photo: Christa Holka, 2020.
Nicole Garneau is an interdisciplinary artist making site-specific performance and project art that is directly political, critically conscious, and community building.
Her book Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism was published in print in Spring 2018 by Intellect. In 2022, a fully accessible audiobook version of Performing Revolutionary was released, narrated by Nicole Garneau. Performing Revolutionary was written in response to the UPRISING project—5 years of monthly outdoor performances exploring practices of revolution. In 2012, she lived in Denmark as part of the Living Copenhagen artist residency, and then continued to tour in Europe, creating participatory UPRISING performances in Russia, UK, and Portugal. In 2010, Nicole collaborated with DJ Erik Roldan to curate and host Northern Lights, a monthly queer performance and dance party in Chicago. In 2005, Nicole created HEAT:05, a durational art project in which she performed every day of the year in order to mark 10 years since the 1995 Chicago heat wave disaster. Her work has been supported by the Live Art Development Agency of the UK, Alternate ROOTS, the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She is an active member of Alternate ROOTS and an Appalachian Teaching Artist Fellow through Berea College Partners for Education. She is a Master Trainer with TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, and was forever changed by her experience manifesting wildly creative projects in rural Kentucky nursing homes in collaboration with staff and residents in 2018-2019. Originally from Chicago, she now resides in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, where she nurtures a multi-year collaboration with Clear Creek Creative. Since 2014, she has been part of the development of the eco-cultural theater experience Ezell: Ballad of a Land Man, and is part of the national tour of Ezell in 2021-2023. In the summer of 2022, she performed in the Double Edge Theatre production of Hidden Territories of the Bacchae. In 2019-2020, Nicole spent 4 months in Russia as an artist in residence with CEC ArtsLink in four separate locations, and also presented her work in Berlin, Copenhagen, and London. She teaches at Eastern Kentucky University, makes theater in non-traditional settings, facilitates meetings, throws parties, and does healing work.
CV
EDUCATION
M.A. Interdisciplinary Arts, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2002
B.A. Communications and Theater, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 1993 Minor in Russian Language, graduated with honors
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
2020-2022. Appalachian Teaching Artist Fellowship (Berea College Partners for Education)
2020. Kentucky Foundation for Women Artist Enrichment Grant
2020 Alternate ROOTS Artistic Assistance Grant
2020 Live Art Development Agency of the UK: Study Room Residency
2020 Artivizm Laboratory Artist Residency: Samara & Tolyatti, Russia
2019 CEC ArtsLink Back Apartment Residency: St. Petersburg, Russia
2018 Illinois Arts Council Independent Artist Grant
2013-19 Artist in Residence at Clear Creek, Rockcastle, KY
2017 Alternate ROOTS Artistic Assistance Grant: Professional Development
2016 Alternate ROOTS Artistic Assistance Grant: Project Development
2015 Chances Dances Critical Fierceness Grant for Queer Artists
2013 Artist in Residence at Catapult Studios, New Orleans, LA
2013 Artist Residency at Tulane University, Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity
2013 Artist Residency at ISLAND: Institute for Sustainable Living, Art, and Natural Design
2012 Illinois Arts Council Grant
2012 Grant from Live Art Development Agency, UK
2012 Living Copenhagen Artist Residency, Copenhagen, Denmark
2011 Part-Time Faculty Assistance Grant, Columbia College Chicago
2010 Community Arts Assistance Grant, City of Chicago
2010 The Theater Offensive “Come as you are” Grant
2009 Community Arts Assistance Grant, City of Chicago
2009 Ragdale Foundation Artist Residency
2008 Community Arts Assistance Grant, City of Chicago
2007 Blue Sky Project Artist Residency
Publications
Book: Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism. Published by Intellect Books, Spring 2018.
PERFORMANCES (SELECTED)
“Hidden Territories of the Bacchae,” Performer, singer in Double Edge Theatre summer spectacle performance directed by Stacy Klein, July-August 2022.
“Ezell: Ballad of a Land Man” Guide, Performing musician, singer for journey-based theatrical production in collaboration with Clear Creek Creative in Disputanta, KY: October 2019, Bledsoe, KY: July 2021, New Orleans, LA: October 2021, Berea, KY: April 2022, New Haven, CT: May 2022, Damascus, PA: June 2022.
“This Place is a Message,” performing in the role of Dr. Thomas Sebeok. Written and directed by Faultlines Productions (Taiga Christie and Zoe Batson), presented by Yale Schwarzman Center, outdoor theatrical production at Yale West Campus, New Haven, CT, April 2022.
*“Yulia Tsvetkova 500-Meter Solidarity Walks,” participatory actions, January, February, March 2020. Locations: Samara, Russia, Tolyatti, Russia, Berlin, Germany, and London, UK. London: Come Hell or High Water (CHOHW) at 3 Colt Gallery and included in monthly zine. Berlin: exhibited at Clump International: Conspiracy at TV Bar. Video art of these actions exhibited in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia, at an arts activism conference produced by Merak in support of artist Yulia Tsvetkova.
