The Arnold and Augusta Newman Lecture Series: Shelley Niro
Join us for a free screening of celebrated photographer and filmmaker Shelley Niro’s (Mohawk) 2019 feature-length film The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw. The event will conclude with a discussion and Q&A between Niro and Jill Ahlberg Yohe, Associate Curator of Native American Art.
Shelley Niro is a multi-disciplinary artist and a member of the Six Nations Reserve, Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawk. Niro attended a graphic arts course for a while at Durham College in Oshawa, concentrating on photography, drawing, and art history. Years later, Niro went to Ontario College of Art in Toronto and graduated with honors. In 2019, she was given an honorary doctorate from the Ontario College of Arts and Design University. In June 2023, she received a Doctorate of Law from Western University. Niro was the inaugural recipient of the Aboriginal Arts Award presented through the Ontario Arts Council in 2012. In 2017, Niro received the Governor General’s Award for The Arts from Canada Council, the Scotiabank Photography Award, and the Hnatsyshyn Foundation Reveal Award. She became an honorary elder in the Indigenous Curatorial Collective. In 2019, Niro was the Laureate of the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Photography. Niro has recently completed production on her film, CAFE DAUGHTER, which has received support from Telefilm Canada, the Indigenous Screen Office, Ontario Creates and The Northern Ontario Film Office. Niro’s visual works on canvas, paper, and film tackle the misconceptions or stereotypical portrayals of Native women.