Mackenzie Kelly-Frère is an artist, educator and academic. He has exhibited his work in Canada, China, Iceland, Japan, Korea and the United States. Mackenzie has written texts for various publications including Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture and VAV Magazine. He is currently Director and Associate Professor in the School of Craft & Emerging Media at the Alberta University of the Arts. Mackenzie lives in Mohkinstsis (Calgary), Canada with husband Kristofer and daughter Elizabeth. DOWNLOAD CV
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO
Sep 6 – Nov 2, 2025 | Drawn, Alberta Craft Council, Calgary, Canada
Oct21 - Nov 2, 2024 | Drawn, Alberta Craft Council, Edmonton Canada
Jul 11 - Aug 24, 2019 | Spotlight, Alberta Craft Council, Calgary, Canada
Oct 7 - Nov 19, 2016 | Tendency, DNA Artspace, London, Canada
Apr 2 - May 14, 2016 | Interval / Duration, Evans Contemporary, curator Paolo Fortin, Peterborough, Canada
Feb 4 - Mar 17 2016 | Incidence, Trames Gallery, curator Louise Lemieux Berube, Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, Canada
Feb 22 - Mar 8 2014 | Frequency, GalleryGallery, curator Keiko Kawashima, Kyoto, Japan
Feb & Mar 2005 | (im)material beauty, MFA thesis exhibition, Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada
Jul & Aug 1996 | tract 2, Marion Nicoll Gallery +15 space, Centre for Performing Arts, Calgary, Canada
Feb 1996 | Soak, Marion Nicoll Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
SELECTED GROUP
May 28, 2024 | Ós Textile Residency Exhibition, Icelandic Textile Centre, Blönduós, Iceland
Feb 23 – Mar 10, 2024 | Burns Visual Art Society 45th Anniversary Exhibition, Ruberto Ostberg Gallery, Calgary, Canada
Sep 11 - Nov 6, 2021 | Alberta Craft Excellence, juried exhibition, Alberta Craft Gallery, Calgary & Edmonton, Canada
Oct 17 – Dec 24, 2020
Jan 18 – Mar 8, 2020 | Cultivate / Instigate, curated by Jenna Stanton, Alberta Craft Gallery, Calgary & Edmonton, Canada
May 11 – Aug 31, 2019
May 31 - Aug 16 2017 | Recall: Recent Acquisitions, curator Christine Sowiak, Nickle Galleries, Calgary, Canada
Jun 8 - Aug 26 2017 | Chromatic Geography: Natural Dyes in the 21st Century, curators Rachel MacHenry & Thea Haines, Craft Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Jun 8 - Aug 19 2017 | Speaking Notes: Nickle Galleries’ Recent Acquisitions, curator Michele Hardy, Nickle Galleries, Calgary, Canada
Aug 30 - Sep 20 2015 | Interlacing Conversations, curator Elizabeth Whalley, Inverness County Centre for the Arts, Inverness, Canada
Jul 11 - Oct 3 2015 | Here and There, Alberta Craft Council Feature Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
Jan 30 - Apr 11 2015 | In the making, curator Diana Sherlock, University of Saskatchewan Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada
Jan 19 - 25, 2015 | Calgary: Outside the Box, curated by aftermodern.lab for Toronto Design Offsite Festival, Toronto Canada
Jul 12 - Sep 27, 2014 | Continuum, Alberta Craft Council Feature Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
Jan 16 - Feb 22 2014 | In the making, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, curator Diana Sherlock, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Jul 18 - Sep 21 2013 | +One, Jarvis Hall Fine Art, curator Jarvis Hall, Calgary, Canada
Jan 26 - May 5 2013 | The News From Here: Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, Alberta Gallery of Art, curator Nancy Tousely, Edmonton, Canada
May - Aug 2011 | Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Museum of Contemporary Craft, curator Namita Wiggers, Portland, Oregon, USA (exhibit travelled to Sheehan Gallery, Walla Walla, Washington & Creative Arts Gallery at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California, USA from September to December.)
