Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Media and Design Innovation PhD , Toronto Metropolitan University (2021 - 2025)
Master of Design, Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design, OCAD University
Bachelor of Design, Fashion Design, Toronto Metropolitan University
Professional Work and Teaching Experience
2022 - present | Coordinator, Saagajiwe, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 - present | Instructor, Indigenous Visual Culture, OCAD University
2021 - present | Instructor, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 - present | Indigenous Fashion Support Program Mentor, Fashion Zone, Toronto Metropolitan University
2021 - 22 | Graduate Assistant, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2021 | Moccasin Making Instructor, ABCentre Summer Program, Aboriginal Community Campus and Neeginan College of Applied Technology
2021 | Independent Study Project Advisor, CVSW 932 Aboriginal Knowledges in Practice, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Toronto Metropolitan University
Awards
2022 | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship, 48 months
2022 | Graduate Development Award, Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 | CREation Youth Empowerment Stream Funding Grant for the Beading Circle
2021 | Graduate Development Award, Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University
2021 | Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2021 | Toronto Metropolitan University Graduate Fellowship, Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University
2021 | IAMD Award: Community Engagement, Graduate Studies, OCAD University
2021 | Student Initiatives Grant for the Beading Circle, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | Student Initiatives Grant for the Beading Circle, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | Graduate Research Travel Grant, Graduate Studies, OCAD University
2019 | Student Initiatives Grant for The Beading Circle, Toronto Metropolitan University
2019 | The Delaney Family Foundation Scholarship, OCAD University
2019 | Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards, Simons Fashion Design Student Award Nomination
2019 | Indspire Building Brighter Futures Award
2017 | Allan J. Chindemi Award, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2017 | Jack C. Lebowitz Award for Excellence in Menswear, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2017 | Top 8 Finalist, Danier Leather Competition, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2014 | Toronto Metropolitan University Academic Entrance Scholarship
Publications
Woods, J. (2022). Breathing Universe: A decolonial pedagogical praxis toward ethical eco-systems of knowledge. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, Special Issue: Learning Through the More-Than-Human, Part 1, (in press)
Mills, P. & Woods, J. (2022). Beading is Medicine: Beading as a Therapeutic and Decolonial Practice. In R. Filippello & I. Parkins (eds.), Fashion and Feeling: The Affective Politics of Dress. Springer Nature, (in press)
Woods, Justine. “I Love You as Much as all the Beads in the Universe: A Garment-Based Inquiry into Re-
Stitching Alternative Worlds of Love.” Fashioning Resurgence, special issue of Fashion Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1-26, https://www.fashionstudies.ca/i-love-you-as-much-as-all-the-beads-in-the-universe, https://doi.org/10.38055/FR010101.
Courses Taught
FMF 240 Indigenous Craft Practices, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
This studio class is an introduction to the use of Indigenous making practices such as beadwork, quillwork, tanning and tufting techniques. Students will gain an appreciation of Indigenous ethics and concepts of respect and reciprocity before learning about the unique characteristics of specific Indigenous making practices. Through collaboration with an Indigenous knowledge holder, students will incorporate a making practice into a garment or accessory.
INVC 3003 Materials and Methods: Beadwork, Indigenous Visual Culture, OCAD University
Class lecture and discussion addresses the culturally-specific history of beads and beadwork from these territories, including how these objects function within a cultural frame or matrix. As material and process, beadwork communicates design, history, culture and meaning. This course addresses the social relations and political changes coded within pattern, colour, and design of this ever-evolving art form. Students will be guided through sewing beads to a surface with a needle and thread using appliqué, edging and techniques applied to the creation of original work. Cultural appropriation as it pertains to beadwork and the intellectual property of beadwork artists will be discussed.