*“Moyka River Offering,” co-created with Darya Apakhonchich. Performance/action in remembrance of Anastasia Yeshchenko, St. Petersburg, Russia, December 2019.
*Video work: “Deer Remedies (2013)” exhibited as part of Eve’s Ribs Festival of Feminist Art, St. Petersburg, Russia, November 2019.
“Wendy’s Neverland” Performer, Singer, Costume & Makeup Design, Production Management as part of TimeSlips Creative Storytelling’s project of creative engagement inside 12 rural Kentucky nursing homes in partnership with Signature Healthcare, 2019
“Solstice Spectacle,” Emcee/Host/Performer for 5-hour performance and meal spectacle in the woods of Clear Creek in Disputanta, KY, June 2018
*“Torture Playlist #1” Hurricane Gap Theater Institute, Pine Mountain, KY November 2017
“Jubilee,” a 24-hour collaborative performance/installation/ceremony/party co-created with 5 Artists in Residence at Clear Creek Creative in Disputanta, KY, September 2017
“Land, Water, Food, Story” Alternate ROOTS’ ROOTSweek, August 2015
“Land, Water, Food, Story” Clear Creek Festival, Rockcastle County, KY, July & September 2015
“Torture Playlist #1 and #2” Sautee Nacoochee Center, Sautee Nacoochee GA, June 2015
“Communion to All Our Queer Saints” Snakepit: Medusa’s Pussy Palace, Bijou Theater, Chicago, October 2014
Performer-Emcee at Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington, NC, November 2014
“A Midsummer's Eve: Land~Water~Food~Story” (Singer, Deviser, and Assistant Director), Clear Creek Festival, Berea, KY, July 2014
“Discomfort” Transnocheo at Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics’ Encuentro 2014, Montreal, Canada, June 2014 “Discomfort” Alternate ROOTS Annual Meeting, August 2013
UPRISING: 5-year performance project (2008-2012) monthly, volunteer-performed, site specific works exploring practices of revolution.
UPRISING #60 The End of the World, Bywater neighborhood, New Orleans, LA December 2012
UPRISING #59 School of the Americas Watch, Atlanta, GA November 2012
UPRISING #58 Pine Mountain Settlement School, Harlan County, KY October 2012
UPRISING #57 Clear Creek Festival, Berea, KY September 2012
UPRISING #56 Beacons Festival, Skipton, UK, August 2012
UPRISING #55 Boom Festival, Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, July 2012
UPRISING #54 Home of Thies Molen, Copenhagen, DE June 2012
UPRISING #53 Novodevichy Cemetary, Moscow RU May 2012
UPRISING #51 Roof of Kollektivhuset, Copenhagen, DE March 2012
UPRISING #50 in(X)clusion Arts Festival, Leeds, UK February 2012
UPRISING #49 Hans Knudsens Plads, Copenhagen, DE January 2012
UPRISING #46 Occupy Chicago, October 2011 UPRISING #43 Jane Addams Hull House (Chicago Tortured Justice Memorials), June 2011
UPRISING #42 ROOTSFest, Baltimore, MD, June 2011
UPRISING #41 Home of Bill Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn, Chicago, May 2011
UPRISING #37 Two Abortion Clinics/Reproductive Choice Offices, Chicago, January 2011
UPRISING #35 Transgender Night of Remembrance, Chicago, November 2010
UPRISING #34 Northern Lights at Parlour on Clark, October 2010
UPRISING #33 Clear Creek Festival, Berea, KY September 2010
UPRISING #31 26th & California, Chicago, July 2010
UPRISING #30 United States Social Forum, Detroit, June 2010
UPRISING #27 California College of the Arts, San Francisco, March 2010
UPRISING #26 Gallery 400, Chicago, February 2010
UPRISING #25 Revolution Square, Moscow, Russia, January 2010
UPRISING #22 Dvorak Park/Fisk Coal Processing Plant, Chicago, October 2009
UPRISING #20 Asheville, NC, August 2009
UPRISING #19 Washington Park, Chicago, July 2009
UPRISING #17 Handaxe Gallery, Brooklyn, NY May 2009
UPRISING #16 University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, WI April 2009
UPRISING #15 State of the Union Festival, New Orleans, LA March 2009
UPRISING #14 at “she works flexible now,” Berkeley, CA, February 2009
UPRISING #12 Jane Addams Hull House Museum (AREA 68/08 event), December 2008
UPRISING #11 Nelson Algren Fountain, November 2008
UPRISING #10 Women and Children First Bookstore, October 2008
UPRISING #9 San Lucas United Church of Christ (Young Lords 40 year Reunion), September 2008
UPRISING #8 Grant Park (site of 1968 Democratic National Convention demonstrations), August 2008
UPRISING #7 Bijou Theater and Sex Club, July 2008
UPRISING #3 Community garden, 6100 S. Blackstone, March 2008
UPRISING #1 Intersection of Division/Damen/Milwaukee, January 2008
McHenry County, IL. “Brood 13.” Daily, site specific performances for Blue Sky Project artist residency, 2008.
