RESUME

M.E. Sparks (she/her) is an artist and educator working in Treaty No. 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. She holds an MFA from Emily Carr University (Vancouver) and BFA from NSCAD University (Halifax). Her work has recently been exhibited at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art (Kelowna), Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art (North Vancouver), Trapp Projects (Vancouver), Number 3 Gallery (Vancouver), Ou Gallery (Duncan) and Fifty Fifty Arts Collective (Victoria). She has participated in group shows at Access Gallery (Vancouver), Support (London), Franc Gallery (Vancouver), South Main Gallery, (Vancouver), SiteFactory (Vancouver) and Dynamo Arts Association (Vancouver). Sparks was a finalist in the 2016 and 2017 RBC Painting Competitions and a recipient of numerous awards and project grants, including the Nancy Petry Award and research funding from Canada Council for the Arts , Winnipeg Arts Council, BC Arts Council, and Arts Nova Scotia. She has participated in artist residencies in Canada, Germany and Finland. 

CV
M.E. Sparks
www.mesparks.com  / @msprks /  m.eliz.sparks@gmail.com
b. Kenora, ON, Canada

Education

2016   Master of Fine Arts, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC
2013   Bachelor of Fine Arts, NSCAD University, Halifax, NS

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

2022 and a Rag in the Other, Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, Kelowna, BC
2021 A Fine Line, Trapp Projects, Vancouver, BC (two-person)
2019 Hiatus, The Ou Gallery, Duncan, BC (solo)
2019 Pleated Fingers Parted, The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective, Victoria, BC (solo)
2018 near channels, Support, London, ON (two-person, organized by Graham Macaulay)
2018 Inside Out, SiteFactory, Vancouver, BC (two-person, organized by Leah Weinstein)
2018 Mother Tongue, Dynamo Arts Association, Vancouver, BC (two-person)
2016 Still Here, Point Gallery, Salt Spring Island, BC (solo)
2015 LINEUP, Helen For Now Gallery, ECUAD, Vancouver, BC (two-person)
2015 Drift, First Floor Gallery, Barrie, ON (two-person)
2014 Image Search, Corridor Gallery, VANS, Halifax, NS (solo)
2014 From There to Here, Eventide Art Gallery, New Glasgow, NS (solo)
2014 Still Life, Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD, Halifax, NS (solo)

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 We can only hint at this with words., Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, North Vancouver, BC (curated by Kate Henderson)
2019 13suite15, 2244 East Hastings, Vancouver, BC
2019 Road Trip, Monica Reyes Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2019 some body, anybody, SOMA Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 A Terrible Signal, Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC (curated by Kimberly Phillips)
2017 19th Annual RBC Painting Competition, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
2017 Dear Home, GlogauAIR, Berlin, Germany
2017 Shape Form Colour Line, Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 A Beast Salient, Franc Gallery, Vancouver, BC (curated by Brynn McNab)
2016 18th Annual RBC Painting Competition, The Power Plant, Toronto, ON
2016 Endless Summer, Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 Fresh Paint / New Construction, Art Mûr, Montreal, QC
2016 see level, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 Still Here, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Concourse Gallery, ECUAD, Vancouver, BC
2015  Salt Spring National Art Prize Exhibition, Mahon Hall, Salt Spring Island, BC
2015 Flight Lines, Concourse Gallery, ECUAD, Vancouver, BC
2014 By and By, Port Loggia Gallery, Halifax, NS
2014 Redux, The Craig Gallery, Dartmouth, NS (curated by Teto Elsiddique)
2013 Emerging NSCAD Artists, NSP Headquarters: Studio 21 Fine Art, Halifax, NS

Awards

2023 Winnipeg Arts Individual Project Grant
2022 Winnipeg Arts Council: Professional Development Travel Grant
2021 BC Arts Council: Project Assistance Grant
2020 Canada Council for the Arts: Research and Creation Grant
2020 Canada Council for the Arts: Arts Abroad Residencies Grant
2019 Salt Spring National Art Prize: Finalist
2018 Canada Council for the Arts: Research and Creation Grant
2018 BC Arts Council: Project Assistance Grant
2017 19th Annual RBC Painting Competition: Finalist
2016 18th Annual RBC Painting Competition: Finalist
2016  Nancy Petry Foundation Award: Royal Canadian Academy of Arts & Joseph Plaskett  Foundation
2015   Salt Spring National Art Prize: Juror’s Choice Award
2015   BC Arts Council Scholarship
2014   Gordon and Marion Smith Painting Scholarship, Emily Carr University
2013   Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship
2012   Robert Pope Foundation Painting Scholarship, NSCAD University

