OLIVIA JOHNSTON
B. 1991
OTTAWA, CANADA

UPCOMING PROJECTS AND EXHIBITIONS

September 16 - December 8, 2019: Solo Exhibition at Carleton University Art Gallery in Ottawa, Canada

HIGHLIGHTS

2019: Winner of the The RBC Emerging Artist Award
2018: Grand Prize Winner of the Figureworks Exhibition
2018: Recipient of a Youth in Culture Pilot Program Grant from the City of Ottawa
2018: Awarded Exhibition Assistance Grant from the Ontario Arts Council for exhibition VESSEL, Ottawa, Canada
2018: reconcile | overcome, two-person exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
2018: Shortlisted for the inaugural New Generation Photography Prize presented by Scotiabank and the Canadian Photography Institute at the National Gallery of Canada
2018: Second Prize in Manifest Gallery's publication International Photography Annual 5
2017: Finalist for the RBC Emerging Artist Award
2017: Two-person exhibition I May Be Crazy But Not That Crazy selected as a Featured Exhibition for the CONTACT Photography Festival, Hashtag Gallery, Toronto, ON
2015: SELFIE, 3 person show, Karsh Masson Gallery, City Hall, Ottawa, Canada
2014: UNARMED, solo show, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
2013: FALLEN, solo show, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
2012: LATITUDE, solo show, Alliance Française, Ottawa, Canada
2012: 13 – 18, solo show, Red Wall Gallery, Ottawa, Canada

 

EDUCATION + TEACHING

2016     Photographic History Instructor at the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa (current).
2015     Carleton University, BAh with High Distinction, Honours in Art History, 2008 - 2015.
2011      Full-Time Photographic Arts and Production Diploma Program, School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO), Ottawa, Canada

 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2018
- GATHERERS, Group Exhibition at Gallery 101 in Ottawa, Canada
- TREASURES, solo exhibition at Wall Space Gallery, Ottawa, Canada.
- reconcile | overcome, two-person exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada.
- VESSEL, group exhibition at General Assembly, Ottawa, Canada.
- CONCEPTS, group exhibition at Exposure Gallery, Ottawa, Canada.

2017
- CONTINUUM: An exhibition of emerging artists selected by past winners of the Karsh Award, Karsh-Masson Gallery, September 2017, Ottawa, Canada.
- I May Be Crazy But Not That Crazy, two-person featured exhibition as a part of CONTACT Photography Festival, Hashtag Gallery, Toronto, ON
- HOLGA: Selected Impressions, two-person show, Wallacks Gallery, Ottawa, Canada

2016
- COLOUR, group show (curator and participating artist), Fluevog Store, Ottawa, Canada
- Improbable Treasures, group show as a part of Chinatown Remixed, Ottawa, Canada
- Porte Ouvertes, Waaw (Artist Residency), Saint-Louis, Senegal

2015 
- THIS IS US NOW, group show, Karsh-Masson Gallery and Trinity Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- You Are Here, group show, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- FACE / OFF, group show, PDA Projects, Ottawa, Canada
- SELFIE, 3 person show, Karsh Masson Gallery, City Hall, Ottawa, Canada
- exhibited work from UNARMED at “Suspect Bodies, Deviant Bodies,” conference organized by the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa, March 16
- RESPOND, group show, Smack Mellon Gallery, New York, USA

2014
- SKETCH, group show, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- SUPERPOWER, group show, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, Karsh-Masson Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- UNARMED, solo show, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- Part Stradivarius / Part Scalpel, group show, School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- The New Photographers, group show, studio sixtysix, Ottawa, Canada
- GAZE: A Female Perspective, group show, La Petite Mort, Ottawa, Canada (curator and participating artist)

2013     
- SKETCH, group show, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- the Art Zoo, group show, SPAO, Nuit Blanche, Ottawa, Canada
- Systems of Identity, 3-person show, studio sixtysix, Ottawa, Canada
- FALLEN, solo show, La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- SPAO: Applied, SPAO@EXPOSURE, Ottawa, Canada (curator and artist) 
- YPA 2012 Mentoring Program Exhibition, Calumet Gallery, New York, USA
- Portrait: Image and Identity, Black Box Gallery, Portland, USA
- “HOME” Mentoring Programme, Margaret Street Gallery, London, UK