The Vic Theater: Gurlesque Burlesque. “Sirens/Go to Sleep.” January 2006
HEAT:05. Every day of 2005. A year of daily performances marked 10 years since the 1995 Chicago heat wave disaster. HEAT:05 performances took place in Chicago venues and public spaces, and in Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami Beach, Eugene, OR, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Experiments International Performance Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia. “Bloodrut.” August 2002
THEATER AND DANCE
Ruth Page Center for the Arts: Lucky Plush Productions. “She/Three.” November 2006
Chopin Theatre: Breakbone Dance Company. “Deadtech.” September 2004
Insight Arts. “a blueprint of the bluegoose.” April-May 2003 Athenaeum Theater.
“Mercy” by Meredith Monk and Ann Hamilton, March 2002
Theater of Moscow South-West. “Mirandolina;” “The Inspector General;” “Dogs;” Dragon.” 1993-1994
SELECTED VISUAL ART/INSTALLATION
Gallery 400. “Platforms: 10 Years of Chances Dances” (group show) September 2015
EVIDENCE: monthly color postcards documenting UPRISING performances, available by subscription, 2008-2012.
Starline Gallery. “Brood 13 Daily Performance Documentation” August 2007
Riverside Art Center. “The Body, the Individual, and the State” (group show) April 2007
Vespine Gallery. “HEAT:05—Performance Documentation by Nicole Garneau,” (Solo show) April 2006
TEACHING
2013-current
Women’s and Gender Studies, DePaul University
[online] Course: LSP 200: Racial Formations in America
Course: Discover Chicago: Women’s Activism
Course: Explore Chicago: Women’s Theater
Course: WGS 100: Women’s Lives: Race, Class, Gender
Course: LSP 200: Racial Formations in America
Course: WGS 390: Performance as Practice and Resistance
2009-2012 Women and Gender Studies, DePaul University
Course: Chicago Women in Theater
2004-2011 Humanities, History, and Social Sciences Dept. (Cultural Studies), Columbia College Chicago
Course: Making and Unmaking Whiteness
Course: Introduction to Cultural Studies
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management Department, Columbia College Chicago
Course: Introduction to Youth Arts Practicum
SELECTED CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS
Co-Facilitated with Anthony Romero: “Artists’ Congress” event in conjunction with the exhibition The Left Front: Radical Art in the “Red Decade,” 1929-1940, Block Museum of Art, May 2014.
“Every Time I go Outside, My Body is a Public Object: Arts and Media Workshop Exploring Sexuality and Gender Identity” at Tulane University, New Orleans. 2013
“Pragmatic Visionaries,” a 24-hour intensive workshop on ceremonial performance practices at the annual meeting of Alternate ROOTS, Arden, NC. 2013
“Art-Oil-Numbers-Bodies-Love: a Live Art Workshop on Oil Economies and Oil Sponsorship of Art & Culture” 3-day intensive in London, August 2012
“Creative Neighborhood Mapping for Community Development,” 6-week workshop for 5th graders at Kildevaeldskolen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Spring 2012
“The Art of Living or Living for Art: A Survival Guide for Artists,” National Performing Arts Convention, Denver, CO, June 2008.
“Learn and Make UPRISING #6” June 27, 2008. Part of Links Hall’s Summer School. Center for New Possibilities
“Critical Pedagogy in the Academy,” (Facilitated 2-day breakout session of 25 participants) Community Arts Convening, Baltimore, MD.
“Presenting Gender[ed] Performance,” National Performance Network Annual Meeting, Cedar Rapids, IA, November 2006.
“Heat Wave” Lecture/Demo, Displacements: Genealogies, Generations, & Geopolitics—the 26th Annual Women in Theater Program Conference, Chicago, IL, August 2006.
“Performance as Social/Political Action,” Public presentation/dialogue presented by Vespine Gallery, Chicago, IL, April 2006.
“Making Public Art without Permission,” Public presentation/dialogue presented by Vespine Gallery, Chicago, IL, April 2006.
“Themes, Materials, and Processes in HEAT:05,” Public presentation/dialogue presented by Vespine Gallery, Chicago, IL, April 2006.
ORGANIZATIONS
Alternate ROOTS Executive Committee. 2010-2012, 2014-2019
National Performance Network Board of Directors, New Orleans, LA. 2006-2012
Insight Arts Board of Directors, Chicago, IL. 1997-2011
Big Smith Percussion Ensemble, Chicago, IL. 1998-2005
Q-WAAR (Queer White Allies Against Racism), Chicago, IL. 1998-2000
Women’s Performance Committee at Insight Arts (produced annual Women’s Performance Jam). 1997-2001
Women’s Action Coalition (WAC), Chicago, IL. 1994-1999