Exhibitions
2023 | together we reassemble the fragments, group exhibition curated by Nina Bakan, Fifty Fifty Arts Collective, May 28th-June 25th, 2023 (forthcoming)
2022 | Homecoming, group exhibition curated by Erin Szikora, Art Gallery of Guelph, September 14 - December 31, 2022
2022 | I love you as much as all the beads in the universe: a garment-based inquiry into re-stitching alternative worlds of love, solo exhibition at Quest Art Gallery, April 24 - July 3, 2022
2022 | Across time, across the table, across the bay, Between Pheasants Contemporary (solo exhibition), April - May 2022
2022 | Shared Terrain, Group Exhibition presented by DesignTO, February - March 2022
2021 | The Crow and the Salmon Live Everywhere, group exhibition presented as part of Traversal Residency Series co-presented in partnership with the Public Visualization Lab and Trinity Square Video; funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, November - December 2021
2021 | I love you as much as all the beads in the universe: a garment-based inquiry into re-stitching alternative worlds of love, Master of Design Thesis Exhibition (online) hosted by Quest Art Gallery
Research Assistantships
2021 - present | Research Assistant under Professor Frauke Zeller, Global Journalism Innovation Project, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020-21 | Research Assistant under IAMD Graduate Program Director Peter Morin, OCAD University
2020 | Research Assistant for Contingencies of Care virtual residency co-hosted by OCAD University, University of British Columbia Okanagan, BUSHGallery and Toronto Biennial of Art
Teaching Assistantships
2021 | Teaching Assistant, VISC 1002 Tutorial Leader (Winter), Faculty of Art and Science and School of Interdisciplinary Studies, OCAD University
2020 | Teaching Assistant, INVC 2003 Marker/Grader (Fall), Indigenous Visual Culture, Faculty of Art and Science and School of Interdisciplinary Studies, OCAD University
2019-20 | Teaching Assistant, VISC 1001 (Fall) & VISC 1002 (Winter) Tutorial Leader, Faculty of Art and Science and School of Interdisciplinary Studies, OCAD University
Residencies
2020 | Artist in Residence: Contingencies of Care, Virtual Residency co-hosted by OCAD University, University of British Columbia Okanagan, BUSHGallery and Toronto Biennial of Art
Conference Presentations
2022 | Shifting Sentiment; Author Gender In Explanatory Journalism Articles On Ai, Technology and Robotics During The First Wave of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lauren Dwyer, Justine Woods & Frauke Zeller, Canadian Communication Association
2021 | Beading and its Relationship to Community, Grief, and Love, Conference Presentation, Dying with Dignity Canada
2020 | Sovereign Territorialities: Unperforming the Colonial in Institutions, the Land and Settler Imagery, Conference Presentation, Universities Art Association of Canada, Simon Fraser University
2019 | One Bead at a Time: A Journey of Reclaiming Space, Conference Presentation, Toronto Metropolitan University Learning and Teaching Conference, Toronto Metropolitan University
Guest Lectures
2022 | Guest Artist Lecture, CRI 780 Your Creative Self, Creative Industries, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 | Guest Lecture, CMN 443, Intercultural Communication, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 | Artist Lecture and Visit, Art Lecture Series, Student Art Alliance, SUNY New Paltz
2021 | Guest Artist Lecture, CRI 780 Your Creative Self, Creative Industries, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | Indigenous Beadwork: Histories and Contemporary Practices, Guest Lecture, School of Performance, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | IFS Roundtable: Thinking through decolonial design methods, brand identity and purpose as Indigenous fashion designers, Mentor Presentation, Fashion Zone, Toronto Metropolitan University
Panel Discussions
2022 | Fashioning Resurgence Special Issue: Authors Panel, Fashion Studies, Toronto, ON
2022 | Art as a Business, Panelist, Exploring Métis Culture through Creation, Métis Youth Conference, Toronto, ON
2022 | Sartorial Sovereignty: Indigenous Governance Models for Fashion, Panelist, Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival
2021 | Paving the Path in the Indigenous Creative Industries, Panelist, Fashion Zone, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | Beading Table Discussions: Resurgent Practices, Panel Moderator, Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto in partnership with Fashioning Resurgence
2020 | Cultural Appropriation in the Arts, Panelist, SUNY New Paltz Graduate Studies, State University of New York
2020 | Beading Circles in Colonial Institutions, Panelist, Toronto Metropolitan University Powwow Education Week, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020 | BIPOC Entrepreneurship in Fashion, Panelist, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2019 | One Bead at a Time: A Journey of Reclaiming Space, Conference Presentation, Toronto Metropolitan University Learning and Teaching Conference, Toronto Metropolitan University
2019 | Fashioning Reconciliation, Panelist, Toronto Metropolitan University
Workshops
2022 | TD Community Sunday: Stitching Alternative Futures, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Toronto, ON
2022 | Indigenous Beading Workshop Series, Neilson Park Creative Centre, Etobicoke, ON
2021 | Moccasin Making Workshop Series, TYRMC Summer Workshop Series (virtual), Toronto Regional York Métis Council
2021 | Artist Visit and Pattern Making Workshop, Nigig Residency, Indigenous Visual Culture Program, OCAD University
2021 | Beading Workshop (virtual), Awaken Festival, Gwaandak Theatre, Whitehorse, YT
2021 | Beading Workshop (virtual), A Decolonizing Activation Conference, York University
2021 | Beading Workshop (virtual) with MA students, Fashion at the Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
2020-21 | Moccasin Making Workshop Series (virtual), Indigenous Student Association, York University
2020 | Beading Workshop, Rural Ontario Medical Program
2018-20 | Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School Instructor, Bata Shoe Museum
Runway Presentations
2018 | Swarovski International Runway Presentation, Graduate Fashion Week, London UK
2018 | Mass Exodus Curated Runway Presentation, Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University