ERIKA DEFREITAS
www.erikadefreitas.com
EDUCATION
M.V.S., University of Toronto, 2008
B.Ed., York University, Toronto, 2004
H.B.A., Art History and Studio, University of Toronto, 2003
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2017 Sobey Art Award, Long List
2016 John Hartman Award, MacLaren Art Centre
Toronto Arts Council, Visual Artists Grant
Toronto Friends of Visual Arts, Award Finalist
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2015 Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
Ontario Arts Council, Emerging Artist Grant
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2013 Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2010 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2008 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
2006 Fellowship, University of Toronto
Canada Council for the Arts, Inter-Arts Travel Grant
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Impossible Gardens, Angell Gallery, Toronto, ON.
like a conjuring (bringing water back to Bradley), The Anchorage Bradley Museums, Mississauga, ON.
2016 ; it was in the air, as they say., Gallery 44, Toronto, ON. (Vitrines)
2015 The Work of Mourning, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2013 Deaths/Memorials/Births, Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts, Hamilton, ON.
2009 In The Bedroom Series, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON. (Vitrines)
2008 Deaths/Memorials/Births, Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2005 The Snapshot Chronicles, CWSE, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
(Two person exhibitions *)
2017 The Sustenance Rite, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON.
Migrating the Margins, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, ON.
Generators, Critical Distance Centre for Curators, Toronto, ON.
The Inhabitants of Space in General, Open Studio, Toronto, ON.
and this seems to say everything, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON. (performance)
All That is Left Unsaid/at the very point where words fail us, Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts, Hamilton, ON.*
Position As Desired: Exploring African Canadian Identity, Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON.
2016 My tongue was tied, Xpace Gallery, Toronto, ON. (performance)
Enraged, Inertia ran off, Parkette at James and Wilson, Hamilton, ON.
Unfixed Homeland., Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ.
At the Seams, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, ON.
A Rehearsal for Objects Lie on a Table, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Black Future Toronto 2116, Daniels Spectrum, Toronto, ON.
Art Souterrain 2016, Palais des Congres, Montreal, QC.
2015 Ontario in Âjagemô, Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, ON.
HOTBED, Art Gallery of Ontario Massive Party, Toronto, ON.
The One and the Many: A Self-portrait in Seven Parts, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX.
2014 Stranger Than Fiction, Pollock Gallery at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
WE WON’T COMPETE, Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON.
Face Value, Gallery 1313, Toronto, ON.
2013 The boat is a floating piece of space, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX.
2012 unseen SEEN, Studio 42, Toronto, ON.
New Faces: Portraits from the Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank, Jardins de Metis - Reford Gardens, Estevan, QC.
2011 This Woman’s Work…, Project Space, Hamilton, ON.
Eccentricities, Papermill Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Here and There, Propeller Centre for Visual Arts, Toronto, ON.
2010 Feminist Research Performance Project (in collaboration with Leena Raudvee), XPACE, Toronto, ON.
Do You See What I Mean? Voyez-vous ce que je veux dire? Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON.
The Trans-Cultural: Women in Performance, CWSE, OISE/University of Toronto.
Around the Frayed Edges, Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden, ON.
2009 DIASPORArt: Strategy and Seduction by Canadian Artists from Culturally Diverse Communities in works from the collection of the Canada
Council Art Bank, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON.
2008 MVS Graduating Exhibition, The University of Toronto Art Centre, Toronto, ON.
Toronto Alternative Arts & Fashion Week, The Distillery District, Toronto, ON.
2007 Fleeting Face, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Rehab: Weaning Youth off Corporate Crack, The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON.
2006 Alumni Show, The Gallery, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
Art in the Halls, 401 Richmond, Toronto, ON.
Collision 2006 Inter-arts Research and Practices, University of Victoria, B.C.
Get on the Bus, CITY – SPACE, San Francisco, CA.
2004 Sticks and Stones, sisboombah, Toronto, ON. (Vitrine)
7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, Toronto, ON.
LISTEN!: FIVE HOLES series, FADO, Toronto, ON.
