Sarah Houle is a Metis multidisciplinary artist based in Calgary. She is from the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement in northern Alberta. Her work is autobiographical with an interest in technology, fantasy and craft. Cultural identity in the age of digital technology is important in her work, as elements of physical and digital space come together to conjure nostalgic imagery. Modern day fantastical legends express the artists social commentary on identity from the perspective of Metis culture and heritage. Her recent artistic activity has been related to the music project, Ghostkeeper, photography series, The Girls and beadwork project, Kisik.

 

Helen Gilbert, professor at the University of London, believes that through 're-identification' Indigenous people can decolonize themselves through artistic expression, particularly by employing new technologies that have recently emerged into the art world. In the article Native art now: indigenous and digital Gilbert points out that colonialism has given Aboriginal artists the task of challenging stereotypes that have been ingrained in popular culture through the arts since colonization. “As Aboriginal people decolonize, so too does the non-Aboriginal community. Both groups need to become free of the dominant forces that have cast Aboriginal culture as inferior. By decolonizing the exhibition space and art discourses, an Aboriginal worldview will flourish,” (pg. 17)

 

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