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Canadian artist, Rosalie Favell, says her photographic project, “Indigenous Artists Facing the Camera,” is about giving visual voice to the present, documenting this moment in time and shining the light on Indigenous artists.

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“Rosalie Favell: Indigenous Artists Facing the Camera” is a monumental portrait series that includes more than 500 portraits of Indigenous artists, including Favell herself, and arts professionals taken across Canada, the United States and Australia.

Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Me, Rosalie Favell, Melbourne, Australia, 2016. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist. - Original Credit: Handout
Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Me, Rosalie Favell, Melbourne, Australia, 2016. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist.
– Original Credit: Handout

“From the very beginning, my goal was to preserve, present and honor this community,” Favell said.

The photos are on display at the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in an exhibition of 115 photos from the series, as well as a suite of new portraits of Chicago-area artists and arts professionals taken during Favell’s Block Museum residency during the spring of 2023.

The Block exhibit represents the most comprehensive showing of Favell’s work ever before in the U.S. and is scheduled to run through Dec. 3.

Favell says the mainstay of her photographs were created during a 10-year documentary project from 2008 through 2018, during which time she met and photographed a broad array of Indigenous visual artists, writers, actors, curators and educators.

“Most photos were shot in a studio setting and each portrait is presented in a minimalist Avedonesque style, using a white background to unify the portraits, and to urge the viewer to focus on the individuality of each subject,” Favell said.

Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: James Luna, Winnipeg, MB, 2011. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist. - Original Credit: Handout
Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: James Luna, Winnipeg, MB, 2011. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist.
– Original Credit: Handout

According to the Block Museum’s website, Favell is a photo-based artist, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Drawing inspiration from her family history and Métis (Cree/English) heritage, she uses a variety of sources, from family albums to popular culture, to present a complex self-portrait of her experiences as a contemporary aboriginal woman. Favell’s art often explores the relation of photography to issues of identity.

Favell earned a bachelor’s degree from Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto, Ontario; an MFA from the University of New Mexico; and Honorary Doctoral Degree from OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario in 2022.

“In May, 2023, I agreed to do an artist residency at the Block Gallery which involved photographing 20 Chicago-metro area Indigenous artists, thereby expanding the geographic reach of my work,” Favell said.

Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Shan Goshorn, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist. - Original Credit: Handout
Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Shan Goshorn, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist.
– Original Credit: Handout

During her residency, Favell met with local artists, visited classrooms for conversations with Northwestern students and conducted portrait sessions at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston.

Block Museum Academic Curator Corinne Granof says “Facing the Camera” is part of the Block’s broader commitment to indigenous artists and students and a new direction in programming that includes plans for “Woven Being: Indigenous Art in Chicagoland,” an exhibition project set for 2025.

“This is a history that’s been overlooked and Favell’s work will be the first time the Block Museum has featured the work of an Indigenous artist,” Granof said.

The exhibit is in part is a response to the way Native Americans have historically been photographed, Granof says.

Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Chris Pappan, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist. - Original Credit: Handout
Rosalie Favell, Facing the Camera: Chris Pappan, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012. Inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist.
– Original Credit: Handout

“In the past, image-makers like Edward Curtis, and his project, ‘The Vanishing Race,’ (1904), created images that were nostalgic sepia-toned relics,” Granof said. “Favell on the other hand is a contemporary artist countering historic stereotypes.”

Favell says she wants her subjects to feel good about the portrait she creates of them since it’s an image which will live out in the world.

“I use a collaborative process while photographing, I want them to be comfortable and to have agency of how they present themselves,” Favell said. “I like to give them control.

Ultimately, Favell says she wants the photos to stand as documents.

“I am making a record of these incredible individuals who are present and active, and contributing in our world,” Favell said. “I want their images to be preserved for future generations.”

Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.

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