Squarefoot 2004, A.W.O.L Gallery, Toronto, ON.
2003 Touch and Go, The Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY.
Body: Not My Autobiography, The Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
Gestures, Implant, Toronto, ON.
Beautificades, Ne Plus Ultra, Toronto, ON.
2002 hardFORM, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, ON.
Grapefruit, Lemon, ___________. Art System, Toronto, ON.
SCREENINGS
2017 7a*md8 – On Screen, Toronto, ON.
Images Festival, Toronto, ON.
AUCTIONS/FUNDRAISERS
2017 SNAP! Auction, Aids Committee of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
2016 – 2017 Salon 44, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON
2013 Canadian Art Foundation Art Auction, Toronto, ON.
2012 – 2016 Over the Top, Mentoring Artist for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB.
2010 – 2016 8x10 Fundraiser, Platform Centre for Photographic +Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2009 – 2016 Photorama, Gallery TPW, Toronto, ON.
RESIDENCIES
2017 Alice Yard, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. (upcoming, summer 2017)
2015 Also As Well Too, Winnipeg, MB.
2010 Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB.
GUEST LECTURE / PANEL
2017 Artist Talk, Impossible Gardens, Angell Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Panel Member, A Discussion About Generators with curator Anthony Stepter and CDCC Director Shani Parsons, Studio 101, Artscape
Youngplace, Toronto, ON.
Guest Speaker, Caribbean Cultural Traditions course at Ryerson University, Toronto, ON.
Workshop, Family Matters: Incorporating the Personal Into Your Art Practice, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON.
2016 Sunday Scene (discussing Franz Erhard Walther’s exhibition Call to Action), The Power Plant, Toronto, ON.
Artist Talk, These Funny Things, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, ON.
2015 Artist Talk, Salon Night with Erika DeFreitas, Platform Centre for Photographic+Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
Artist Talk, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2014 Artist Talk, Pollock Gallery at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
Artist Talk, Plug In ICA Summer Institute, Winnipeg, MB.
Panel Member, The State of Blackness: From Production to Presentation, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON.
2010 Artist Talk, MAWA, Winnipeg, MB.
2009 Artist Talk, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON.
2008 Panel Member, The New Art of Suburbia at Centennial College, Toronto, ON.
Artist Talk, Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2006 Artist Talk, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
JURIES/ADVISORY
2012 Jury Member, Ontario Arts Council Visual Artist: Emerging, Toronto, ON.
2007 Jury Member, Masters of Visual Studies Selection Committee, University of Toronto, ON.
2006 Jury Member, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
PUBLICATIONS
Prefix Photo Magazine Issue 18, Artist Portfolio: The Impossible Speech Act, 2008.
Extensions: The Online Journal of Embodiment and Technology, Artist Project: Deaths/Memorials/Births, UCLA, 2008.
REVIEWS/ESSAYS/INTERVIEWS
Julius, Kenesha. “Conceptualism Through Motion and Space: Erika DeFreitas in Conversation with Kenesha Julius,” Moko Magazine: Caribbean
Arts and Letters, Issue No. 11, May 7, 2017.
Ali, Grace Aneiza. “Un/Fixed Homeland.” Transition: The Magazine of Africa and the Diaspora. 2016, pp. 135 - 145.
Mowry, Crystal. “Rest/Repeat: An Interview with Erika DeFreitas,” No More Potlucks, Issue No. 45: Repetition, September 1, 2016.
Pluecker, John. “The One and the Many: A Self-Portrait in Seven Parts.” ARTFORUM, May 2015.
Neudorf, Kim. “We Won’t Compete at the Art Gallery of Windsor.” Akimblog, August 12, 2014.
Dick, Terence. “Face Value at Gallery 1313 I Jason Wright at GalleryWest.” Akimblog, February 25, 2014.
Matthews, Nolan. “The Art of Erika DeFreitas.” The Silhouette. May 21, 2013.
Vegh, Stephanie. “Erika DeFreitas at Centre 3.” Akimblog, March 19, 3013.
