Tanya Lukin Linklater facts for kids

Tanya Lukin Linklater, born in 1976, is a talented artist and dancer. She is from the Alutiiq people, an Indigenous group in Alaska. Her art often involves performances with other artists, videos, photos, and special art setups called installations.

About Tanya Lukin Linklater

Tanya grew up in Afognak and Port Lions, which are places on Kodiak Island in Alaska. She has both Indigenous Alaskan and settler family roots. Tanya is married to Duane Linklater, who is also an artist. They live and work in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Tanya has studied a lot! She earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University. She also has a master's degree in education from the University of Alberta. As of 2025, she is working on her PhD in cultural studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

How Tanya Creates Art

Tanya's art includes live performances and works made for cameras. She also writes and creates installations. She loves to work with other Indigenous artists. Her art explores how bodies, history, and poetry connect. She also looks at how Indigenous ideas, languages, and art places work together.

Artist-in-Residence Programs

In 2017, Tanya was chosen as the first Indigenous Artist-In-Residence at All My Relations Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This means she spent time there creating art and sharing her knowledge. Later that year, she was also an artist-in-residence at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). During her time at the AGO, she worked with dancers. They created a performance called Sun Force. This performance was a response to another art show at the AGO.

The Wood Land School Project

Also in 2017, Tanya helped start something called the Wood Land School. She created it with her husband, Duane Linklater, and other artists and curators. The Wood Land School was a special art project. It was a year-long exhibition that changed over time. It brought art into and out of the gallery space. This made the exhibition always feel like it was growing and changing.

In 2022, Tanya's art was featured in two big art events. These were the Aichi Triennale and the Toronto Biennial of Art.

Awards and Recognition

Tanya has received several important awards for her art. In 2013, she won the K.M. Hunter Artist Award in Literature. She has also received many grants from the Ontario Arts Council. These grants help artists fund their projects. In 2018, Tanya was given the first Wanda Koop Research Fund award. This award was presented by Canadian Art magazine.

Selected Art Exhibitions

Tanya's work has been shown in many art galleries and museums.

Solo Exhibitions

These are shows where Tanya's art was the main focus:

• Constellation/conversation (2016) at ArtSpace in Peterborough, Ontario. She worked with other artists like Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Cris Derksen for this show.
• A Parallel Excavation (2016) with Duane Linklater at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.
• Determined by the River (2017) with Duane Linklater at Remai Modern in Saskatoon.
• Slay All Day: Tanya Lukin Linklater (2018) at ma ma in Toronto.

Group Exhibitions

Tanya's art has also been part of many group shows:

• Reading the Line (2015) at Western Front.
• Le Grand Balcon (2016) at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal.
• Traces (2017) at Urban Shaman in Winnipeg.
• A Few Similar Things (2017) at Truck Gallery in Calgary.
• Wood Land School: Kahatenhstánion tsi na’tetiatere ne Iotohrkó:wa tánon Iotohrha / Drawing Lines from January to December (2017) at SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art in Montreal.
• Wood Land School: Under the Mango Tree, Documenta 14 (2017) in Athens, Greece, and Kassel, Germany.
• INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE (2017) at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
• Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now (2018) at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
• In Dialogue (2018) shown in several galleries, including the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba.
• Inaabiwin (2018) with other artists like Meryl McMaster at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery. This was a touring exhibition.
• Indigenous geometries (2019) at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. She worked with a composer and dancers for this.
• Soft Power (2019) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
• Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts (2019) at the Agnes Etherington Arts Centre.
• Are You My Mother? (2019) at the Dunlop Art Gallery.
• Larger Than Memory: Contemporary Art From Indigenous North America (2020).