"avaan, ala ooma, ka payhyamakuhk - Before, Now, Forever" - 2 1/2 ft x 3 ft, Acrylic, pouring medium, dispersion pigment, gold leaf and beadwork through canvas, 2018
Kelly Duquette
Kelly Duquette is a Métis artist, law student and Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council representative (region 1) from Atikokan, Ontario.
Kelly Duquette is a Métis artist, law student and Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council representative (region 1) from Atikokan, Ontario. She has a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (BFA) from the University of Ottawa. Kelly was not introduced to her Métis heritage until later in her childhood and has found artistic inspiration through the discovery of this hidden identity. She finds that she is able to connect to her Métis culture and document her personal discoveries through her artwork. Kelly is determined to remain an advocate for Indigenous peoples in the fight for legal recognition of their rights. She is set to graduate the Juris Doctor Program within the Faculty of Common Law at the University of Ottawa in the Spring of 2019
“Following over one-hundred years of silence, assimilation and oppression within Canadian society, Métis peoples have begun to re-emerge and reclaim their culture. This unique time in our history has become an inspiration behind my artwork. Painting has allowed me to reflect on these issues relating to my hidden identity and my experience as a Métis youth. The incomplete elements of my work represent the loss of our language and traditions, while the intervention of abstract beadwork reinforces our strength and resilience as a distinct rights-bearing people.”
