SHELLEY NIRO

Shelley Niro, a member of the Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, graduated from the Ontario College of Art (OCA, now OCAD University) in 1990. An award-winning multidisciplinary artist working in painting, photography and film, her work challenges colonial narratives while celebrating the resilience, strength and beauty of Indigenous women and Mohawk culture. 

In her 40 years as an artist, Niro has developed an influential and visionary practice that foregrounds the representation of Indigenous People, their history, and present-day experience, often centering the stories of women. Working across multiple media, including painting, photography, video, sculpture, beadwork, printmaking and collage, Niro's urgent work advocates for the importance of self-representation.¹

Niro's first major retrospective Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch was organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (2024), New York and the National Gallery of Canada. 

Her work has earned national and international recognition. She was included in the 2003 Venice Biennale showcasing her photography and her short film, The Shirt, which later screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. She is also a participating artist in the 14^th Gwangju Biennale.

Learn more about Shelley Niro

An interview with Shelley Niro, National Gallery of Canada

¹Shelley Niro, Hales Gallery

Image credit: Shelley Niro, The Rebel (detail), 1982, reprinted 2022. Hand-tinted gelatin silver print, 20.3 × 25.4 cm. Collection of the artist. © Shelley Niro