Bio & Artist Statement
Miriam Fabijan b. 1960 Calgary/Mohkinstsis, Alberta, Canada
Miriam is a renowned multidisciplinary artist, author, and independent curator based in Mohkinstsis, Calgary. With a BFA from the University of Calgary and an MFA from NSCAD University, Miriam’s impressive career includes being an Artist in Residence twice at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Her extensive work, featured in prestigious collections like the Canada Council Art Bank and the Walter Phillips Gallery for Contemporary Art, explores themes of identity, cultural connections, and belonging, influenced by her Slovenian heritage. Miriam has received numerous grants and awards, reflecting her significant contributions to the arts. Her recent achievements include publishing her short story “Your name was Janez. Your name was John” in “Landed, transformative stories by immigrant women” with Campfire Kinship Storytelling Inc. and curating “In Full Bloom, a celebration of artwork by and about women” at ATB Arts + Culture Gallery. Her acclaimed exhibition “Translations, my hat has three holes” which premiered at Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenia, also toured Italy and Canada, and her “Nesting” photo series was published in the Milk Art Journal, House of Oktober, Netherlands. She is currently a Mentor in Residence with ICAI (Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation).
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION & ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2022
Many Gardens Artist Residency, Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
2020-21
Arts Commons RBC Emerging Artist Program, Calgary, Canada
1992
Slovenian Language Studies Certificate, Ljubljana University, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1989-90/83-84
Artist in Residence, Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada
1989
Master of Fine Arts Degree, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Halifax, Canada
1984
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Nesting. Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
→ Nesting
2019
LAND_BODY. The GRAND entrance gallery, Calgary, Canada
2018
by length and by depth. Arts Commons +15 Gallery, Calgary, Canada
1992-94
Translations; My Hat Has Three Holes. Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto, Canada; Galerie Oboro, Montreal, Canada; Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenija; Beneska Galerija, Speter (San Pietro Al Natisone), Italy
1989-91
The Shade of a Shadow. Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, Canada; YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Toronto, Canada; Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada
1986
Images in Context. Off Centre Centre Gallery (The New Gallery), Calgary, Canada
1986
Living in Another’s Room. Latitude 53 Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
1985
Once.... Or Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1984
Miriam Fabijan. The Exit Gallery, Walter Phillips Gallery of Contemporary Art, Banff, Canada
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
In Full Bloom, a celebration of artwork by and about women. ATB Branch for Art + Culture, Calgary, Canada
2022
Art and Found. (featuring “untethered”) Loft 112 Mini Gallery exhibition. Crescent Heights Association, Calgary, Canada
2022
Many Gardens. Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
2022
Box Stories Gallery 2022. (featuring “my intimacy”) Loft 112, Calgary, Canada
2021
Art from the Unknown 2021. Alberta NDP caucus temporary virtual gallery, Canada
2021
Cultural Diversity #YYZ. Memorial Park Library, Calgary, Canada
2021
Portraits of Resilience. Online exhibition. Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto, Canada
2020-21
The Many Paths That Have Led Us Here: Stories of Resilience in the Arts. (Window #1: “Cameo revisited”, window #2: “On the edge of beauty and disruption”, window #3: “Deeply”.) Arts Commons +15, Calgary, Canada
