Natalie King

What Program did you graduate from and when? 

I graduated from the Drawing & Painting program in Spring 2018. 

What is your current title or role? (e.g. freelance designer, art practitioner, etc.) 

I am currently working with Xpace Cultural Centre as a Programming Coordinator and working independently as a professional artist. My role with Xpace, working collaboratively with our Director and the second Programming Coordinator, contributes to the planning and execution of workshops, events, and exhibitions for Xpace Cultural Centre’s exhibition spaces. I work as a liaison in many ways between Xpace Cultural Centre and the OCAD U student body, local and national arts organizations, artists, and the community. The way I see my role as Programming Coordinator is a supportive one, helping foster emerging artists' early careers and helping them show their work in a professional setting. 

Why did you choose to attend OCAD U? 

I have always been an artist and a creative, so I had been interested in attending OCAD U throughout and after high school. I had also always wanted to experience living in Tkaronto. As I had previously not finished my high school diploma, I had to go back to school to finish my Ontario Secondary School Diploma to advance further. I began my post-secondary studies at Georgian College, in the Fine Arts program, which gave me experience with a range of artistic practices including sculpture and installation, printmaking, drawing, and painting. After completing the two-year diploma, I applied and transferred to OCAD U as an upper-year student. I continued to focus on drawing, painting, installation, and a new range of media, during my studies at OCAD U. 

Please briefly describe your current job/practice. 

My current artistic practice ranged from video, painting, sculpture and installation as well as community engagement. Often involving portrayals of queer femmes and queer Indigenous futurities and imagined futures, my works are about embracing the ambiguity and multiplicities of identity within the Indigenous queer femme experience. My practice operates from a firmly critical, decolonizing, equity-oriented, non-oppressive, and future-bound perspective, capturing the realities of lived lives through frameworks of desire and survivance. Alongside my own artistic practice, I work full-time in arts programming and facilitation at Xpace Cultural Centre. 

How did you get started in your career? 

To me, there isn’t one starting point, but many starting points. I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have in my career without my community, my family, my kin. During my studies at OCAD U, I began working at Onsite Gallery as a Student Monitor and built up some familiarity and skills in day-to-day gallery operations, artist talks, and exhibitions. I was also working to find opportunities to exhibit my own works, in shows like Play/House with Glory Hole Gallery, The Women’s Kit Regeneration at Ada Slight Gallery, and working collaboratively for Bath Jam: A Celebration of Self-Care at Good Sport Gallery in London. Shortly after graduating from OCAD U, I worked as a Development Assistant with Harbourfront Centre and was ultimately promoted to Development Coordinator. At this time, I was exploring curation, co-curating Dragon Tank at Ignite Gallery while continuing with group exhibitions. I then began working at Xpace Cultural Centre in 2019. 

What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work? 

The one major ‘policy’ that I follow is no unpaid labour. I learned from life experiences and especially from my practical experience with artistic exhibitions and community arts that there are regulations guiding the payment of artists for their work. I am deeply committed to not participating in or producing artistic opportunities which are not recognized with fair pay. Especially as an Indigenous artist, I do not operate by any extractive measures, it is not my worldview and I reserve the right of refusal for any unpaid labour. My work is also very personal and it would be extractive to not have the emotional and physical labour recognized. These best practices are also very important to me as a Programming Coordinator at Xpace.          

What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work? 

The things that I enjoy most in my work are supporting artists and designers, building community, creating an equitable exchange, and continually making new and valuable connections. Being a professional artist and working in the arts do have many challenges. Financially, as an artist making ends meet and trying to secure opportunities is very difficult. You are kind of working by yourself so things are very dependent on you: you have to be very diligent about grant writing, deadlines, coordinating, and you’re wearing a lot of hats at once. Things are quite similar in arts administration - there is a lot going on all the time, with so much programming during the year where the turnaround is very fast, do you have to be able to think on your feet and develop strengths with a lot of skills and materials, you have to be flexible and fluid like water. I find that navigating the art world as a Queer Indigenous artist is challenging because of financial and emotional precarity among many other things    Working on the margins, also makes all of these things much harder. 

What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently? 

The most significant relationships that I developed were peer relationships, making connections with emerging artists who were around my age, and especially with queer artists. Meeting other queer artists was a really big thing for me, and changed my whole life really because I wasn’t exposed to anyone like me where I come from. As a student, I had the privilege of working with Fatimah Tuggar which was very significant in terms of mentorship and being able to learn about being an artist, Fatimah provided me with real-life advice when continuing my career as a young emerging artist, and I feel honoured to have met her. Connecting with the emerging arts community from Xpace was really important to me when I was a student, and I feel much more connected and supported now, it really is about fostering a community, which I am very honoured and grateful for. Also connecting with the CEAD, and applying to all their wonderful calls helped me advance my art practice after school! 

What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice? 

In terms of content, the biggest responsibility is ensuring that my work is accountable to the lived lives of the folks in my communities, being diligent and respectful as well as challenging folks’ ideas of what art Indigenous folks make, we are so diverse and come from many different cultures, we are not a monolith. In terms of practice, the key for me is diligence and patience and empathy with myself most importantly, focusing on your goals but not being hard on yourself when setbacks occur, because they almost always do. With building up a career as an artist, I am working independently and have to be capable of performing a wide range of tasks including grant writing, producing work to meet deadlines and so many forms of coordination and troubleshooting. I have to continually expand my skills and learn new things to make it all work. I’ve definitely had to work very hard and maintain a commitment to meeting my goals as an artist. 

What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years? 

I want to continue working with Xpace Cultural Centre to expand my existing skills and continue to support emerging artists. I also continue to create my own works and have some exciting solo shows and residency opportunities on the horizon. I would love to continue to foster community, and create new and exciting opportunities for young artists as well as expanding my professional arts practice!