Lacie Burning

Lacie Kanerahtahsóhon Burning is a Kanien'kehá:ka and Onöñda'gega multi-disciplinary artist raised on Six Nations of the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. Burning is currently based out of Vancouver, British Columbia where they are completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Their work incorporates themes of their upbringing, including their cultural and political background. Being a multi-disciplinary artist, Burning's work combines elements of photography, video, installation, and sculpture to focus on Indigenous politics and identity from a Haudenosaunee perspective. Burning has been nominated for various awards in celebration of their work such as the New Generation Photography Award and was the runner-up to the 2020 Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize.

Art practice/career

Lacie Burning's art is rooted in their upbringing, experiences, and identity as a Kanien'kehá:ka and Onöñda'gega Indigiqueer person. Burning's art portrays a Haudenosaunee perspective and grapples with Indigenous relationships to land, representation and “the gaze.” The Mohawk Institute is a former residential school, that members of Burning's family attended. For the Mush Hole Project, Burning displayed two of their works: Story Time and Who Will Be my Witness. The installation features an audio recording of residential school survivor Irene Favel speaking about her experience in a Saskatchewan school. In 2018, Burning's work was a featured exhibition in the CONTACT Photography Festival. Their exhibit Forward Facing explores the intersections within Indigenous identities through photo, video, craft, and installation practices. Forward Facing was created in collaboration with fellow artists Dayna Danger and Jade Nasogaluak Carpenter.

Curatorial

Lacie Burning has also engaged in curatorial work. They collaborated with scholar June Scudeler on the exhibition "Unsettling Colonial Gender Boundaries" for the 2017 Queer Arts Festival. This exhibition explores Indigenous experiences of gender and sexuality and brings intersectional Queer-Indigenous experiences and Two-Spirit media art to the forefront. Burning and Scudeler commissioned media works and performances from artists Thirza Cuthand (Cree), Chandra Melting Tallow (Siksika), Raven Davis (Anishinaabek), and Kent Monkman (Swampy Cree) for the exhibition. The Lind Prize is an annual award given to an emerging artist based in British Columbia working in mediums of film, photography, or video. The New Generation Photography Award, established in 2017 as a partnership between the National Gallery of Canada and Scotiabank, is annually given to three artists under 30 working in lens-based art. As of April 2020, the 2020 winners have yet to be announced.