2019
4 Deep: Fabijan, Liptak, Siska, Šoltýsová. (featuring “Miriam – Mirijam”) cSPACE King Edward, Calgary, Canada
2019
Passage of Time. (featuring “LAND_BODY”) Quenten Doolittle Memorial Gallery, Pumphouse Theatre, Calgary, Canada
1997
Home Coming Exhibition. (featuring” Stari Stara”) Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada
1995
Les Ateliers s’exposent 1995. Cobalt Art Actuel, Montreal, Canada
1992
Day, Fabijan, Jolicoeur (Voies/Voix ou L’identité et la question du sujet en art). Galerie l’Oeuvre de l’Autre, Chicoutimi, Canada
1990
Red Green Blue Black and White. Walter Phillips Gallery of Contemporary Art, Banff, Canada
1990
Out of the Frying Pan…Into the Fire. (International Women’s Day) (featuring “Phantoms”, a slide and sound installation by Miriam Fabijan) JPL/Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre, Banff, Canada
1989
Elemental Instincts: a matter of course. Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada
1989 & 1988
MFA Group Show. Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, Canada
1988
Basic Sound Radio Show: December 16, 1988. (Miriam Fabijan, “I am she”.) Halifax, Canada;
→ Listen
1987-88
London Life; Young Contemporaries ’87. Touring exhibition. London Regional Art Gallery, London, Canada; Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, Canada; Concordia Art Gallery, Montreal, Quebec; Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, Canada; Mississauga Civic Centre, Mississauga, Canada
1985
Points North. Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada
1985
Assemblage 1. Warehouse exhibition. 381 1⁄2 Talbot Street, London, Canada
1985
Separate Spaces. Second Story Gallery (2SG/Truck Gallery), Calgary, Canada
1985
Free Three Minutes. (The picnic.) Touring exhibition. Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers film project. Centre Eye Photography Gallery, Calgary, Canada; National Film Board Theatre, Calgary, Canada; IFVA (Independent Film and Video Alliance), Quebec City, Canada
1983
BFA Graduating Group Exhibition. Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada
1982
U of C Sculpture Exhibition. Little Gallery, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
CURATORIAL PROJECTS & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS
2023
Presenter. Miriam Fabijan – my artistic journey and how it has affected my current creative practice. CARFAC, Alberta, Canada
2023
Design Charrette Facilitator. Engaging Learning Environments, The Association for Learning Environments Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
2023
Curator. In Full Bloom, a celebration of artwork by and about women. ATB Branch for ART + Culture, Calgary, Canada
2022
Curator. Many Gardens. Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
2022
Participant. Landed: The Transformative Stories of Immigrant Women. Writing Workshop. Campfire Kinship Storytelling Inc., Calgary, Canada
2022
Visiting Artist. Art 30 Seminar. St. Joseph High School, Edmonton, Canada
2020 -2022
Exhibition Coordinator, Associate Curator, & Curatorial Mentor. Indigenous Motherhood and Matriarchy. Autumn Whiteway, curator. Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada; Studio C Prospect Gallery, Calgary, Canada, Arts Commons, Calgary, Canada
2021
Exhibition Coordinator. From the Land: Indigenous Ecological Art for A New Era. Autumn Whiteway, curator. Sponsored by Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society. ATB Branch for Arts + Culture, Calgary, Canada
2020-21
Author and Curator. The Many Paths That Have Led Us Here: Stories of Resilience in the Arts. Arts Commons +15, Calgary, Canada
2018–19
Exhibition Coordinator, Committee Member, & Archivist. Nihisgaka Ogha – For Our Children (Tsuut’ina Nation). cSpace King Edward, Calgary, Canada; Arts Commons, Calgary, Canada; Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada; 7 Chiefs Sportsplex, Tsuut’ina Nation, Canada. Note: Collection of 7 Chiefs Sportsplex, Tsuut’ina Nation.