Jun - Aug 2010 | Lieux de memoire, Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay, curator Denis Longchamps, Montreal, Canada
May - Aug 2010 | (Re)Fashioning Fibre, Green Spaces NY, curator by Abigail Doan, New York, NY, USA
Mar - Apr 2010 | East and West: Contemporary Fibres and Textiles, The Art Gallery and Studio, curator Daniel North, Cut Bank, MT, USA
Jun - Sep 2009 | Lieux de memoire, Biennale international du lin, Moulin de La Chevrotière , curator by Denis Longchamps, Deschambault-Grondines, Canada
Sep - Nov 2006 | Next, Uncommon Objects Space, curator Melanie Egan, York Quay Centre, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Canada
Nov 2004 | The 3rd Natural Dyeing Biennale, Aichi Prefecture Museum, Nagoya, Japan
2004 | From Lausanne to Beijing: 3rd International Fibre Art Biennale, Shanghai Library Conference and Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Sep 2004 | Sutra, Alternative Space, Hap Gallery, curator by Tosca Killoran, Seoul, South Korea (catalogue)
Sep 2002 | The 2nd Natural Dyeing Biennale, Aichi Prefecture Museum, Nagoya, Japan
Jan 1999 | Aberration, With Derek Waite & Angela Yee, Stride Gallery, curator Diana Sherlock, Calgary, Canada
Jul 1999 | Pursuit, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, curator Richard Gordon, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Oct 1998 | Earth Stone Ceramics Glass, International Craft Exhibition, Museum of Arts Crafts, Itami, Japan
CURATED
Oct 17-28, 2019 | Tendere, Gallery 371, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, Canada
EDUCATION
2005 | MFA Textiles, NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada
1998 | BFA Textiles, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
ACADEMIC
Aug 2024 - ongoing | Director, School of Craft & Emerging Media, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, Canada
Aug 2011 - ongoing | Associate Professor, Fibre, School of Craft & Emerging Media, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, Canada
Aug 2016 - Jun 2017 | First Year Studies Coordinator, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Feb 2013 to Jun 2015 | Associate Chair, School of Craft & Emerging Media, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Jan 2008 - Aug 2011 | Sessional Faculty, Fibre Program, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Fall 2006 | Replacement Instructor, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Fall 2004 & Spring 2005 | Instructor, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University, Halifax, Canada
Spring 2004 & 2005 | Research Assistant, Dr. Sandra Alfoldy, NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada
Sep 2003 - Apr 2005 | Teaching Assistant, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University, Halifax Canada
AFFILIATIONS
2015 to now | Professional Member, Alberta Craft Council
2018 to now | Textile Society of America
Jan - Dec 2024 | Bulletin Editor, Guild of Canadian Weavers
Sep 2019 to Apr 2024 | President (2 years) Alberta Representative (3 years) & Historian, Guild of Canadian Weavers
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
May 2024 | Ós Textile Residency, Blönduós, Iceland
May 2011 | Artist in Residence, “Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” Museum of Contemporary Craft, curated by Namita Gupta Wiggers, Portland, Oregon, USA
LECTURES & PANELS
November 2024 | “Weaving at the Horizon: Encounters with Fibre Art on the Canadian Prairie” panel moderated by Dr. Michele Hardy “Expanding the Frame: Shifting and Reweaving Canadian Fibre Arts” for Textile Society of America Symposium: Shifts and Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles
March 2023 | Artist Talk, MAAD, Ontario College of Art & Design University, Toronto, Canada
Nov 2018 | Artist Talk, MAAD, Ontario College of Art & Design University, Toronto, Canada & Artist Talk, Textiles, Sheridan College, Oakville, Canada
Jun 2017 | Panelist, Chromatic Geography: Natural Dyes in the 21st Century, Craft Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Feb 2017 | Presentation, #thenewtapestry, Textiles Underfoot and from the Margins of History, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Oct 2016 | Artist Talk, DNA Artspace, London, Canada
Feb 2016 | Artist Talk, Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal Canada
