Monique (Mo Thunder) Bedard, BFA, DTATI

Mo (they/them) is a nonbinary/fluid, neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist and facilitator who grew up in a small town along the St. Clair River, they currently live in T’karonto (Toronto), which has been home for over a decade. They are Haudenosaunee (Oneida Nation of the Thames), French-Canadian and Anishinaabe (Aamjiwnaang First Nation).

Mo holds a BFA in studio art with a focus on drawing, silkscreen printing, photography and video from Fanshawe College and the University of Lethbridge, however, they are also self and community-taught. They have over 15 years of experience in community arts facilitation, organization, education, collaboration and consultation. Since high school, they have been working in community arts creating solo and collaborative murals and providing group and individual art facilitation. In June 2022, Mo graduated from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute (TATI).

Through their multidisciplinary art practice (painting, murals, mixed media, beading, journaling, poetry and textiles), they create visual stories about their lived experiences in connection to their personal healing. Mo is also inspired by intergenerational connections and healing, family and memories, personal and collective empowerment, and all of creation, especially skyworld.

Mo co-created and co-facilitated a community art / creative expression program for young Indigenous folks in T’karonto, Our Stories Our Truths (OSOT) and a mural collective of BIPoC 2SLGBTQQIAP+ and gender-diverse creatives, Earth Sky Collective (ESC).

They have a deep love and passion for learning Oneida language, zines, journals, art supplies, music, neurodiversity, organization, sewing, fashion and tattoos!