Profile: Jessica Winters
Photo by Scott Forsyth
Jessica Winters is an emerging artist and curator from Nunatsiavut, currently residing in Makkovik, Newfoundland. After completing her BA in Biology, Ecology and Conservation at Memorial University in St. John’s, NL, Jessica returned home where she continues to develop her artistic practice, guided by the careful instruction of her family and community members. Her work, which centers on colourful scenes of life in Nunatsiavut, has been featured in group exhibitions such as The Wish 150 Mosaic created by TakingITGlobal in collaboration with Fishing for Success (2017), and Nunatsiavut: Our Beautiful Land at La Guilde in Montreal (2019). Combining her passions for art and biology, Jessica hopes to advocate for the preservation and conservation of Inuit homelands and ways of life, such as access to traditional food sources.
Outside of her own practice, Jessica also co-curated Nunatsiavut artist Billy Gauthier’s exhibition Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone at The Rooms Gallery in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 2019. Saunituinnaulungitotluni was the first major solo exhibition for Gauthier since his 2010 show at Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, in which all his featured pieces famously sold out within the first 18 minutes. Made possible through a joint curatorial mentorship between Inuit Futures Director Heather Igloliorte and Curator of Canadian Art at The Rooms Darryn Doull, the show was a resounding success. Jessica credits the hands-on approach to learning about curation and exhibition-making with the success of her first ever curatorial project.
“It has opened up this whole world where you get to see all the different moving parts behind the art scene and different types of art. From that, I’ve had a little bit more knowledge and courage to explore things myself.”
Installation view of Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone, The Rooms, St. John’s, NL, 2019. M + E Photography.
Jessica and a visitor at Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone, The Rooms, St. John’s, NL, May 2019. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.
With a goal to reach as many people as possible with the message of the exhibition, Jessica began by studying Gauthier’s iconic pieces, many of which were already familiar to her, in order to form a meaningful connection before becoming enmeshed in the technical aspects of curation. “Because Billy is from my area and he’s an Inuk I found it easy to click as a curator and as an artist because we both have the same values. It was easy for me to understand his values and where he’s coming from and why he does what he does. That’s part of the reason it’s so important to have Inuit curators.”
When discussing the values that inform her work, Jessica is quick to stress the importance of involving herself in projects that are created for her community, by her community. “Knowing who you’re working for and working with is probably the most important thing. The best part of the project for me was seeing how excited Billy was and hearing him saying that this was exactly what he wanted people to know when they saw his art.”
Untitled (2019), Acrylic on stretched canvas, 15x30”. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.
Namukiak (2019), Acrylic on stretched canvas, 20x30”. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.