Jeneen Frei Njootli 2025 Finalist

Artist Bio

Jeneen Frei Njootli lives in the bush with her husband and babies outside of Old Crow, YT. A recovering academic, they are truly living the meme of closing your computer and running into the woods. This Vuntut Gwitchin artist with Czech, Dutch and jewish ancestry has been working in performance, sound, teaching, textiles, images, collaboration, workshops and feral scholarship. Over the years, Frei Njootli has gotten to work with many mentors and knowledge holders in addition to holding an MFA from the University of British Columbia and a BFA from Emily Carr University.

Represented by Macaulay & Co. Fine Art in Vancouver, Frei Njootli’s work has been presented in many galleries, museums and artist-run centers around the world. Recent exhibitions include Noise of the Flesh: Score for Gina Pane at the FRAC (Fonds régional d’art contemporain) France, (2023), Indian Theatre, curated by Candice Hopkins at CCS BARD Hessel Museum, NY (2023), I don’t know you like that: The Bodywork of Hospitality at UB Art Galleries, Buffalo (2023), Early Days: Indigenous Art at the McMichael at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (2021), Soft Water Hard Stone an exhibition at the New Museum Triennial, New York (2021), Listen Up: Northern Soundscapes, Anchorage Museum (2021), Where Do We Go From Here? At the Vancouver Art Gallery (2021), Kunstverein Braunschweig in partnership with the Contemporary Art Gallery in Germany (2021); and the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2018). Selection of group exhibitions, biennales, and conferences include The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2019-2018); Vancouver Art Gallery (2018-2016); Anchorage Museum, Alaska (2020); and the Toronto Bienniale of Art (2020) among others.

Artist Statement

My practice is invested in Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization and is concerned with the production, dissemination and embodiment of images.