2012     
- Portraits of Bluesfest 4, Patrick Gordon Framing Studio, Ottawa, Canada
- Stills in Motion, Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts, Nuit Blanche, Ottawa, Canada
- Festival X at EBA, Enriched Bread Artists, Ottawa, Canada
- LATITUDE, solo show, Alliance Française, Ottawa, Canada
- Exhibition No. 7, Red Wall Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- 13 – 18, solo show, Red Wall Gallery, Ottawa, Canada

2011      
- Exhibition No. 6, Red Wall Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- A Common Beauty, Heartwood House, Ottawa, Canada (curator and artist)

2010     
- Exhibition No. 5, Red Wall Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
- In and Out: A Look Ahead, Wall Space Gallery as part of Ottawa’s Festival X 2010

 

SELECTED GRANTS + AWARDS

  • Longlisted for the inaugural New Generation Photography Prize presented by Scotiabank and the Canadian Photography Institute at the National Gallery of Canada, February 2018

  • Second Prize in Manifest Gallery's publication International Photography Annual 5, 2018

  • Recipient of Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council, 2018

  • Finalist for the RBC Emerging Artist Award, March 2017

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS + PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

2019
- Work appears in issue no. 2 of OPAL (The Ottawa Photography and Art Label)

2018
- Work appears in issue no. 1 of OPAL (The Ottawa Photography and Art Label)
- Work appears in Series of Dreams: Selections from 17 Years/68 Issues of Shots Magazine, Edited by Russell Joslin, published by Skeleton Key Press

2017
- Wrote a piece for the anthology UNTERWEGS, available for purchase: Click to view
- Discussed HOLGA: Selected Impressions on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning show: Click to listen
- Interviewed by CBC’s Simon Gardner for a feature about SPAO (at 20:10): Click to watch

2016    
- Ottawa Magazine, featured as a member of the SPAO Faculty; SPAO was selected as a  "Reason to Love Ottawa" in Ottawa Magazine’s Holiday 2016 Issue

2014
- The Sages, Vol. 1, December (designed cover and had work inside).
- Herd Magazine, Issue No. 7, October.
- The Charlatan, Vol. 44 Issue 11, October.
- NU Magazine, Issue No. 1, September.
- Self-published book Strength in Disorder sold through STRAYLIGHT PRESS, March 2014 - 2017.
- The Charlatan, Article for “GAZE”, week of January 14th.

2013     
- Art & Science Journal, Issue No. 2, July.
- Ottawa Citizen, Article for “FALLEN”, April 25th.
- Go Home Magazine, Issue No. 2, February.

2012     
- Ottawa Citizen, Article for Portraits of Bluesfest 4, August 19th.
- Ottawa Woman Magazine, Feature, May Issue.
- Ottawa Citizen, Article for “13 - 18”, March 15th.

2011      
- Applied Arts Magazine, Student Awards Issue, November/December.
- SHOTS Magazine, Issue No. 113, November.
- PUSH//PULL Magazine, Issue No. 3, April.

2010     
- Ottawa Citizen, article for Festival X 2010, September 22nd.

 

RESIDENCIES, CURATORIAL + OTHER

  • Member of the Peer Assessment Committee, City of Ottawa Direct Purchase Program, May/June 2016

  • Artist in Residence at Waaw, St. Louis, Senegal, March 2016.

  • Work purchased by the City of Ottawa’s Direct Purchase Program (2013, 2014, 2015).

  • Spoke to Fine Art Photography: Ottawa discussion group on “Finding Influence in Art History”, May 13, 2014.

  • Curator and participating artist in GAZE, group show, La Petite Mort, Ottawa, Canada (2014).

  • Ran 3.5 hr workshop THEN AND NOW: A NEW PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITURE, La Petite Mort Gallery, August 22, 2013

  • Curator at Exposure Gallery, Ottawa, Canada (2012 - 2014).

  • Invited to participate in Le Mois De La Photo à Montreal’s Portfolio Review, September 2013.

  • Completed a Curatorial Internship in Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada under Rhiannon Vogl and Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Ottawa, May - August 2013.

  • SPAO Residency, 2011-2012.