Davidge, Michael. “Message Pictures: Adventures in Reading Images Part 3.” BlackFlash Magazine, Issue 29.2, Winter 2012.
Cittern, Zoe. “A Different Spin on Textiles.” Country Voice, Volume 3 Issue 9: Thursday, March 25, 2010, p.26.
Carraway, Kate. “The art of Scarborough.” Eye Weekly, December 12, 2008.
Eyland, Cliff. Akimblog: Winnipeg, December 2, 2008.
Thiessen, Brittany. “The significance of a blank page: Toronto artist uses obituaries as her canvas for exhibit.”
The Uniter: The University of Winnipeg Student Weekly, Issue 14: November 27, 2008.
Eigenkind, Heidi. “Deaths/Memorials/Births.” Winnipeg: Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts 2008.
Landry, Mike. “Deaths/Memorials/Births.” Things of Desire: Canada’s Alternative Art Weekly, Volume 1 Number 11: October 30-November 5.
Reckitt, Helena. (Catalogue Essay). MVS Programme 2008 Graduating Exhibition. Toronto: The University of Toronto 2008.
Goddard, Peter. “At the Galleries: Closing Today.” The Toronto Star, July 21, 2007, Sec. E6.
Schecter, Fran. “Ethnicity’s Fleeting Face.” NOW Magazine, July 12-18, 2007, p. 81.
Nicholls, Sophie. “Battling against in-school discrimination.” 24 Hours, December 4, 2005, p. 6.
Whyte, Murray. “ Random acts of weirdness.” The Toronto Star, March 26, 2005, Sec. H, p. 1 and 12.
COLLECTIONS
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON.
Wedge Curatorial Projects, Toronto, ON.
Hart House Permanent Collection, Toronto, ON.
Feminist Art Gallery (F.A.G.), Toronto, ON.
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON.
TD Canada Trust Art Collection, Toronto, ON.
DISTRIBUTION
VTape, Toronto, ON.
www.erikadefreitas.com
EDUCATION
M.V.S., University of Toronto, 2008
B.Ed., York University, Toronto, 2004
H.B.A., Art History and Studio, University of Toronto, 2003
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2017 Sobey Art Award, Long List
2016 John Hartman Award, MacLaren Art Centre
Toronto Arts Council, Visual Artists Grant
Toronto Friends of Visual Arts, Award Finalist
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2015 Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
Ontario Arts Council, Emerging Artist Grant
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2013 Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2010 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2008 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Travel Grant
2006 Fellowship, University of Toronto
Canada Council for the Arts, Inter-Arts Travel Grant
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Impossible Gardens, Angell Gallery, Toronto, ON.
like a conjuring (bringing water back to Bradley), The Anchorage Bradley Museums, Mississauga, ON.
2016 ; it was in the air, as they say., Gallery 44, Toronto, ON. (Vitrines)
2015 The Work of Mourning, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2013 Deaths/Memorials/Births, Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts, Hamilton, ON.
2009 In The Bedroom Series, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON. (Vitrines)
2008 Deaths/Memorials/Births, Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2005 The Snapshot Chronicles, CWSE, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
(Two person exhibitions *)
2017 The Sustenance Rite, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON.
Migrating the Margins, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, ON.
Generators, Critical Distance Centre for Curators, Toronto, ON.
The Inhabitants of Space in General, Open Studio, Toronto, ON.
and this seems to say everything, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON. (performance)
All That is Left Unsaid/at the very point where words fail us, Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts, Hamilton, ON.*
Position As Desired: Exploring African Canadian Identity, Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON.
2016 My tongue was tied, Xpace Gallery, Toronto, ON. (performance)
Enraged, Inertia ran off, Parkette at James and Wilson, Hamilton, ON.
Unfixed Homeland., Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ.
At the Seams, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, ON.
A Rehearsal for Objects Lie on a Table, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Black Future Toronto 2116, Daniels Spectrum, Toronto, ON.
Art Souterrain 2016, Palais des Congres, Montreal, QC.
