Photo by Aok Palad

BIOGRAPHY

Clara Congdon (she/her) is an artist based in Montreal, Canada whose practice includes textiles, drawing, painting, artists’ books, and mail art. She has presented work across North America and recently participated in the Can Serrat International Contemporary Art Residency in El Bruc, Spain. Clara writes about art and life in her newsletter, Practising.


ARTIST STATEMENT

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by practical and aesthetic applications of cloth and paper. Within my practice, I manipulate these everyday materials to create tactile repositories for thoughts, collections, and chronologies. In resistance to the sense of entitlement to perpetual newness that prevails within consumer culture, I work with the unlimited potential of castoff remnants that would otherwise go to waste. Elements such as discernible hand stitching ensure that manual process is emphasized and celebrated rather than concealed. I approach cloth as a means to collage, and thread as both a structural and mark-making implement. My interests lie in exploring and expanding on simple sensory encounters with the material world, such as flipping through the pages of a book or drawing open a curtain.




CLARA CONGDON 

b. 1991, Ottawa ON


EDUCATION
2024 - Present   MFA in Fibres and Material Practices, Concordia University, Montreal QC

2013   BFA in Textiles/Fashion, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Halifax NS


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2023   Diary Quilting with Heidi Parkes, online course (4 weeks)
2022   CELTA Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, ILSC, Montreal QC (120 hrs) 

2021   edX Verified Certificate in Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education, UBCx, Vancouver BC (24 hrs) 

2018   Artch Workshop Series, Montreal QC (35 hrs)


SELECT SOLO, DUO, & GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021   Measures of Absence, Inverness County Centre for the Arts, Inverness NS

2018 - 2020   Art of the Book 2018, juried touring exhibition, Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild

            Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery, Florenceville-Bristol NB

            Craft Ontario, Toronto ON

            McLennan Library Building, McGill University, Montreal QC

            Galerie du Centre culturel franco-manitobain, Winnipeg MB

            Creation Cube, George Bothwell Branch, Regina Public Library, Regina SK

            University of Alberta Fine Arts Building Gallery, Edmonton AB

            University of the Fraser Valley Library, Abbotsford BC

            Audain Gallery, Victoria BC 

2019   Calendar: December 2019, online solo exhibition, Owens Art Gallery, Sackville NB

2019   Réminiscences, Le Livart, Montreal QC
2019   All Stitched Up, Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma WA
2018   Asma A. Khan & Clara Congdon, Monastiraki, Montreal QC
2017   Underpinnings: Celebrating 130 Years of NSCAD, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax NS 

2017   Who Are You?, The Red Head Gallery, Toronto ON
2017   Beyond, Espace POP, Montreal QC
2017   Handy Books, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City IA
2013   Volume 1, solo exhibition, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax NS
2013   NSCAD Graduation Exhibition, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax NS
2012   Major Change, Seeds Gallery, Halifax NS


ART FAIRS
2020   Volume 3 MTL: Art and the Book, virtual fair, Montreal QC
2019   What the Pop! : Plateau, WIP Gallery, Montreal QC
2018   Expozine, Église Saint-Arsène, Montreal QC
2018   Volume 1 MTL: Art and the Book, Société des arts technologiques (SAT), Montreal QC 

2018   Artch: Art contemporain émergent, Dorchester Square, Montreal QC
2018   What the Pop! : Mile Ex, Eastern Bloc, Montreal QC
2018   CBBAG Book Arts Show and Sale, Glebe Community Centre, Ottawa ON


COMMUNITY PROJECT PARTICIPATION
2024   Art & Parkinson, Galerie Angers, Montreal QC 

2020 - 2024   The Sweetest Little Thing, fundraising auction, Owens Art Gallery & Struts Gallery, Sackville NB 

2023   Assembling Recipes for Sustainability, Centre for Sustainable Curating, Western University, London ON 

2021   P.S., mail art exhibition fundraiser, Inverness County Centre for the Arts, Inverness NS

2021   #cecinestpasàvendre, Thierry du Bois, Montreal QC

2019 - 2020   Parle-moi d'amour Centre Wellington, fundraising auction, Les Impatients, Montreal QC

