Shelley Niro

Niro was born in Buffalo, New York, but grew up on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. In 1990, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Honors in Painting and Sculpture from Toronto’s OCAD, and in 1997, a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Niro was selected as a fellow by the National Museum of American History in 1997, and in 2012, she received the Aboriginal Arts Award from the Ontario Arts Council. An installation artist as well as a filmmaker, Niro was awarded the “Walking in Beauty Award” for her 1992 direction and production of It Starts with a Whisper. Her 1998 film Honey Moccasin, won best feature, best actress, best actor, and best director at the Red Earth Festival, and in 2003, her short film The Shirt was presented at the Venice Biennale and the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Niro’s visual works on canvas, paper, and film tackle the misconceptions or stereotypical portrayals of Native women.