Alanis Obomsawin

Alanis Obomsawin, a rambler familiar with the mysteries of dreams and a prospector seeking out the nooks and crannies of reality, reveals the visions and nostalgias within herself in her graphic works: free horses running beside happy children, Abenakis of long ago, drawn from memory seeing to their daily tasks, singular beings, surging out of the night to mark their presence. This aspect of a great artist’s body of work rounds out an admirable development. Her hard-hitting documentaries showing reality squarely on have given way to the serene reflections of a woman who has devoted her life to break the yoke of fear and indifference.

Alanis Obomsawin is an Abenaki from Odanak. She is an internationally known artist, working at the National Film Board as a producer, director and screenplay writer. Obomsawin has received many awards including the Governor-General’s 2001 award for visual arts and media arts. Her films take an uncompromising look at First Nations and express her commitment to the recognition of First Peoples’ existence, their values, beliefs and sense of belonging.