Writer, art historian, educator. Marcia Crosby’s work interrogates mainstream representations and historical narratives of First Nations peoples and cultures. Crosby has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and English (1990), and a Master of Arts in Cultural History (1993), and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Philosophy in Art History, all at the University of British Columbia. Since 1996, Crosby has taught English literature and First Nations Studies at Vancouver Island University (previously Malaspina University College). She acted as guest curator and writer for her exhibition, Nations in Urban Landscapes at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (1994). One essay in the catalogue considered the works of Shelly Niro, Faye Heavyshield and Eric Robertson, and the other is an investigation of how the geo-political discourse between Canadian and First Nations governments over land issues have shaped cultural practice in museums and galleries. Since 2001, she has added to her publications a number of essays on contemporary art history on topics as diverse as the myth of Bill Reid, the sculptural works of Dina Gomez, an Argentinian artist living and working in Vancouver, and aboriginal performance art, which included two recently published essays on the multi-media works of Rebecca Belmore. Her work for this website is the first step in framing her PhD dissertation on ‘self-identifying modern Indian artists’.
Discrete project sites documenting the work of specific artists and collectives in detail.
Essays and conversation providing a context for exploring the Project Sites and Archives.
Video interviews conducted between December 2008 and May 2009 reflecting on Vancouver’s art scene in the sixties.