Gail Tremblay

born Buffalo, New York, 1945; died Olympia, Washington, 2023

BiographyGail Tremblay is a mixed media artist and writer. She received her BA in Drama from the University of New Hampshire and her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon, Eugene. After several years freelance teaching she joined the faculty at Evergreen State College in Olympia in 1981 where she was instrumental in the development of their Native Studies program. She retired in 2016. Her artwork is included in the collections of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem OR; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, Washington DC; Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK; and the Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR. She has been included in numerous exhibitions and anthologies concerning feminism, gender roles and the Native American experience. She also is the author of three books of poetry.

In her artwork, published writings, and teaching Tremblay addresses Indigenous issues and advocates for Native peoples. She began weaving baskets out of scrap film in the 1980s while teaching a film theory class. The works play on the irony of using a medium that often originated and supported stereotypes of Native peoples to make works based in historical craft traditions. Her titles often include the film source and the color schemes of the baskets also reflect their subject.

For a film about her work by Sally Cloninger visit: https://vimeo.com/311750726

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