Rosalie Favell facts for kids

Rosalie Favell RCA (born 1958) is a talented Métis artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She now lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Rosalie is known for her amazing work with photography and digital art.

She often creates self-portraits, which are pictures of herself. Sometimes she uses her own photo, and other times she uses images that stand for her. She likes to include old family photos and pictures from pop culture in her art.

Early Life

Rosalie Favell was born in 1958. Her father, Gerald, was Métis, and her mother, Florence McFadyen, had Scottish and English roots. Rosalie grew up in an Anglican home where her family's Indigenous background was not often talked about.

She got her first camera when she was ten years old. Later, she took a night photography course. This class really inspired her to keep learning about photography.

Education and Teaching

Rosalie Favell studied art at several universities. She earned a bachelor's degree from Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in 1984. She then got a master's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1998.

In the late 1990s, Rosalie started to change her style. She moved from taking regular photos to creating digital photo art. She learned new techniques from another artist named Larry Glawson.

Rosalie has also taught many art classes and workshops. She has taught at places like the University of Manitoba and the University of Ottawa. Since 2013, she has taught digital photography at Discovery University. This program helps people with lower incomes get educational chances.

She has also been an artist-in-residence at places like the Banff Centre. During her residency at OCAD University, she worked on her project Facing the Camera. This project features portraits of Indigenous artists.

Community Involvement

Rosalie Favell was one of the first members of NIIPA. This group, the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers’ Association, was in Hamilton. It was the first art center in Canada just for photo-based art by Indigenous artists.

She also served on the board of the Floating Gallery Centre for Photography in Winnipeg. She was also part of the Original Women's Network. This group is a resource center for Native women. Rosalie has even worked with women's groups in Katmandu, Nepal.

Art Themes

One of the most important themes in Rosalie Favell's art is self-portraiture. She often uses ideas from traditional portraits. She might take an old painting and put her own image in it.

For example, her work The Artist in Her Museum: The Collector (2005) is a modern version of an old painting. In her version, Rosalie replaces the original collector with herself. She also replaces the old collection with her own family photos. By doing this, she makes people think about how history is shown. She also adds her own Indigenous identity to these artworks.

Rosalie has also created many works that show the Indigenous community she is part of. Her series Portraits in Blood (1980s) includes photos of Indigenous artists and friends. These photos help her explore her own Indigenous identity.

Her ongoing series, Facing the Camera, started in 2008. It includes lively photos of about 450 Indigenous artists from all over the world. Some of these artists include Daphne Odjig and Kent Monkman. Rosalie captures these artists in active poses. This helps to challenge old stereotypes about Indigenous people.

Awards and Recognition

Rosalie Favell has received many awards and grants for her art. In 2012, she won the Karsh Award for her photography. She also received the Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Arts Fellowship in 2004. In 2003, she won the Canada Council for the Arts Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award. In 2017, she received The Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Art Photography.

Featured Works

Exhibitions and Collections

Rosalie Favell's art has been shown and collected by many important places. These include the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. Her work is also at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

An exhibition called Steeling the Gaze: Portraits by Aboriginal Artists featured her work. This show challenged old, unfair ways of showing Indigenous people. Her portraits were shown alongside other Indigenous artists like KC Adams and Kent Monkman.

Group Exhibitions

• 2013: Steeling the Gaze: Portraits by Aboriginal Artists, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
• 2019: Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN

Selected Artworks

• 1994 Living Evidence
• 1980s Portraits in Blood
• 1998 Longing and Not Belonging
• 2005 The Artist in Her Museum: The Collector
• 1999-2006 Plain(s) Warrior Artist
• 2010 Wish You Were Here
• 2008-ongoing Facing the Camera

Collaborative Projects

In 2017, Rosalie Favell organized a project called Wrapped in Culture. This project brought together Indigenous artists from Canada and Australia. Ten artists worked together to create a traditional Blackfoot buffalo robe and an Australian Aboriginal possum skin cloak. They decorated the robes with designs that told stories. This project helped build community and celebrate culture.

Rosalie Favell is also part of the OO7 (Ottawa Ontario Seven) Collective. This is a group of Indigenous artists in Ottawa. The group gives artists a creative space to work and share ideas.