Curatorial Research Fellowship
Natalie King
'a field of sovereign blooms' is an online resource that intricately weaves together past and present histories, offering a glimpse into the future of 2SLGTBQ Indigenous artists. Created as part of King’s Curatorial Research Fellowship with Gallery TPW in 2023, the website is a generous offering of King’s extensive interviews with artists, filmmakers, composers, and entrepreneurs.
Delving into the histories of queer Indigenous artists and their profound impact on Toronto, King's research reflects a multifaceted approach, incorporating kinship practices, painting, archival exploration, and knowledge sharing. The central themes of the interview series and fellowship explore how joy has shaped the collective and varied practices of 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous artists and cultural workers in Toronto. It prompts reflection on the city's role in creating and nurturing spaces for queer Indigenous individuals, examining the support systems in place and addressing instances of both support and lack thereof.
This website was created and designed by Natalie King.
'a field of sovereign blooms' will be launched soon.
The Curatorial Research Fellowship is made possible with the generous support of TD Bank Group.
Image courtesy of Natalie King.
About the Curatorial Research Fellowship
Gallery TPW’s Curatorial Research Fellowship is dedicated to supporting a full year of research exploring contemporary image-making and lens-based practices led by an emerging Indigenous curator based on Turtle Island. The fellow will receive organizational support from TPW, an honorarium, and an opportunity to present research.
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Natalie King is a queer interdisciplinary Anishinaabe (Algonquin) artist, facilitator and member of Timiskaming First Nation. King's arts practice ranges from video, painting, sculpture and installation as well as community engagement, curation and arts administration. King is currently a Programming Coordinator at Xpace Cultural Centre in Tkaronto.
Often involving portrayals of queer femmes, King’s works are about embracing the ambiguity and multiplicities of identity within the Anishinaabe queer femme experience(s). King's practice operates from a firmly critical, anti-colonial, non-oppressive, and future-bound perspective, reclaiming the realities of lived liv es through frameworks of desire and survivance.