The Art Exhibition Combined with Academic Sessions to Come
In order to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and researchers in pursuit of decolonising futures, three esteemed visual artists and two innovative theatre companies have been invited. A curated selection of works by visual artists, including Antonie Frank Grahamsdaughter, who possesses Canadian Indigenous roots, Tomas Colbengtson, who hails from Sápmi in Sweden, and Uchinanchu Chie Kyan, is available for viewing below as part of the art exhibition held at the Okinawa International University on 12-13 July 2025.
Antonie Frank Grahamsdaughter (https://www.antoniefrank.se/)
Born in Toronto in 1955. She is of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) Indigenous heritage and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. She received advanced education in video at the Jan van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands and the Royal University of Fine Arts in Stockholm. Since the early 1980s,she has been a pioneer in experimental video art, installation, and performance, focusing on themes such as Indigenous rights and decolonization. In 2016, she was selected as one of the pioneering European women video artists by the curatorial team of the European Women's Video Art Project. Her notable works include the documentary “Uprising” (2019), which won the Best Director Award and Best Documentary Award at the Toronto Alternative Film Festival, and “The Voice of Indigenous Women and Activism” (2020), which explores the role of Indigenous women in activism. She has also curated exhibitions such as “Native Moving Images,” which challenges stereotypes of Indigenous peoples, and as a journalist, she has published numerous articles on Indigenous rights in Swedish monthly magazine “Fjärde Världen (The Fourth World).” She loves Okinawa.
Tomas Colbengtson (https://colbengtson.com/)
Born in 1957 in the remote village of Tärnaby in northern Sweden. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm in 1991. From 1998 to 2008, he was appointed Resident Artist at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and from 2012 to 2022,he served as a full-time lecturer in fine arts at his alma mater, the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. In 2018, he founded “Sápmi Salasta” (“Sápmi Embraces”), one of the first artist residencies dedicated to Indigenous artists, promoting intercultural dialogue and artistic exchange. His artistic practice consistently explores themes of colonialism, Sami identity, and cultural memory, employing media such as screen printing on glass and metal, etching, and digital art to create forms that embody decolonization. His works have been exhibited in 21 countries worldwide, including Greenland, Brazil, Egypt, and Japan, and are held in public collections such as the National Museum of Norway, the British Museum, the Swedish Public Art Agency, the Norwegian Public Art Agency, the South Sami Museum, and the Norwegian Sami Parliament. In 2024, he was awarded the Queen Sonja Print Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the world, in recognition of his contributions to printmaking.
Chie Kyan (https://www.chie-kyan.com/)
Born in 1969 in Okinawa, Japan. She completed her graduate studies in Japanese painting at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts in 1995. In 2001, she studied at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in China as an overseas research fellow. Since 2015, she has been engaged in restoring Ryukyu Kingdom cultural heritage paintings. She currently works as a part-time lecturer and researcher at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. Her artwork centers on themes such as motherhood, prayer, and requiem, reflecting her Ryukyuan heritage. In 2022, she held a solo exhibition titled “RESONATE – 共鳴” in Okinawa. Between 2023 and 2024, Chie Kyan showcased her work in both domestic and international exhibitions, including shows in Sarajevo, Tokyo, Okinawa, and Taiwan. Highlights include The Flow of Okinawan Art, Nikkei Nihonga Grand Prize Exhibition, and Materials and Expression – Human Connections Through Nikawa. In 2025, she will take part in “Neither ○ nor ✕! – ART and Me” in Okinawa. She received the Kawabata Ryushi Prize in 1994 and the Okinawa Times Arts Encouragement Prize in 2020. Her works have also been selected for the Tanaka Isson and Sugatatehiko awards. Public collections of her work include the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum and Sakima Art Museum.
