Shelley Ouellet

Blending my experience working as an arts administrator, educator and advocate, I developed a socially engaged artistic practice that recognizes the importance of collective activity in community development and cultural production. Working across a variety of media and in various sites, my projects are designed to encourage inclusivity, co-operative action and participation in the physical and social space of the exhibition. These projects have resulted in sculptures, videos, installations, interventions, web-based works and performances. I am currently researching technologies in textile production and embellishment and incorporating decorative arts as a means to critique economic and social divisions in times of political polarity and ecological crisis.

Shelley Ouellet has exhibited her work across Canada and the UK. Her work is represented in public and private collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council Art Bank. Her work has also been featured in recent publications, Water Rites: Reimagining Water in the West, University of Calgary Press, 2018 and The Good Lands/Un territoire à partager, Figure 1 Publishing, 2017. Until 2018, Ouellet has been based in Calgary where she taught at the Alberta College of Art and Design in media arts, sculpture and the professional development programs. She has worked at the Banff Centre, was Director of Stride Gallery and has served on numerous boards in Calgary’s cultural community.

Image: Aprons and oven mitts, 2019, mixed media, dimensions variable. Photo credit- Eliane Excoffier