Stephen Foster is a video and electronic media artist of mixed Haida and European background. His work tends to deal with issues of indigenous representation in popular culture through personalized narratives. He has taken part in residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and holds two college diplomas, as well as a BFA and a MFA. For his Master of Fine Arts degree at York University he received the Master’s Thesis Prize, one of three given University wide, for his thesis ‘Behind a Sheet of Glass’.
Stephen has served on the board of directors for several arts organizations and is currently a member of the BC Arts Council. He is employed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan as a Professor in the Creative Studies department where he instructs courses dedicated to video production and digital media. The recipient of a large Research/Creation Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for exploring interactive and experimental approaches to documentary, Stephen is also the coordinator of the CanWest Global Centre for Artists’ Video. Recent exhibitions include Re/Mediations on tour across Canada, Playing Indian: Burn, Static and Squeltch at the VMAC Gallery in Toronto, and Crossfire at MIC Toi Rerehiko Media and Interdisciplinary Arts Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Stephen continues to work on new video and electronic media projects expanding on his artistic exploration of the digital medium.