Michèle Pearson Clarke facts for kids

Michèle Pearson Clarke (born February 16, 1973) is a talented artist from Trinidad who now lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is well-known for her work as a filmmaker and photographer. Through her art, Michèle often explores important ideas about identity, community, and how we connect with each other.

Early Life and Education

Michèle Pearson Clarke was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She moved to Canada and studied at several universities. She attended Queen's University and the University of Toronto. Later, she earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Ryerson University in 2015.

Exploring Stories Through Art

Michèle Pearson Clarke began her career as an artist in 2005. She uses both film and photography to tell unique stories and share different perspectives.

First Films and Early Works

Her first film was called Surrounded by Water. She made this film with help from the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto.

Her second film, Black Men and Me, was shown at the 2007 Inside Out Film and Video Festival. This film looked at Michèle's thoughts on black masculinity. It was also featured at other film festivals, including the Reel World Film Festival in Toronto and the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Michèle is also a writer. Her work has been published in a book called Bent on Writing.

Photography Projects

In 2013, Michèle started a special photography project called "It’s Good To Be Needed." For this series, she photographed people who used to be partners but remained good friends. She captured them holding hands, showing their lasting connection.

Video Installations and Exhibitions

In 2016, Michèle was asked by The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, to create a video artwork. This artwork was a two-channel video installation titled "I’m Thinking of Ending Things." It honored 150 years of Oshawa's history as a manufacturing city. The project shared personal stories from people who had lost their jobs.

Michèle's video piece, "Suck Teeth Compositions (After Rashaad Newsome)", was part of a major art show. This exhibition, called Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, was held at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2018. In the same year, her art was also shown at the LagosPhoto Festival.

Exploring Identity in Art

In 2018, Michèle had an exhibition in Toronto called A Welcome Weight on My Body. In this show, she explored how film can be used in photography. She created still images of her Caribbean Canadian friends and family. She felt that these groups were often missing or not shown well in art history. Her photographs were displayed in a unique way, like a scrapbook. They were arranged in groups on shelves and in frames. This style helped to make the photos feel more personal and approachable. In this exhibition, Michèle explored the deep cultural meaning of Blackness.

Also in 2018, Michèle showed her video "All That Is Left Unsaid" in Los Angeles. For this video, she edited together all the silent moments from a documentary about Audre Lorde.