Josée Robertson

Josée Robertson is a member of the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation, whose home is the Mashteuiatsh Innu First Nation reserve in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. Her career choice, after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary art and arts education, as well as a master’s degree in creative expression from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC), was to teach in her community’s high school, where she has been teaching creative visual arts for nearly 20 years. An interdisciplinary artist in her spare time, Josée explores the themes of memory, movement and material culture through photography, installations, painting and numerous other disciplines. For Josée, touching, feeling and experiencing the material she works with are fundamental artistic experiences, and she tries to convey these aspects to her students.

Josée’s enthusiasm for teaching is fuelled by her curiosity and her desire to share her knowledge and skills. She continually strives to make the learning experiences of her students more meaningful for them and for herself. She takes additional art courses to learn about new processes and techniques and acquire new skills that she enjoys sharing with her students.

In order to give her students meaningful learning opportunities that will bring them recognition and renown, Josée organizes collaborative activities in the classroom with artists working in various artistic disciplines. The artworks of Josée’s students have been displayed in various exhibitions held in the community’s museum, in Montreal’s Musée d’Art Contemporain and in Cuba and Chicago. These artist/teacher collaborative projects enable them to discover what they can do and gain self-confidence and provide them with launchpads for future careers.