September 26 – December 20
Bonnie Devine’s new commission responds to the theme of rupture and waterways by mapping the geographical relationship between the Great Lakes of North America and international bodies of water with strategic mercantile and military importance, including the Strait of Hormuz. Likening global maritime routes to the veins and circulatory systems of organic bodies, Bonnie examines points of contestation, obstruction, and critical sensitivities that are currently manifesting in global transport and trade relations. Similar to the aortic valves found in the bodies of humans and most other animals, these choke points can be read as metaphors for the vital, life-sustaining channels that support life on earth.
Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art, co-presented with the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, and made possible with the generous support of the Women Leading Initiative.
Bio
Bio
Bonnie Devine
Bonnie Devine is a visual artist, writer, curator, and educator. Born in Toronto and raised as an off-reserve member of the Anishinaabek of Serpent River First Nation, Genaabaajing, Devine’s work emerges from the storytelling and object-making traditions that are the root of Anishinaabe culture. Her cross-disciplinary practice engages sculpture, painting, writing, and video to express her preoccupation with land and story. Though formally educated in sculpture and installation art at the Ontario College of Art and Design and York University, her most enduring learning came from her grandparents who were trappers on the Canadian Shield in northern Ontario. Devine’s installation, video, and curatorial projects have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Gallery of the American Indian, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the 2026 Venice Biennale. She is an Associate Professor Emerita at the Ontario College of Art and Design University and the Founding Chair of OCAD University’s Indigenous Visual Culture program. Institutional recognition of Devine’s practice includes an Ontario Lieutenant Governor’s Heritage Award and OCAD University’s Distinguished Research/Creative Practice Award in 2019, and a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2021.
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Accessibility
Art Museum at the University of Toronto - University of Toronto Art Centre
Accessible entrance and washrooms
Accessible ramps / elevators
AODA compliant building
Accessible parkingUniversity of Toronto Art Centre (15 King’s College Circle) Accessible Entrance: There is a ramped entrance at the northwest corner of University College (near the Croft Chapter House).
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Getting There
Art Museum at the University of Toronto - University of Toronto Art Centre
TTC: Museum Station; Queen’s Park Station; 506 Carlton streetcar; and the Route 5 bus
Bike Share: Willcocks St / St. George St and Wellesley St W / Queen’s Park Crescent
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