Residencies

2017 GlogauAIR, Artist in Residence, Berlin, Germany
2017 Arteles Creative Residency: Silence Awareness Existence, Artist in Residence, Finland
2017 Institut für Alles Mögliche, Artist in Residence, Berlin, Germany
2013 NSCAD Studio Residency, New Glasgow, NS, Canada
2013 Arts Nova Scotia Creation Grant

Public Talks & Panels

2022 "Hard Edge, Soft Body: On the Paintings of Christina Senkiw", Lecture, Oseredok, Winnipeg, MB 
2022 Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, We can only hint at this with words, Online Panelist
2022 Conversations in Contemporary Art (CiCA), Concordia University, Online Panelist
2020 Emily Carr University, MFA Program, Visiting Speaker + MFA Studio Visits, Vancouver, BC
2020 NSCAD University, Media Toolbox Course, Artist Talk with Matthis Grunsky, Halifax, NS
2019 Simon Fraser University, MFA Program, Visiting Speaker + Studio Visits, Vancouver, BC
2018 some body, anybody, Panelist, SOMA Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2018 University of the Fraser Valley, Artist Talk, Abbotsford, BC
2018 Overly Dedicated: Artist Podcast hosted and produced by Claire Scherzinger
2018 AFK Paradise Valley Summer School, Artist Talk, Squamish, BC
2017 A Crimp in the Fabric: Situating Painting Today, Panelist, Simon Fraser University
2017 Emily Carr University, Alumni Presentations, Vancouver, BC
2016 see level, Panelist, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Auctions & Fairs

2021 Combine: An Art Fair, Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver, BC
2021 The Polygon Gallery Auction, The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, BC
2020 Trapped in 2020: Works on Paper, Trapp Projects, Vancouver, BC
2019 Access Auction Fundraiser, Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2018 Canadian Art Social 2018, Toronto, ON
2017 #3 Gallery Auction, R Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 Contemporary Art Gallery Gala & Auction, Vancouver, BC
2017 C Magazine Contemporary Art Auction, Division Gallery, Toronto, ON
2016 Access Auction Fundraiser XXV, Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Bibliography & Press

2022 Jayne Wilkinson, “Surface Tensions: On Works by Russna Kaur and M.E. Sparks”, essay       included in zine publication We can only hint at this with words., Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, North Vancouver, BC
2018 Kevin Griffin, “ART SEEN: Art installation in a school bus…”, Vancouver Sun, June 2018
2018 Joe O’Brien, “Inside Out”, Exhibition Text, SiteFactory, 2018
2018 Angela Glanzmann, “Mother Tongue”, Exhibition Text, Dynamo Arts Association, 2018
2017 Kimberly Phillips, “A Terrible Signal”, Curatorial Essay, Access Gallery, 2017
2017 RBC Painting Competition Catalogue, Canadian Art, September 2017
2017 “15 Artists Named Finalists in RBC Painting Competition”, Canadian Art, 2017
2017 Lucien Durey,“Vancouver Report: From Black and White to Coloured Lights”, Canadian Art
2016 RBC Painting Competition Catalogue, Canadian Art, September 2016
2015 SSNAP Finalist Exhibition Catalogue, Art Barn International, October 2015

Contributions to Publications & Texts

2022 in_your_painting, zine publication, Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, Kelowna, BC
2022 We can only hint at this with words., zine publication, Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, North Vancouver, BC
2019 Paperwait, Volume 21, AceArtInc, Winnipeg, MB
2018 Materials, Volume 4, July 2018, Support, London, ON
2018 “Surfacing: Looking at the Paintings of Ben Reeves”, exhibition catalogue essay for Floating Among Phantoms, Art Gallery at Evergreen, Coquitlam, BC

Teaching Experience

2021 University of Manitoba, School of Art, Instructor 1 (ongoing)
2020 Emily Carr University: PNTG 200 Painting Practices, 6-credit (Fall online)
2020 NSCAD University: PNTG 3401 Painting Through the Screen, 6-credit, (Fall online), co-taught with Matthis Grunsky
2020 NSCAD University: PNTG 3401 Painting Through the Screen, 6-credit, (Spring), co-taught with Matthis Grunsky
2019 Emily Carr University: PNTG 200 Painting Practices, 6-credit (Fall)
2019  Emily Carr University: PNTG 214 Painting: Materials + Process, 3-credit (Summer)
2019 Emily Carr University: VAST 410 Senior Studio, 6-credit, (Spring), co-taught with Patrik Andersson
2019  Emily Carr University: PNTG 210 Thinking Through Painting, 6-credit (Spring)
2018 Emily Carr University: PNTG 210 Thinking Through Painting, 6-credit (Fall)
2018  Emily Carr University: PNTG 216 Drawing for Painting, 3-credit (Summer)
2017 Emily Carr University: PNTG 216 Drawing for Painting, 3-credit (Fall)