13 Facts About Laiwan

Laiwan was born on 1961 and is a Zimbabwean interdisciplinary artist, art critic, gallerist, writer, curator and educator.

Laiwan's family emigrated to Canada in 1977 to leave the war in Rhodesia.

Laiwan graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1983.

Laiwan is an interdisciplinary artist interested in poetics and philosophy.

Laiwan has won several prizes, such as the 2021 Emily Award from Emily Carr University.

Laiwan founded the Or Gallery in 1983, while Arni Haraldsson, Petra Watson, Lori Hinton, Michelle Normoyle, and Ken Lum were the founders of the Or Gallery Society, established under the Society Act in 1984.

Laiwan was chair of the grunt gallery board of directors from 2010 to 2014.

Laiwan teaches in the Interdisciplinary Arts Program at Goddard College in Washington State.

Laiwan investigates embodiment through performativity, writing, music, and audio works, in a variety of media.

Laiwan's practice unravels and engages in the idea of presence by way of bodily and emotional intelligence.

Laiwan's work is held in Vancouver Art Gallery collection, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery Collection, and other private collections, and her time-based work is available from VIVO Media Arts Centre in Vancouver, and V-Tape in Toronto.

In 2016 as part of the City of Vancouver's Public Art Program, the Coastal City series, Laiwan displayed Barnacle City, which was projected on various buildings throughout downtown Vancouver.

In 2014, Laiwan curated Queering the International, an exhibition part of the Queer Arts Festival, which took place at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.