Based-in Montréal, Ouellet spent decades working in Calgary’s arts community, teaching and exhibiting before undertaking graduate studies at Concordia University. She has recently completed her MFA researching in Fibres and Material Practices. In her work, Ouellet examines at how representations of landscape have been deliberately used in the building and branding of a contemporary and industrialized Canadian identity. Her career spans more than 30 years and she has exhibited her work across Canada and the United Kingdom.
CV
Education and Professional Development
2023 Master of Fine Arts, Fibres and Material Practices, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2020 Teacher Training Certificate, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
1996 Associate, Digital Imaging, Media and Visual Arts, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, AB
1991 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Solo Exhibitions
2016 Entomology, Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie, AB
2011 Johnston Falls, Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB
2009 Johnston Falls, Globe Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
2008 This old thing? Reconsidering Landscape & Icons, Carpet ‘N Toast Gallery, Calgary, AB
2007 All That Glitters…, 1000000mph, London, UK
2006 Talk Back, Artist-in-Residence and Exhibition, The Dunlop Gallery, Regina, SK
Tag, Truck Gallery, Calgary, AB (two-person collaborative with Erin MacMillan)
Shuz, EMMedia, Calgary, AB
2004 Friday, February 13th, 2004, The New Gallery, Calgary, AB
2002 Wish You Were Here, Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, AB
Niagara Falls – Shelley Ouellet, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, ON
2001 Wish You Were Here, AKA Artists Centre, Saskatoon, SK
Wish You Were Here, Galerie Connexion, Fredericton, NB
Wish You Were Here, Niagara Artists’ Company, St. Catharines, ON
2000 Bonjour, Je m’appelle Shelley Ouellet, L’Oeill de Poisson, Québec City, PQ
1999 Marilyn, Third Avenue Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Aviary, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
Entomology, Neutral Ground, Regina, Saskatchewan
1998 Entomology, Eyelevel Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Entomology, The Alternator Gallery, Kelowna, BC
Entomology, Open Space Gallery, Victoria, BC
Entomology, Project Room, The Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB
1997 Quilt, Harcourt House Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1995 Entomology, The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1994 Entomology, Truck Gallery, Calgary, AB
Bunnies, The Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts Window Project, Calgary, AB
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Apart/Appartement, Private Residence Collective Exhibition, Montreal, QC
Contemporary Weaving, Alberta Craft Council, Calgary, AB
2024 Contemporary Weaving, Alberta Craft Council, Edmonton, AB
2019 Cache, Herringer Kiss Gallery, guest curator Kevin Kenishiro, Calgary, AB
2017 This Art Makes Me Feel, McMullen Gallery, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, AB
OLA’ Meu nome e’ Shelley Ouellet, (2-day performance) Azores International Fringe Festival, Madalina, Pico, Portugal
2016 GENERATIONS: 50 Years of Art at the University and Beyond, guest curator Maribeth Laviolette, Nickle Galleries, Calgary, AB
2015 Sought After, Jarvis Hall Gallery, Calgary, AB
ACAD Faculty Exhibition, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
2015 Water, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB
2014 Alberta Culture Days, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton, AB
90×90, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Made in the 2000s, with guest curator Katherine Ylitalo, Nickle Galleries, Calgary, AB
2014 Made in the 90s, with guest curator Nancy Tousley, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
2013 The Art Bank in the 21st Century, Mount Saint Vincent University Gallery, Halifax, NS
The Art Bank in the 21st Century, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON
Made in Alberta: Part 3, Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Calgary, AB
Great Moments in Pop, MoCA, Calgary, AB
2012 We Tell Ourselves Stories, Nickle Art Galleries, Calgary, AB
Summer Survey II, Jarvis Hall Fine Art, Calgary, AB
2011 Faculty Exhibition, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
Calgary Collects, with guest curator Jeffrey Spalding, Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Culture Days, Capital Arts Gallery (AFA), Edmonton, AB
All Faculty Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
Arts Birthday, EMMEDIA, Calgary, AB
Stride Gallery Directors Show / Role, Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB
2009 Screens -2010 Olympic Exhibition, Online exhibition and cultural showcase, Vancouver, BC
2009 The New Faculty Exhibition, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
Gallery Without Walls: 50 years of the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation, Calgary, AB
2007 Alberta Formed, The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, AB
2005 Stride 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB
Beyond Emma Lake: Contemporary Art of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2004 Shimmering Spectacles, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
Summer Exhibition, Paul Kuhn Fine Arts, Calgary, AB
2003 Beyond Beauty, Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, AB
