Graduate students

Liz Bentley is a painter whose practice examines the connections between memory, storytelling, and domestic architecture. In the same way that memories are often flawed and wobbly, so too are these stripped-down spaces. Emotions, conversations, and the ghosts of people (and their objects} are embodied with bright colours; all rendered organic and softly shaped.  They received their BFA at the University of Victoria in 2021 and have been working out of Victoria the past few years.

My name is Nicole Mandryk and I am a queer artist of Anishinaabe, Irish and Ukrainian descentMy traditional Anishinaabe name is Niibinobinesiik, which translates to summer thunderbird and comes from the loon. I do not yet know my clan or the First Nation my family descends yet I am working to reclaim my families identity outside colonial understandings of Indigeneity.

My sister and I were born and raised on the on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen, Esquimalt, and WSANEC nations. I am a grateful guest on these territories and raise my hands to the caretakers of the land, skies and waters.  

I am a visual artist who is dedicated to the resurgence of my familial cultural lineages. Art has been a place to transcend and heal the disconnection my family has experienced through colonial laws. Thus, I have been very inspired to express myself artistically through integrating Anishinaabe and Ukrainian stories, art, land, language, and songs into my practice. I am also interested in the knowledge that presents itself through dreams and seek to weave this knowledge respectfully into my beadwork, performance art and songs I compose. I hope my masters can be a space to expand the mediums and size I work in. Further, I want to engage in meaningful collaborations and create sites of discussions for socio-political issues that impact the communities I am a part of.