Kent Monkman (b. 1965) is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works in Dish With One Spoon Territory (Toronto, Canada). 

Known for his provocative interventions into Western European and American art history, Monkman explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences—across painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle often appears in his work as a time-traveling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples. 

Monkman’s works have been exhibited at institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Denver Art Museum; Philbrook Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; The Royal Ontario Museum; The National Gallery of Canada; Hayward Gallery; Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art; Musée d’art Contemporain de Rochechouart; Maison Rouge; and Palais de Tokyo. Monkman has had two nationally touring solo exhibitions in Canada - Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience (2017-2020), and The Triumph of Mischief (2007-2010). 

Kent Monkman will present the Fall Festival keynote.