2002 Alberta Biennial, Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, AB
Alberta Biennial, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
hereweare, exhibition weework productions, G. Koh and P. Klygo, Toronto, ON
ACAD Faculty Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
ArtThrob, Articule Gallery, Montréal, PQ
2001 Obsessions, The Works Festival/Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2000 Presence, The Works Festival, Edmonton, AB
FibreOptics, Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie, AB
2000 FibreOptics, Frank Gallery (Crowsnest Pass Allied Arts Association)
Shiny, Galerie 101, Ottawa, ON
1999 Recent Acquisitions, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
Shiny, Latitude 53, Edmonton, AB
Light a Match, Latitude 53, Edmonton, AB
AFA: Selections from the Collection, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
1997 Recent Acquisitions from the Permanent Collection, The Walter Phillips Gallery, Calgary, AB
30th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition, The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, AB
1996 Alberta Biennial, The Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
1996 Alberta Biennial, The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Numbered Company, Gallery 1.1.1, Winnipeg, MA
1995 Mysteries of the Flesh, The University of Lethbridge, Calgary, AB
Copy, The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary AB
1993 Borderlands, unoccupied office tower floor, Calgary, AB
1992 Closed on Mondays Gallery 371, Curated by Amy Gogarty, Alberta College of Art, Calgary, AB
Special Projects / Performances
2018 City of Calgary Public Art Projects, Commission, Calgary, AB
2012-13 Calgary 2012 Artist in Residence, Calgary 2012 Cultural Capital of Canada, Calgary, AB
2012 Equinox in Union Cemetery – A Vigil, Tea Service, Calgary, AB
2011 Tea for Tales, Old Y Centre, YWCA Building Centennial Celebration, Calgary, AB
SOUP. Celebrating 100 years of International Women’s Day, Calgary, AB
2010 SOUP version 1 & 2, Gathering Artist-Run Centre Staff, EMMEDIA, Calgary, AB
Artist Residencies
2017 Artist in Residence, Arts Unfold: Once Upon Water, Pico, Azores, Portugal
2012 – 13 Artist in Residence, EMMedia, Calgary, AB
2008 Artist in Residence, Untitled Artists Society, Calgary, AB
2004 Artist in Residence, EMMedia, Calgary, AB
2000 & 2001 Artist in Residence, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, AB
1997 Artist in Residence, Est Nord Est, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Québec
1995 Artist in Residence, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, AB
Related Experience
2020 – 2024 Studio Assistant, Ingrid Bachmann, Kelly Jazvac and Leila Sujir, Montréal, QC
2023 – 2024 Administrative Support, MFA Program, Studio Arts Department, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2022 – 2023 Administrative Assistant, Studio Arts Department, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2021 – 2023 Teaching Assistant, Tutorial/Seminar Leader, FFAR250: Interdisciplinarity in Fine Arts, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Theory and Practice, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2020 Instructor, ARTX 280: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studio Practices, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2020 – 2021 Teaching Assistant, online teaching and learning faculty support, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2019 – 2020 Tutor, Access Center for Students with Disabilities, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2019 – 2020 Teaching Assistant, ARTX: Interdisciplinary Studio courses, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2018 – 2020 Teaching Assistant, Fibres and Material Practices, Concordia University, Montréal, QC
2006 – 2018 Instructor, Sculpture (Introduction, Intermediate and Senior), Drawing (Interdisciplinary), and Critical + Creative Studies (Professional Practices and Practicum Program), Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) *Now Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, AB
2015 – 2018 President (2017-18) and Board Member, Stride Art Gallery Association, Calgary, AB
2010 – 2011 EManimentuer, Artist project mentor, EMMEDIA, Calgary, AB
2007 – 2011 Board Member, Second Story Arts Society, Truck Gallery, Calgary, AB
2008 Guest Curator, Student Exhibition, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
2006 – 2008 Director, Carpet ‘N Toast Gallery, Calgary, AB
2005 – 2007 Webmaster, www.OnEdge.tv, onEdge Productions, Vancouver, BC
2006 Exhibition assistant, OnEdge.tv, Ciao da Vancouver, Velan Gallery, Torino, Italy
2005 Intern, British Arts Council, Selected Memories, representing Scotland at the 51st Venice Bienniale, Venice, Italy
1997 – 2005 Treasurer, Stride Art Gallery Association, Calgary, AB
2004 Co-Director, Artcity 2004 Festival of Visual Arts, Architecture and Design, Calgary, AB
2000 – 2004 Instructor, Media Arts & Digital Technology (Introductory and Intermediate) and Liberal Studies (Practicum Program), ACAD *Now Alberta University of Arts, Calgary, AB
2000 – 2004 Board Member, Calgary Allied Arts Foundation, Calgary, AB
1996 – 2000 Website Developer and Designer, Idea Machine, Webcore Labs and Evolvs Inc., Calgary, AB
1996 – 1997 New media support & software applications workshop instructor, The Banff Centre, Banff, AB
1991 – 1995 Director, Stride Gallery, The Stride Art Gallery Association, Calgary, AB