2015 Ontario in Âjagemô, Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, ON.
HOTBED, Art Gallery of Ontario Massive Party, Toronto, ON.
The One and the Many: A Self-portrait in Seven Parts, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX.
2014 Stranger Than Fiction, Pollock Gallery at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
WE WON’T COMPETE, Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON.
Face Value, Gallery 1313, Toronto, ON.
2013 The boat is a floating piece of space, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX.
2012 unseen SEEN, Studio 42, Toronto, ON.
New Faces: Portraits from the Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank, Jardins de Metis - Reford Gardens, Estevan, QC.
2011 This Woman’s Work…, Project Space, Hamilton, ON.
Eccentricities, Papermill Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Here and There, Propeller Centre for Visual Arts, Toronto, ON.
2010 Feminist Research Performance Project (in collaboration with Leena Raudvee), XPACE, Toronto, ON.
Do You See What I Mean? Voyez-vous ce que je veux dire? Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON.
The Trans-Cultural: Women in Performance, CWSE, OISE/University of Toronto.
Around the Frayed Edges, Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden, ON.
2009 DIASPORArt: Strategy and Seduction by Canadian Artists from Culturally Diverse Communities in works from the collection of the Canada
Council Art Bank, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON.
2008 MVS Graduating Exhibition, The University of Toronto Art Centre, Toronto, ON.
Toronto Alternative Arts & Fashion Week, The Distillery District, Toronto, ON.
2007 Fleeting Face, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Rehab: Weaning Youth off Corporate Crack, The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON.
2006 Alumni Show, The Gallery, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
Art in the Halls, 401 Richmond, Toronto, ON.
Collision 2006 Inter-arts Research and Practices, University of Victoria, B.C.
Get on the Bus, CITY – SPACE, San Francisco, CA.
2004 Sticks and Stones, sisboombah, Toronto, ON. (Vitrine)
7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, Toronto, ON.
LISTEN!: FIVE HOLES series, FADO, Toronto, ON.
Squarefoot 2004, A.W.O.L Gallery, Toronto, ON.
2003 Touch and Go, The Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY.
Body: Not My Autobiography, The Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
Gestures, Implant, Toronto, ON.
Beautificades, Ne Plus Ultra, Toronto, ON.
2002 hardFORM, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, ON.
Grapefruit, Lemon, ___________. Art System, Toronto, ON.
SCREENINGS
2017 7a*md8 – On Screen, Toronto, ON.
Images Festival, Toronto, ON.
AUCTIONS/FUNDRAISERS
2017 SNAP! Auction, Aids Committee of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
2016 – 2017 Salon 44, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON
2013 Canadian Art Foundation Art Auction, Toronto, ON.
2012 – 2016 Over the Top, Mentoring Artist for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB.
2010 – 2016 8x10 Fundraiser, Platform Centre for Photographic +Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2009 – 2016 Photorama, Gallery TPW, Toronto, ON.
RESIDENCIES
2017 Alice Yard, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. (upcoming, summer 2017)
2015 Also As Well Too, Winnipeg, MB.
2010 Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB.
GUEST LECTURE / PANEL
2017 Artist Talk, Impossible Gardens, Angell Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Panel Member, A Discussion About Generators with curator Anthony Stepter and CDCC Director Shani Parsons, Studio 101, Artscape
Youngplace, Toronto, ON.
Guest Speaker, Caribbean Cultural Traditions course at Ryerson University, Toronto, ON.
Workshop, Family Matters: Incorporating the Personal Into Your Art Practice, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON.
2016 Sunday Scene (discussing Franz Erhard Walther’s exhibition Call to Action), The Power Plant, Toronto, ON.
Artist Talk, These Funny Things, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, ON.
2015 Artist Talk, Salon Night with Erika DeFreitas, Platform Centre for Photographic+Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
Artist Talk, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2014 Artist Talk, Pollock Gallery at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
Artist Talk, Plug In ICA Summer Institute, Winnipeg, MB.
Panel Member, The State of Blackness: From Production to Presentation, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON.
