Vanessa Racine

Vanessa Racine (she/they) is a 2Spirit French/Anishinaabe artist with a multidisciplinary focus on video game development, linguistics and beadwork. She is Anishinaabe from Beaverhouse First Nation but is currently based in Tiohtiá:ke/Mooniyang (Montreal) where she is completing an M. in the Individualized Program. They hold a BA in Linguistics from McGill University, taking special interest in Indigenous language visibility through art. Racine’s primary practice is beadwork and has been beading for five years. Using the medium’s teachings on mino bimaadiziwin (keeping a good mind/life) and its unique semblance to pixel art, Racine draws visual and spiritual inspiration from her practice for video game development. Blending theoretical linguistics with traditional and non-traditional practices, Racine explores underlying relationships between linguistic theory and Anishinaabe new media with a focus on Zaagi’idiwin (love).

Projects:

• Abundant Intelligences CoLAB