2018-19
Curator & Outreach Coordinator. Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society’s 1st & 2nd Annual Indigenous Art Exhibition. cSpace King Edward, Calgary, Canada; Arts Commons, Calgary, Canada; Calgary Central Library, Calgary, Canada
2019
Panelist. Careers in Creativity. University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
2017
Guest Artist. Common Ground Dinner Series. Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, Calgary, Canada
1993
Panelist. IMAGINARY HOMELANDS: Issues of Cultural Identity. (moderator: Cyndra MacDowall, Panel: Miriam Fabijan, Yassaman Ameri, Lani Maestro) Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto, Canada
1992
Conference Panelist. Voies/Voix ou l’identité et la question du sujet en art. Galerie l’Ouevre de l’Autre, Université du Quebec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Canada
1991
Artist Talk. The Shade of a Shadow. Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada
1990
Visiting Artist. University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Canada
1989
Presenter, Technician & Archivist. RADIO FREE BANFF: '89 DAYS OF RADIA 89.9 FM. Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada
1988
Visiting Artist Coordinator. Genevieve Cadeaux, guest artist. Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada
1988/89
Artist Talks & Lecturer. Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Halifax, Canada
1985
Exhibition Coordinator. Separate Spaces and The Ice Flow. Second Story Gallery (2SG/Truck Gallery), Calgary, Canada
AWARDS
2023
Alberta Foundation for the Arts, 50th Anniversary Micro Grant. Alberta, Canada
2022
Calgary Arts Development (CADA) Micro Grant. Website creation. Calgary, Canada
2021
Canada Council Research and Creation Grant. Canada
2021
Calgary Arts Development (CADA) Art Share Program Grant. Calgary, Canada
2011
Mount Royal University Centennial Project Funding. Calgary, Canada
1997/88
Canada Council Travel Grant. Canada
1994/93/92
La Ministère de la Culture du Québec Short Term Arts Grant “B.” Quebec, Canada
1993/92
Canada Council Arts Grant “B.” Canada
1992
Slovenska Izseljenska Matica Sponsorship. Ljubljana, Slovenia
1991/89
Canada Council Project Grant. Canada
1990/86/85
Alberta Culture Project Grant. Alberta, Canada
1989/83
Banff Centre for the Arts Full Scholarship. Banff, Canada (Nova Corporation and Dorothy Harvey Memorial Scholarship)
1987/84
Alberta Culture Study Grant. Alberta, Canada
1985
Calgary Regional Art Foundation Empresario Grant. Calgary, Canada
COLLECTIONS
Banff Centre Collection, Banff, Canada
Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers, Calgary, Canada
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Canada
Nova Corporation Collection, Calgary, Canada
NSCAD Visual Resource Collection, Halifax, Canada
Walter Phillips Gallery for Contemporary Art, Banff, Canada
Various private collections, Canada, USA, & Europe
SELECTED CATALOGUES & PUBLICATIONS
2023
Milk Art Journal Volume 2 "Body and Belonging". (Katherine Oktober) Amsterdam, The Netherlands: House of Oktober Independent arts publisher, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2022
Landed: Transformative Stories of Immigrant Women. Gayathri Shukla, author and editor; Elena Esina, author and editor; Miriam Fabijan, co-author. (featuring “Your name was Janez and your name was John”), Campfire Kinship Storytelling Inc., Calgary, Canada
→ CampfireKindship.com/book Note: #1 Best Seller in Canadian Western Provinces Biographies & Memoirs on Amazon in 2022
2022 The Boxed Stories Gallery II, For the Curious (featuring “my intimacy”), author; Lisa Murphy Lamb, Loft 112 Gallery, Spring 2021, Calgary, Canada
1995
Les Ateliers s’exposent 1995. Hélène Poirier, author and editor; Richard Théoux, author and editor. Cobalt Art Actuel, Montréal, Canada
1992
Translations, Miriam Fabijan. Miriam Fabijan, artist and author; Brane Kovic, author. Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenija
1991
Miriam Fabijan, The Shade of a Shadow. Helena Goldwater, author; Joan Stebbins, curator and author. SAAG, Lethbridge, Canada
1990
Elemental Instincts: a matter of course. Donna McAlear, curator and author. Nickel Arts Museum, Calgary, Canada
1990
Radio Free Banff: '89 Days of RADIA 89.9 FM. Hank Bull, author; Miriam Fabijan, contributor; Dan Lander, contributor; Brent Lee, contributor; Laurie Radford, founder and contributor; Ian Robertson, contributor; Claude Schryer, founder and contributor. Banff Centre Inter-Arts, Banff, Canada
1990
La Bouche Dans Le Mur. Ian Robertson, curator and author. Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada
1987
London Life: Young Contemporaries ’87. Marnie Fleming, curator and author. London Regional Art Gallery, London, Canada
SELECTED REVIEWS & ARTICLES
2023
Mendoza, Joanna. “Sharing a spotlight with the underrepresented: Miriam Fabijan’s story,” The Press: SAIT Journalism Online Publication, Calgary, March 30, 2023;
→ read article
2016
Straton, Grace. “Hearing Listening,” BASIC SOUND: A BREIF HISTORY, NSCAD, pg. 6–8, 2016
1999
Lerner, Loren. “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Canadian Women Artists with Eastern European Connections and Postmodern Remembering,” Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada, XXXI, No. 3;
→ read article
1994
“Acts of Translation.” Parallelogramme 19, no.4 (1994): 78
1993
Bernatchez, Raymond. “’Translations’ de la mémoire originelle et du langage visuel créateur,” La Press, Montreal, 15 mai, 1993
1993
Hakim, Mona. “Interroger les fantome du passé,” Le Devoir, Montreal, les samedi 22 et dimanche 23 mai, 1993
1992
Babic, Dajana. “Spetru In Njegovih Umegovih Umetikih,” Rodna Gruda, Slovenija, December 1992
1992
Cimerman, Ivan. “‘Stari Kraj’ prednikov in likovni motivi iz cilkla ‘Translations,’” Slovenec, Ljubljana, 22 avgust, 1992
1992
Cimerman, Ivan. “‘Prevaljanaja’ Miriam Fabijan,” Rodna Gruda, Slovenija, oktober, 1992
1992
Golubov, Suzana. “Proslovan pod javorovim listrom,” Delo, Ljubljana, 21 avgust, 1992
1992
R.P. “Beneska galerija s polno paro,” Novi Matajur, Cedad (Cividale), Italy, 17 September 1992
1992
“Iz Kanada v Speter, V Beneski galeriji razstava umetnice Mirjam Fabijan,” Novi Mataju, Cidad/Cividale, Italy, 1992
1988
Gravel, Claire. “Jeunes Contemporains à Concordia / Une relève redoutable,” Le Devoir, Montreal, le 6 aout, 1988
1988
Tousley, Nancy. “Nickle Arts display shows growth of young artist,” Calgary Herald, November 2, 1988
1987
Tousley, Nancy. “Images in Context, Memories made physical,” Calgary Herald, January 29, 1987
1986
Rams, Goldie. “Assemblage -1, 381 ½ Talbot Street,” Vanguard, London, December 1985/January 1986
1985
Taylor, Kate. “Installations fill Talbot Street gallery full of messages,” London Free Press, Saturday, September 28, 1985
1985
Tousley, Nancy. “Second Story show displays initiative,” Calgary Herald, January 25, 1985
1984
Haeseker, Fred. “Collection demonstrates the flexibility of film,” Calgary Herald, December 10, 1984
ADDITIONAL WEBSITES
→ Canadian Artists of Eastern European Origins (Miriam Fabijan).
→ December 16, 1988/ Miriam Fabijan ‘I am she’
→ The Photographic Works of Sandra Semchuk: Marting Kapustianyk, Miriam Fabijan1&oclc_number=58454403 (referenced page 5).
→ In Full Bloom, a celebration of artwork by and about women: Joanna Mendoza (Miriam Fabijan, Curator). 2022
→ Miriam Fabijan, Nesting, Galleries West, Nov. 2022
→ Sharing a spotlight with the underrepresented: Miriam Fabijan’s Story, March 2023
→ CAW WAC, Miriam Fabijan, Climate Artist .
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: @MiriamFabijanArtist
Instagram: @MiriamFabijan
LinkedIn: @Miriam Fabijan
Web Design by Joni Millar
Copy Editing by Kes Radford
Photography by Miriam Fabijan
All images copyrighted by Miriam Fabijan
The creation of this website was generously funded by Calgary Arts Development (CADA).