Thirza Cuthand

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Thirza Cuthand
Thirza Cuthand the Filmmaker, standing at 12 Apostles in Australia.jpg
Born1978
Regina, Saskatchewan
OccupationArtist
Years active1995–present
Parent(s)Ruth Cuthand, Edward Poitras
RelativesLori Blondeau (auntie)
Websitehttps://www.thirzacuthand.com

Thirza Cuthand is a filmmaker, artist, writer and curator of Plains Cree and Scottish and Irish descent.[1] She is a self-described "bipolar butch lesbian two spirited boy/girl thingamabob" and began exploring video in high school, espousing a style that would continue through much of their work.[2] Their experimental film and video have a distinctly DIY and "diarist" aesthetic, often with voice-over narration, and storytelling that explores their experiences of identity, race, sexuality, relationships, ageism and mental health.[3][4][5]

In 1995, a queer film festival and workshop that came to Saskatoon prompted her to start making her own films.[6] The workshop resulted in the production of her first short video, Lessons in Baby Dyke Theory, which was screened when she was sixteen in acclaimed film festivals around the world. A self-described "bipolar butch lesbian two spirited boy/girl thingamabob"[2] her low budget productions of experimental film and video explore issues of identity, race, sexuality, relationships, ageism and mental health.[7]

Early life and career[]

Born in 1978 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Cuthand grew up amongst artists in Saskatoon.[8][9]

Cuthand credits Maureen Bradley with teaching them how to make their first video. Other early mentors include Dana Claxton, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Milan.[10]

In 1995, a queer film festival and workshop that she attended in Saskatoon prompted her to start thinking about sharing her video experiments more widely.[11][12] The workshop resulted in the production of her short video, Lessons in Baby Dyke Theory, which was screened when she was sixteen in acclaimed film festivals around the world. In 1999 they were selected for an artist residency at Videopool and Urban Shaman where they completed Through the Looking Glass, a work that plays off Lewis Carroll's novel of the same title, and sees Cuthand play the role of Alice, in conversation with the Red Queen (played by Cosmosquaw AKA Lori Blondeau) and the White Queen (Shawna Dempsey) as a device to discuss cultural heritage and the construction of race.[13][14]

Following their early success, they went on to complete a BFA in film and video at the Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver.[15]

Cuthand's work has been presented at numerous festivals and exhibitions including the Whitney Biennial (USA), Walker Art Centre (Minneapolis), Mackenzie Art Gallery (Regina), Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (Germany), San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Optic Nerve (Peterborough) The Women's Television Network, MIX NY, the Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon), MIX Brasil Festival of Sexual Diversity, New York Exposition of Short Film and Video, 9e Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement (Geneva) and the 70th Berlin International Film Festival[16] where NDN Survival Trilogy (Reclamation, Extractions and Less Lethal Fetishes) her witty, personal short films about extraction capitalism in Canada were screened at the Canadian Embassy.

She was featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial, and the film program, What Was Always Yours and Never Lost, yet shared her disappointment in the controversies of Whitney Museum Vice- Chair, Warren Kanders's implication in war profiteering.[17][18][19]

Cuthand moved to Toronto to be closer to more industry resources, help develop their practice and continue to work on short films.[20][21] She has self-funded many of her own projects though she increasingly works with larger budgets.[22][23][24][25] Cuthand also works as a curator and has organized programs for ImageNation (Vancouver), Video Out (Vancouver), Paved Art (Sasktoon) and Queer City Cinema (Regina).

Awards[]

In 2017 Cuthand was awarded the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL Indigenous Art Award.[26] In 2021 their short film Kwêskosîw (She Whistles) won a Golden Sheaf for Short Subject- Fiction at the Yorkton Film Festival, the Mana Advancement of Indigenous Rights Award at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand, and the Bronze Audience Award for Best Canadian Short at Fantasia.[27][28][29][30][31]

References[]

  1. ^ Tatonetti, Lisa (2015). Packing Penises and Two-Spirit Traces: Thirza Cuthand's Performance of Female Masculinity. Washington, DC: Native American and Indigenous Studies Association. pp. 121–130.
  2. ^ a b Steven, Loft, Acquisition Proposal for Thirza Cuthand's Working Baby Dyke Theory: The Diasporic Impact of Cross Generational Barriers; Through hotel Looking Glass and Love & Numbers, accession #42309; #42308 and #42307, Curatorial File, National Gallery of Canada.
  3. ^ "Thirza Cuthand". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  4. ^ Gingras, Nicole. "Thirza Cuthand in Conversation with Nicole Gingras" (PDF). Le Fifa. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ ""A Day in the Life" with Toronto Filmmaker Thirza Cuthand". Toronto Guardian. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  6. ^ Williams, Jasmine. "Q&A With Aboriginal Independent Filmmaker, Thirza Cuthand". TalentEgg Career Incubator. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  7. ^ "Thirza Cuthand". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Claudia; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (2008). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313339097.
  9. ^ "Thirza Cuthand". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  10. ^ Ontario, Disability Justice Network of (2019-12-05). "Cripping Resistance, Claiming Ourselves: Three Interviews with Sick/Disabled QTBIPOC Artists". DJNO. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  11. ^ Williams, Jasmine. "Q&A With Aboriginal Independent Filmmaker, Thirza Cuthand". TalentEgg Career Incubator. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  12. ^ Gingras, Nicole. "Thirza Cuthand in Conversation with Nicole Gingras" (PDF). Le Fifa. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Through the Looking Glass - VUCAVU". vucavu.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  14. ^ "COSMOSQUAW - Western Front". Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  15. ^ "Sight". National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI). 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  16. ^ "In Berlin, Indigenous artist Thirza Cuthand interrogates Canada's extraction economy". Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  17. ^ "Whitney Biennial 2019". www.whitney.org. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  18. ^ Small, Zachary (July 24, 2019). "As Artists Withdraw From the Whitney Biennial Over Kanders Controversy, Others Refuse the Call to Boycott". Hyperallergic.
  19. ^ Ontario, Disability Justice Network of (2019-12-05). "Cripping Resistance, Claiming Ourselves: Three Interviews with Sick/Disabled QTBIPOC Artists". DJNO. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  20. ^ "Thirza Cuthand". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  21. ^ "Queer City Cinema". www.queercitycinema.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  22. ^ Dupuis, Chris (August 15, 2016). "These Rising Filmmakers are Finally Bringing Two-Spirited Stories to the Screen". CBC.
  23. ^ "The Longform Lesbian Census - VUCAVU". vucavu.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  24. ^ Cuthand, Thirza (2013-08-19), Sight, retrieved 2019-04-25
  25. ^ "2 Spirit Introductory Special - CGiii...for LGBT films, filmmakers & festivals". cgiii.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  26. ^ "Thirza Cuthand, Reclamation". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  27. ^ "Fantasia '21 Interview: Thirza Cuthand on their film Kwêskosîw (She Whistles) - Awesome Friday! - Pop Culture News, Reviews, and Opinions". Awesome Friday!. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  28. ^ Stranger, Darrell (2021-08-17). "Power of northern lights tapped in new Indigenous thriller". APTN News. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  29. ^ "Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Winners and Nominees". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  30. ^ "THE FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARDS FOR 25TH…". fantasiafestival.com. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  31. ^ "Fantasia International Film Festival Announces Awards For 25th Edition". Fangoria. Retrieved 2021-08-27.

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