Terrance Houle facts for kids

Terrance James Houle (born 1975) is a well-known Canadian artist. He is a member of the Kainai Nation (also called the Blood Tribe). His family also has roots in the Sandy Bay Reservation in Manitoba.

Terrance's mother, Maxine WeaselFat, is from the Kainai Nation. His father, Donald Vernon Houle, is from Sandy Bay. Both of his parents attended special schools for Indigenous children. They live on the Blood reservation in Southern Alberta, Canada.

Terrance Houle creates many different kinds of art. His work can be funny and playful, or serious and thoughtful. He often uses his art to explore history and colonization. He also looks at what it means to be an Aboriginal person today. His art often talks about memory, home, and reserve communities.

Terrance works in many art forms. These include photography, painting, and performance art. He also makes music, videos, and films. He lives in Calgary, Alberta.

In 2019/20, Terrance co-directed a short animated film called Otanimm/Onnimm with his daughter, Neko. This film has been shown at many film festivals. It was seen in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto. It also played in New Zealand, Vancouver, and Oxford. In 2021, their film won the Golden Sheaf Indigenous Award. This was Neko's first film award at just 17 years old.

Early Life and Background

Terrance Houle was born in 1975 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He studied art at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He earned a BFA degree in Fibre & Textiles in 2003.

His father was a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces. Because of this, his family moved around a lot. Moving often helped Terrance understand how important his Aboriginal identity was. This became a big part of his art.

Terrance has always been involved with Indigenous communities. He has traveled across North America. He took part in Powwow dancing and other traditional ceremonies. He has one daughter, Neko Wong-Houle, born in 2003. She is a member of the Kainai Nation. She also has Saulteaux, Chinese, and Romanian heritage.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

Terrance Houle's art has been shown in many places. He has had both solo shows and group shows.

Solo Art Shows

• 2009–2010 Givn'r - This show traveled to York University in Toronto. It also went to Plug-in Gallery in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay Art Gallery. It showed his art from 2003 to 2009.
• 2010 Friend or Foe, Or Gallery, Vancouver.
• 2009 Things May Appear Larger - Red Shift Gallery, Saskatoon.
• 2008 85.11.16 - Skew Gallery, Calgary.
• 2005 Remember In Grade…- The New Gallery +15 Window, Calgary.
• 2003 Kipi-Dapi-Pook-Aki, Taking Back Control – Glenbow Museum, Calgary.
• 2003 A Little Western - +15 Window Project, Truck Gallery, Calgary.

Group Art Shows

• 2010 SKIN, National Museum of the American Indian, New York City.
• 2009 Friend or Foe, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, and Or Gallery, Vancouver.
• 2009 REZIDENTS, Open Sky Gallery, Fort Simpson. It also showed at Neutral Ground, Regina in 2010.
• 2009 The World Upside Down, Art Gallery of Victoria, BC.
• 2009 Face the 2 Nation, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton.
• 2009 Photo LA 2008, SKEW Gallery, Los Angeles.
• 2009 Photo Miami 2007, SKEW Gallery, Miami, Florida.
• 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art: Living Utopia and Disaster, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton.
• 2006 Wagon Burner This! Princess Moonrider That!, A Space Gallery, Toronto.
• 2006 The Bodies That Were Not Ours, Linden St. Kilda Centre for the Contemporary Arts, Melbourne, Australia.

The GHOST DAYS Project

Since 2014, Terrance Houle has been working on a project called GHOST DAYS. This is a team project with other artists and the audience. GHOST DAYS explores history, both old and new. It looks at how these histories appear in both light and darkness.

The project has included an artist residency at Banff Centre for the Arts. It has also featured performances and a blog. Music tracks from the project are on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. There is also a full-length film available on Vimeo. The film was shot at the IXL Brick Factory Medalta Clay Historical site in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Art in Collections

Terrance Houle's art is part of important museum collections. His work Your Dreams Are Killing My Culture (2009) was bought by the National Gallery of Canada in 2011.

His art is also kept in the permanent collections of other museums. These include the Glenbow Museum and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts also owns some of his pieces.

Awards and Recognition

Terrance Houle has received several awards for his art.

• In 2021, he and his daughter Neko won the Golden Sheaf Indigenous Award. They won it at the Yorkton Film Festival for their short animation "Otanimm/Onnimm".
• In 2004, he received the Enbridge Emerging Artist Award. This award was given at the Mayors Luncheon for the Arts in Calgary.
• He won Best Experimental Film at the 2004 imagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival in Toronto.
• In 2003, he was invited to the Banff Centre for the Arts. He took part in their Communion and Other Conversations Artist in Residency Program.