Melanie Monique Rose is a Metis/Ukrainian visual artist from Regina, Saskatchewan Treaty 4 Territory, a citizen of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, and a long-time contributing member of Sâkêwêwak Artists’ Collective Inc. Rose’s work centres on kinship and relationships between the land, ourselves and each other. Through plants and flowers Rose invites transmissions of ancestral knowledge and teachings while also imagining and creating a de-colonial future through the lens of Metis worldviews.
She attended Kootenay School of the Arts with a major in the Fibre Arts in Nelson, B.C. Rose has exhibited her artwork in both group and solo exhibitions. In the summer of 2023 Melanie’s natural dye practice took her to both Ottawa, at the National Gallery of Canada and Santa Fe, New Mexico’s SWAIA Fashion shows, where her work walked the runway. A recent career highlight was exhibiting in the group show, Storied Objects/Metis Art in Relation at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her greatest honor was to receive the distinction of Excellence in Textiles from the Saskatchewan Craft Council in Dimension’s 2013 touring show. In 2020, Melanie was named a CBC Future 40 for her work in arts and culture. In addition, she was one of seven artists awarded the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts Endowment Award to further artistic pursuits in 2021. In 2023 she was honored with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal from His Honour the Honourable Russ Mirasty Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan for her work in Arts & Reconciliation. Rose has worked in Saskatchewan as gallery facilitator, story-keeper, and art instructor for the Mackenzie Art Gallery and in addition teaches various workshops at both public and private institutions.
In 2018 her daughter Meadow Rose was born and is currently a full-time mom, caregiver, and artist. Becoming a mother has increased Rose’s desire to share the stories of her culture and family and has challenged the way she creates independently and as a shared experience with her daughter. Rose is inspired and excited to see where the journey takes her as an Artist.