Originally from Treaty 4 Territory/Saskatchewan, Colleen Leonard is a photographic artist and educator, of colonial settler heritage, living in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. Colleen has been camera-less for a decade, coating watercolour, washi, and recycled papers to create photograms, cyanotypes, and lumens. Her experimentations with alternative photographic approaches grew out of an increasing need to work sustainably and create a more reciprocal relationship with the natural world that nourishes her art practice. Leaving a small environmental footprint, Colleen’s work aims to rediscover a sense of childhood wonder in the beauty of our everyday through walking, noticing, and celebrating nature.
Before pursuing a path in photography, she studied theatre at the University of Saskatchewan and spent over a decade teaching ESL in Asia and Europe. While living in France, she received a BFA in photography from Paris VIII, worked as a contributing editor at LensCulture, and was published by Editions de la Martinière. In 2020, Colleen completed an M.A. in Art Education at Concordia University where she focused her research on alternative photography’s potential in cultivating accessible, sustainable, and hands-on learning opportunities within communities and schools.
This summer she is delighted to be a participating artist in the Pilot Program of Mentors in Saskatchewan Honoring Artists (MISHA), an international residency sponsored by the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and the Jay N. Darling Legacy Center (postponed to summer 2021). In Montreal, Colleen teaches community photography and alternative photography workshops at the Pointe-Saint-Charles Art School based in Bâtiment 7. Later this year, you may run into her on the sidewalks of the Pointe with her mobile street box camera as a participating artist in the Community Arts Residency collaboration between Concordia University and Bâtiment 7.
Before pursuing a path in photography, she studied theatre at the University of Saskatchewan and spent over a decade teaching ESL in Asia and Europe. While living in France, she received a BFA in photography from Paris VIII, worked as a contributing editor at LensCulture, and was published by Editions de la Martinière. In 2020, Colleen completed an M.A. in Art Education at Concordia University where she focused her research on alternative photography’s potential in cultivating accessible, sustainable, and hands-on learning opportunities within communities and schools.
This summer she is delighted to be a participating artist in the Pilot Program of Mentors in Saskatchewan Honoring Artists (MISHA), an international residency sponsored by the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and the Jay N. Darling Legacy Center (postponed to summer 2021). In Montreal, Colleen teaches community photography and alternative photography workshops at the Pointe-Saint-Charles Art School based in Bâtiment 7. Later this year, you may run into her on the sidewalks of the Pointe with her mobile street box camera as a participating artist in the Community Arts Residency collaboration between Concordia University and Bâtiment 7.