invisible Empires (2013) at the Art Gallery of York University.
• On Trial The Long Doorway (2017) at Mercer Union.
• God of Gods: A Canadian Play (2019) in Toronto.

Her films have also been screened at important festivals in Germany.

Awards and Achievements

Deanna Bowen has received many grants and awards during her career. These include support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada.

She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2016. This is a very important award for artists. In 2014, she won the William H. Johnson Prize. This award is given each year to talented African American artists who are starting their careers.

In 2020, Deanna Bowen was one of eight winners of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. This award celebrates amazing contributions to Canadian art.

In 2021, Deanna won the $50,000 Scotiabank Photography Award. This is Canada's biggest prize for photography. As part of this award, she will have a solo exhibition and a book about her work.

Where Her Art Lives

Deanna Bowen's artwork is part of many important collections. This means her art is owned by museums and galleries. People can visit these places to see her work.

Some of these collections include:

• McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, ON
• McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
• Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby BC
• Toronto Dominion Bank, ON
• The Art Museum at the University of Toronto, ON
• Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
• Thames Gallery, Chatham, ON
• McMaster University, Hamilton, ON
• Concordia University, Montreal, PQ
• Wedge Curatorial Projects, Toronto, ON