Nov 2011 | Panelist, Creative Research Symposium, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, Canada
Jun 2011 | Panelist, Cut on the Bias: Textiles Collaboration and Pedagogy, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
May 2010 | Artist Talk, Kyoto City University of the Arts, Kyoto, Japan
Nov 2010 | Artist Talk, Alberta Society of Artists, Lougheed House, Calgary, Canada
Jun 2007 | Panelist, Technology Panel, Invisible/Visible Symposium, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary Canada
WRITING
January 2024 | “Embracing Process: A weaver collaborates with the urban fabric”, VAV Scandinavian Weaving Magazine, No 1, Edited by Tina Ignel, VAV Magasinet
November 2023 | “Weaving at the Horizon: Encounters with Fibre Art on the Canadian Prairie”, in Prairie Interlace: Weaving Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, Edited by Michele Hardy, Julia Krueger & Timothy Long, University of Calgary Press, pp 123-145
2023 | “Marigold Zig-Zag: Weaving pattern & dye process”, VAV Scandinavian Weaving Magazine, No 2 & No 3, Edited by Tina Ignel, VAV Magasinet
June 2019 | “Weaving People,” essay for “Art in Ubiquity” exhibition at Alberta Craft Council Feature Gallery, edited by Kim McCollum, Edmonton Canada
Jun 2016 | “When the Studio Becomes Spectacle: a reluctant itinerant weaver talks about the weather in Alberta,” essay for “Crafting Community” in Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture, edited by Lisa Vinebaum & Kirsty Robertson, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), UK. Vol 14, Issue 1, pp 74-83
Jan 2016 | “Touching Absence”, exhibit text for Laura Vickerson‘s The Between at the Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary, January 29 to April 2, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta
Aug 2012 | “Tinctorium” exhibit text for Bill Morton’s exhibition Tinctorium, Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB
Aug 2010 | “In Absentia: Maria Chronopolous at Artist Proof Gallery” exhibit text for Artist Proof Gallery, Alberta Printmakers Society, Calgary, AB
Mar 2008 | “Material Gesture”, exhibit text for Janice Wu’s exhibition Explanere at Open Space Gallery, Toronto, ON
Nov 2007 | “(Im)material Beauty” (excerpt) Craft Perception & Practice, ed. Nisse Gustafson & Amy Gogarty, Ronsdale Press, pp 107-112
Nov 2007 | “Review: ‘The Parting Glass’ the work of Sara Washbush” Craft Perception & Practice, ed. Nisse Gustafson & Amy Gogarty, Ronsdale Press, pp 137-141
Spring 2007 | “Expanding Intimacy”, “Profile: Michele Hardy”, “Review: Meta Incognita” three articles for fibreQuarterly Canada, vol. 3, Issue 2, (http://fiberquaterly.velvethighway.com)
Summer 2005 | “(Im)material Beauty” (excerpt), Artichoke Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp 34-37
Winter 2005/2006 | “Review; Acadian Root Baskets of Atlantic Canada”, Nova Scotia Craft News, a publication of the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council, pp 18-19
Winter 2005/2006 | “What is ‘Is there love in art?’”, 5163, NSCAD University Alumni Magazine, pp 26-29
REVIEWS, CATALOGUES & PRESS
2016 | “The Present Prairie”, Julia Krueger for Studio Magazine, Spring/Summer 2017, pp 46-51 DOWNLOAD
2015 | In the Making, exhibition catalogue, Sherlock Diana and Nicole Burisch, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB DOWNLOAD
Oct 2013 | Interview, World of Threads Festival, Edited by Dawne Rudman for World of Threads Festival, Toronto, Canada
Aug 2013 | “Bring a Friend, Gallery Style”, review by Cadence Mandybura for FFWD website, Calgary, AB
Spring/Summer 2013 | “Mastering Fine Craft in Canada”, Mary-Beth Laviolette for Studio, Toronto, Canada
Mar 2013 | “The News From Here: The 2013 Biennial of Contemporary Art”, review by Katherine Ylitalo for Galleries West
Jan 2013 | The News From Here, exhibition catalogue essay by Nancy Tousely, for The News From Here: 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Sep 2004 | Sutra, exhibition catalogue, curator Tosca Killoran, Alternative Space, Hap Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Oct 1998 | Earth Stone Ceramics Glass, International Craft Exhibition, Museum of Arts Crafts Itami, Itami, Japan
COLLECTIONS
2016 | Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton, Canada
2009 | Nickle Galleries, Uiversity of Calgary, Calgary Canada
2009 | The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada