About / CONTACT

CONTACT: joannebalcaen at gmail dot com

My current art practice draws on my experiences as an artist and cultural worker, and the interplay between these two career trajectories. Favouring a conceptual approach and a minimalist aesthetic, I produce videos, installations, and text-based works that address the often hidden yet universal truths of the artist’s life: ego, careerism, self-doubt, the creative drive, the artist’s need for self-actualization within the mechanics of the art world and the complex rules of engagement this demands.  

Increasingly, I have been drawn to using narrative—either as voice-overs for my videos or as the audio element of an installation—as a device to expose the variable and unpredictable psychic states of the creative process. This evolved as a natural extension of my interest in text, which has been a recurring element in my work over the past three decades.

BIO

Jo-Anne Balcaen (b. 1971, La Broquerie, Manitoba) lived and worked in Montréal for 25 years before returning to Winnipeg in 2021. Her work has been presented across Canada, the US, Scotland, and Ireland, and she has received grants from the Manitoba Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts, including the Canada Council’s International Residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York.

Instagram: jablcn