Amber Smith Quail
Artist, Cultural Advisor, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.
Amber Smith Quail is an artist, educator, mother, wife and auntie who divides her time between South Algonquin and Tkaronto. She is a member of Alderville First Nation, and is also an artist and cultural advisor with SpruceLab (including co-founding Dbaajmowin, and our Earth Tending program). She has over 14 years of experience working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth in Toronto’s city core. Her mission has been to use the power of art, language and culture as an instrument of healing and believes that art is medicine. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Theatre from the University of Guelph as well as a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education with a focus on Urban Indigenous Education, both from York University. She has also created and taught an Ojibwe language course for TDSB at Riverdale C.I.
“When reflecting back on my lifelong artistic journey I can see how the body of my work has evolved organically. A common thread of relationship and identity connects the pieces together. My works are sometimes situational, often inspired by personal ruminations over familial stories or reclamation of traditional knowledge, but always rooted in the blood memory of my Indigenous culture.”
To learn more about Amber’s latest work, visit her website here.
Professional Arts Experience:
Curated group show Aanikoosin/Connected to another at Dignam Gallery, Curated group show Indigenous Art 2024 at Woodland Cultural Centre, Solo exhibition Giiwenh/So the story goes at Colborne Street Gallery, Solo exhibition Nawemaa / To be related at Dignam Gallery, Artist-In-Residence for Women’s Art Association of Canada 2022/2023, Featured artist at SKAUT Design in Toronto 2019/2020,2023
Community Leadership:
Founder and member of Dibaajmowin Artist Collective, Facilitator at Women’s Art Association of Canada - Mazinaabidoo’an (bead it on a loom), an investigation of treaties paired with bead loom instruction, Speaker & Facilitator at Women’s Art Association of Canada - Storytelling in traditional and contemporary First Nations artwork, Education Advisor for Earth Tending at Spruce Lab & Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training, Co-presenter for OPPI, Finding a Place in Evolving Communities and Indigenous Place Keeping
Services:
Artist, Advisor, Facilitator, Indigenous Engagement, Educator
Education:
Master of Ed., Urban Indigenous Education., York University, 2023
Bachelor of Ed., Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education Program, with a Teachable in Visual Arts, York University, 2020
Bachelor of Arts, double major English Lit & Dramatic Arts, University of Guelph, 1991