NATION
Metis and Eeyou
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau is a Metis and Eeyou (Cree) painter, sculptor, poet, and novelist.
She was born in Jamésie, at Rapides-des-Cèdres, in northwestern Quebec, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She first gained recognition as a painter in Canada and internationally. Pésémapéo Bordeleau primarily uses acrylic paints and inks to create surrealistic paintings with vibrant colors. She frequently incorporates bark, sand, and lichens to work with texture. She also creates several sculptural works that integrate into architecture, as well as glass artworks in collaboration and public art pieces.
Her first poetry anthology, “De rouge et de blanc,” received the Télé-Québec mention of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Literary Award. Among her notable works are “Ourse bleue” (2007), “L’enfant hiver” (2014), and “Je te veux vivant” (2016). In 2020, she was awarded Artist of the Year in Abitibi-Témiscamingue by the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec and presented a retrospective of her forty-year old career at the MA, Museum of Art in Rouyn-Noranda. In 2021, she received the Medal of the National Assembly of Quebec for her body of work, and in 2023, she was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French Republic. The author also contributes to numerous journals, anthologies, and collective works. Since 2016, Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau has been regularly invited to give lectures or participate in panel discussions on her works and Indigenous literature.
