Skip to main contentBiographyNicolson was born in Comox, British Columbia, Canada, and currently lives in Victoria. She is a member of the Dzawada’enuxw band of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Emily Carr Institute of Arts and Design in Prince George, British Columbia, in 1996, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in 1999. She also earned a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Anthropology in 2005, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics, Anthropology, and Art History in 2013. Nicolson’s artwork draws upon elements of her Kwakwaka’wakw culture. She is well known for her site-specific works, and in 2015, she was commissioned by the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, to create two twenty-eight foot tall glass totems titled "Rivers Monument".
Marianne Nicolson
Kwakwaka’wakw, born 1969
Person TypeIndividual
Ligwiłda’xw of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nations, born 1975
Wood Mountain Lakota First Nations, born 1959
Coast Salish / Okanagan, born 1957
Shawnee / Delaware / Peoria, born 1939
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, born 1957
