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A woman with dark hair, wearing a red top, black pants and red shoes, smiling and in a lounging pose on top of the trunk of a red car, leaning on her right elbow, with left arm bent, hand behind her head.
A woman with dark hair, wearing a red top, black pants and red shoes, smiling and in a lounging pose on top of the trunk of a red car, leaning on her right elbow, with left arm bent, hand behind her head.
Photo: Shelley Niro The Rebel.

Accessible & humorous Accessible & humorous

The first major retrospective of the multimedia artist's work spanning four decades.

Photo: Shelley Niro The Rebel.

Home Events Art Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch exhibition

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch exhibition

On now till Monday, February 17, 2025, Vancouver Art Gallery hosts the second last stop of the multiyear, five-venue North American tour of Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch, the first retrospective of award-winning Mohawk multimedia artist Shelley Niro.

70+ works spanning four decades

Featuring photography, film, painting, installation, sculpture and mixed media works, this collection highlights themes that hold deep meaning for the artist: Matriarchy, Past is Present, Actors and Family Relations. The exhibition name is a play on the film title The Seven Year Itch and refers to the history of colonization in North America. Combining pop culture references, and contrasting urban and natural landscapes, Niro’s work also includes images of herself and her family. Each piece tells a story, weaving a narrative of generational history and memory – and the importance of connections to family and to the land – told with sharp humour and irony, to spark awareness and dialogue, and provide healing.

”Her persistent vision is to represent Indigenous women and girls, advocating for self-representation and sovereignty. Her highly empathetic approach moves viewers to understand the issues at hand through her visually impactful and politically powerful manner. She uses parody, feminism and spirituality to examine identity and, in turn, brings political power to the realm of the personal.”

– Vancouver Art Gallery

A woman with dark hair, wearing a red top, black pants and red shoes, smiling and in a lounging pose on top of the trunk of a red car, leaning on her right elbow, with left arm bent, hand behind her head.

(Photo credits: Shelley Niro, The Rebel, 1987/2022, hand tinted gelatin silver print. Vancouver Art Gallery. This image is also included on the Events page.)

About Shelley Niro

Award-winning multimedia artist Shelley Niro is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) Nation, from the Six Nations of the Grand River territory. Her visual art and film works have been featured across Canada and internationally. In 2009, her first feature film, Kissed by Lightning, premiered at Toronto’s imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and won the Santa Fe Film Festival’s 2009 Milagro Award for Best Indigenous Film. Her short film The Shirt was presented at the 2003 Venice Biennale and the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Other films include: Honey Moccasin, It Starts with a Whisper, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw and Café Daughter. In 2019, Niro received an honorary doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she completed her undergraduate studies; she completed her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Western Ontario.

A bespectacled woman dressed in a bleached blonde wig and vintage white dress, a table fan on the floor beneath her as she re-enacts Marilyn Monroe's famous subway grate photo.

(Photo credits: Shelley Niro, 500 Year Itch, 1992, gelatin silver print heightened with applied colour, mounted on Masonite, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Gift of Victoria Henry, Ottawa, 2003. Vancouver Art Gallery.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Vancouver Art Gallery 

Type of event: art exhibition

Featured artist: Shelley Niro 

Date: On now till Monday, February 17, 2025.

Following its presentation at Vancouver Art Gallery, the exhibition moves on to finish its tour at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, August 31, 2025.

Gallery hours:

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM PT
  • Thursdays & Fridays: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM PT
  • Generally closed on Tuesdays, except for special holiday hours on Tuesday, December 24 and 31: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM PT
  • Closed on Wednesday December 25 & January 1

Cost:

  • General admission (non-BC residents): C$35.00
  • General admission (BC residents): C$29.00
  • Youth (age 13-18), Child (age 12 and under), Gallery Members & Caregivers: Free
  • Groups of 10 or more: C$25.00 each
  • Admission is Free on the first Friday of every month from 4:00 to 8:00 PM PT during Free First Friday Nights presented by BMO. Tickets will be released one month in advance of the event. Reserve a spot in advance to guarantee entry into the Gallery.

Coupons and discounts cannot be claimed online. Please visit the Admissions Desk upon arrival to redeem and book your timed-entry tickets. Subject to availability.

Location: Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2H7

Video: Scroll down to watch the video about Shelley Niro and this exhibition

Booking link: Book your advance tickets here. You can also pay at the gallery on the day of your visit.

Contact Details: Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2H7, Canada; (604) 662-4700 (press 0), customerservice@vanartgallery.bc.ca, vanartgallery.bc.ca

 

Accessibility: The Vancouver Art Gallery is wheelchair accessible. Street-level access is available through the Hornby and Robson Street entrances, open during all public hours. Wheelchairs are available to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis or can be reserved before your visit by calling 604-662-4700. A Service Animal may accompany visitors to all public areas of the Gallery. For select exhibitions, the Vancouver Art Gallery offers visual description to enhance your exhibition experience and to make the artworks on display more accessible. To book a Described Tour, please contact Stephanie Bokenfohr, Adult Programs Coordinator, by email at sbokenfohr@vanartgallery.bc.ca or by phone at 604-662-4700.

Refund policy: All ticket sales are final and non-refundable.