2010 Artist Talk, MAWA, Winnipeg, MB.
2009 Artist Talk, Gallery 44, Toronto, ON.
2008 Panel Member, The New Art of Suburbia at Centennial College, Toronto, ON.
Artist Talk, Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts, Winnipeg, MB.
2006 Artist Talk, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
JURIES/ADVISORY
2012 Jury Member, Ontario Arts Council Visual Artist: Emerging, Toronto, ON.
2007 Jury Member, Masters of Visual Studies Selection Committee, University of Toronto, ON.
2006 Jury Member, A Space Gallery, Toronto, ON.
PUBLICATIONS
Prefix Photo Magazine Issue 18, Artist Portfolio: The Impossible Speech Act, 2008.
Extensions: The Online Journal of Embodiment and Technology, Artist Project: Deaths/Memorials/Births, UCLA, 2008.
REVIEWS/ESSAYS/INTERVIEWS
Julius, Kenesha. “Conceptualism Through Motion and Space: Erika DeFreitas in Conversation with Kenesha Julius,” Moko Magazine: Caribbean
Arts and Letters, Issue No. 11, May 7, 2017.
Ali, Grace Aneiza. “Un/Fixed Homeland.” Transition: The Magazine of Africa and the Diaspora. 2016, pp. 135 - 145.
Mowry, Crystal. “Rest/Repeat: An Interview with Erika DeFreitas,” No More Potlucks, Issue No. 45: Repetition, September 1, 2016.
Pluecker, John. “The One and the Many: A Self-Portrait in Seven Parts.” ARTFORUM, May 2015.
Neudorf, Kim. “We Won’t Compete at the Art Gallery of Windsor.” Akimblog, August 12, 2014.
Dick, Terence. “Face Value at Gallery 1313 I Jason Wright at GalleryWest.” Akimblog, February 25, 2014.
Matthews, Nolan. “The Art of Erika DeFreitas.” The Silhouette. May 21, 2013.
Vegh, Stephanie. “Erika DeFreitas at Centre 3.” Akimblog, March 19, 3013.
Davidge, Michael. “Message Pictures: Adventures in Reading Images Part 3.” BlackFlash Magazine, Issue 29.2, Winter 2012.
Cittern, Zoe. “A Different Spin on Textiles.” Country Voice, Volume 3 Issue 9: Thursday, March 25, 2010, p.26.
Carraway, Kate. “The art of Scarborough.” Eye Weekly, December 12, 2008.
Eyland, Cliff. Akimblog: Winnipeg, December 2, 2008.
Thiessen, Brittany. “The significance of a blank page: Toronto artist uses obituaries as her canvas for exhibit.”
The Uniter: The University of Winnipeg Student Weekly, Issue 14: November 27, 2008.
Eigenkind, Heidi. “Deaths/Memorials/Births.” Winnipeg: Platform Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts 2008.
Landry, Mike. “Deaths/Memorials/Births.” Things of Desire: Canada’s Alternative Art Weekly, Volume 1 Number 11: October 30-November 5.
Reckitt, Helena. (Catalogue Essay). MVS Programme 2008 Graduating Exhibition. Toronto: The University of Toronto 2008.
Goddard, Peter. “At the Galleries: Closing Today.” The Toronto Star, July 21, 2007, Sec. E6.
Schecter, Fran. “Ethnicity’s Fleeting Face.” NOW Magazine, July 12-18, 2007, p. 81.
Nicholls, Sophie. “Battling against in-school discrimination.” 24 Hours, December 4, 2005, p. 6.
Whyte, Murray. “ Random acts of weirdness.” The Toronto Star, March 26, 2005, Sec. H, p. 1 and 12.
COLLECTIONS
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON.
Wedge Curatorial Projects, Toronto, ON.
Hart House Permanent Collection, Toronto, ON.
Feminist Art Gallery (F.A.G.), Toronto, ON.
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON.
TD Canada Trust Art Collection, Toronto, ON.
DISTRIBUTION
VTape, Toronto, ON.