2020   We Live in Real Time, Printed Matter, Inc., New York NY

2019   The Sketchbook Project Vol. 14, Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn NY
2018   Shubenacadie River Beading Project, Carrie Allison, Treaty Space Gallery, Halifax NS
2017   Sesquicentennial Quilt, Canadian Craft Biennial, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington ON
2013   23rd Wearable Art Show, HNS Down Syndrome Society's Team Possibles, Spatz Theatre, Halifax NS 

2012   22nd Wearable Art Show, HNS Down Syndrome Society's Team Possibles, Halifax Forum, Halifax NS


PUBLICATIONS
2023 - Present   Practising, Substack
2022   Zine 0005 - Collaboration, Ottawa Design Club
2021   100 More Art Prompts, The Sketchbook Project
2020   YOU BETCHA IRIS 3 : Nat King Pole, Clara Congdon
2019   YOU BETCHA IRIS 2 : Lizzy Strange, Clara Congdon
2019   All Stitched Up Exhibition Catalog, University of Puget Sound
2019   Emotional Magazine Issue #2
2019   YOU BETCHA IRIS 1 : Anaconda LaSabrosa, Clara Congdon
2019   Folio: Clara Congdon, Broken Pencil Magazine Issue #82
2018   L'oubli No. 3, Clara Congdon
2018   L'oubli No. 2, Clara Congdon
2018   Art of the Book 2018 Exhibition Catalogue, Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild
2018   L'oubli No. 1, Clara Congdon
2017   Le Shindig Edition 3: Holy Fêtes, Le Shindig Collective
2017   Canadian Craft Biennial: Community Projects, Art Gallery of Burlington
2013   Graduation Catalogue, NSCAD University
2012   Free Coffee 2012, Student Union of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (SUNSCAD)


ARTIST TALKS
2020   A Series of Small Things Brought Together: Textiles and the Book Form, Volume 3 MTL, Montreal QC 

2013   Volume 1, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax NS


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2022 - 2024   Teacher, English as a Second Language, LET, Montreal QC
2016 - 2017   Studio Coordinator, SSENSE, Montreal QC
2015 - 2016   Set Coordinator, SSENSE, Montreal QC
2015   Costume Designer, Nuclear Sky: The Experiment, Title 66 Productions, Montreal QC 

2014   Production & Design Intern, Denis Gagnon, Montreal QC
2013   Costume Stitcher, Two Planks and a Passion Theatre Company, Canning NS
2013   Set Construction Assistant, Mocean Dance, Halifax NS
2011 - 2012   Gallery Assistant, Seeds Gallery, Halifax NS


BIBLIOGRAPHY
2020   Beyond the Page: Clara Congdon, Alison Pirie, Brooklyn Art Library, 15 Jun. 2020
2019   Artist Portrait: Clara Congdon, Aok Palad, Aug. 2019
2019   Artists Illuminated: Clara Congdon, Lital Khaikin, ELAN Quebec, 12 Feb. 2019
2018   La relève en art contemporain, Evelyne Charuest, Gravel le matin, ICI Radio-Canada, 28 Sept. 2018 

2017   Handy Books, Julia Leonard, Book Arts | arts du livre Canada, Vol. 8, No. 2
2013   Canvas by NSCAD, The Chronicle Herald, 10 Aug. 2013

2012   Major Change, Marilyn Smulders, NSCAD University News, 9 Mar. 2012


GRANTS, RESIDENCIES & AWARDS
2024   Concordia Fine Arts Scholarship - Master's, Concordia University, Montreal QC

2024   Campaign for Concordia Graduate Award - FoFA, Concordia University, Montreal QC

2022   Can Serrat International Contemporary Art Residency, El Bruc, Spain 

2019 - 2020   Young Volunteers Project Grant, Emploi Québec, Montreal QC 

2018   Production Grant, Artch, Montreal QC
2013   Dean’s List, NSCAD University, Halifax NS
2013   Margó Marshall Award for Textiles, NSCAD University, Halifax NS 

2013   Wearable Art Show Scholarship, NSCAD University, Halifax NS 

2012   MacAdam Trust Scholarship, NSCAD University, Halifax NS


COLLECTIONS
ARCMTL, Montreal QC
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Montreal QC 

Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa ON
Pride Library, Western University, London ON
Scott Library, York University, North York ON


AFFILIATIONS
2017 - Present   English Language Arts Network (ELAN) Quebec, Montreal QC 

2017 - 2021   Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG), Toronto ON