about
Mallory Donen is a multidisciplinary artist residing in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh First Nations. She explores the intersection of digital art and embroidery, through processes rooted in traditional craft passed down from generations of women in her family. More recently her work has begun investigating notions of labour, productivity, and the value of art in relation to craft and women’s work. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of the Fraser Valley, and a Master of Fine Arts from University of Manitoba.
In 2019, she was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center. In 2020, she received an Honourable mention in the virtual exhibition Threaded II, Envision Art Show. Donen is a 2021 recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts, Research and Creation Grant for her project Invisible Labour: Cross-Stitching, Feminism, & the Collective Strength of Women, and a 2022 grant recipient for her cross-stitch portrait series Becoming a Pixel.
artist statement
My practice investigates notions of labour, productivity, and the value of art in relation to craft and women’s work. Instead of becoming reliant on computers and other advanced technologies that are accelerating the speeds of production and consumption alike, I choose to look back to centuries-old practices that have been passed down through generations of women. Women used to execute the mundane, repetitive tasks that are now assigned to many machines and computers. By embracing time-consuming traditional craft processes like cross-stitching, I emphasize the value of women’s labour.
