Artist / Curator Talk: Jean Marshall in Conversation with Linda Grussani

Please join us at Onsite Gallery for an exclusive Artist / Curator Talk with Jean Marshall and Linda Grussani. They will discuss the dynamic exhibition Anikoobijikewin and illuminate the profound connections between community, visiting, creating, and sharing it represents.

Jean Marshall is a visual artist of Ahnishnaabe / English descent who was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is a member of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, also known as Big Trout Lake, Treaty 9, and currently resides on the lands of the Animikii-Wajiw / Thunder Mountain, also known as Fort William First Nation.

Marshall has been practicing visual arts for the last 20 years, and she has earned a reputation for her vibrant artwork made of beads, porcupine quills, textiles, and hide. Marshall's passion for beadwork started when she was a child, surrounded by skilled craftsmanship, which taught her the importance of quality and using her hands. This admiration has grown into her present-day practice, where she focuses on beadwork and leatherworking. For the last seven years, Marshall has been dedicated to learning and sharing moosehide tanning with her community, which has become a significant aspect of her work.

Linda Grussani (Kitigan Zibi Anishinàbeg / Italian ancestry) is a curator, art historian and former arts administrator born, raised and living on Anishinàbe Akì in the Ottawa area. Grussani has spent over two decades working to advance Indigenous arts and culture, promote positive structural change and advance Indigenous cultural diplomacy as a curator, arts administrator, academic and mentor.

Grussani most recently held the positions of Curator of Aboriginal Art at the Canadian Museum of History, Director of the Indigenous Art Centre for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and has held several curatorial positions at the National Gallery of Canada. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Cultural Studies program at Queen’s University. Her research examines the recommendations, policies and methodologies that have influenced Indigenous and institutional relationships in museums and galleries on Anishinàbe Akì over the last 50 years.

Host or Publisher Onsite Gallery, OCAD University