Darcie Bernhardt biography

 

Darcie “Ouiyaghasiak” Bernhardt (they/them) is an Inuvialuk/Gwichin artist from Tuktuyaaqtuuq, NT Alumna of NSCADU in 2019 (BFA). Bernhardt was raised in Tuktoyaktuk where the ocean’s harsh winds carve into the Western Arctic landscape, an ecosystem that fosters transformation and nurtures powerful familial bonds. Their work explores visual storytelling as tradition, as birthright, as decolonial memory preservation - building their role as a memory-keeper. Their work has been actively participating in residencies and festivals internationally where recently Bernhardt received the Indigenous Artist Recognition Award from Arts Nova Scotia (2020).

Their first painting solo show titled Akisuktuaq was shown at Feheley Fine Art gallery in June (2021). Recently, their group exhibition is on view at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia called Family Patterns alongside Letitia Fraser until February (2022) and Winnipeg Art Galleries’ INUA group exhibition. They were a part of EVERYSEEKER’s Call + Response where they created video animation and collaborated with Sill and Rise single Pandemonium for their upcoming album. Bernhardt was the featured artist for the Inuit Art Foundation and titled Nanuk and Jijuu at Art Toronto in (October, 2019). Bernhardt’s work was installed at Nuit Blanche (Montreal, 2019) as a part of GLAM Collective’s Memory Keepers I residency, and they were the curatorial assistant for Memory Keepers II at Art in the Open (Charlottetown, 2019). Their work expands as their collaborative short films have been shown at ImagineNATIVE (Toronto, 2020), Maoriland Film Festival (New Zealand, 2021) and BIRRARANGGA Film Festival (Australia, 2021) for Greed Story. Another collaboration film with Carmel Farahbakhsh titled Nanuk & Bibi was shown at Nocturne (Halifax, 2020) and Toronto Short Film Festival (March, 2021). They were part of RBC’s Emerging Artist Projects From Within (2020) showcasing their work and practice.

Darcie Bernhardt and Carmel Farahbakhsh, Nanuk & Bibi, 2020