HALEY BASSETT

Painting, Works on Paper, Wood Working, Metalwork, Carving, Sculpture, Beading, Found Objects, Textiles, Ceramics, Installation Art,
Natural Materials

 
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City: Groundbirch, British Columbia

Website: https://haley-bassett.format.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haley.bassett.artist/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haley.bassett/

Artist Statement: I started out as a painter; however, my practice is now focused on sculpture, installation and social practice. My visual work explores how time, place, family histories and personal traumas converge as formational aspects of the self. I use floral motifs and natural materials, including dried and fresh flowers, to create these coded narratives by drawing on the Victorian tradition of floriography (the language of flowers), the cultural significance of certain plants as well as my personal associations with them. Much of my work celebrates the culture and landscape of the Peace Region, and I hope to make a positive impact on northern communities by representing them authentically in my work.

As part of my social practice, I founded the Northern Arts - Community Development Program in 2019, in partnership with the Dawson Creek Art Gallery. This program is designed to alleviate barriers to artistic professional development in the Peace Region. As part of this program I write a weekly arts column, teach and organize workshops, as well as curate and organize art exhibitions in public venues.

Biography: Haley Bassett is an interdisciplinary artist of Métis and Austro-Russian descent from Dawson Creek, BC. She was born in 1991 to cattle-rancher parents, and now lives and works in Sunset Prairie, BC. She studied painting and drawing at the Florence Academy of Art, and has been mentored by Peter von Tiesenhausen, Brendan Tang and Genevieve Robertson. In May 2020, she completed her BFA in Visual Art from Emily Carr University, minoring in Social Practice and Community Engagement. During her studies, she was awarded the BCAC Scholarship twice. She also received the Distinguished Award from the Juried Regional Art Exhibition as well as the BCAC Early Career Development Grant in 2020.