Allyson Mitchell

Allyson Mitchell is a Toronto-based maximalist artist, working predominantly in sculpture, installation and film. Her practice melds feminism and pop culture to trouble contemporary representations of women, sexuality and the body largely through the use of reclaimed textile and abandoned craft. Her works have exhibited in galleries and festivals across Canada, the US and Europe, including Tate Modern, the Textile Museum of Canada, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, the Andy Warhol Museum, Walker Art Center, The British Film Institute, Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives. Mitchell is based in Toronto, where she is an Assistant Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University.

Early life and education

She received her three degrees from York University: her B.A. in Women Studies and English (1995); her M.A. in Women Studies (1998); and her Ph.D. in Women Studies (2006). Mitchell's Ph.D. thesis constructed a feminist theory of body geography, looking at the ways in which our body image shifts in different contexts.

Works

In 1996, Mitchell cofounded the fat activist and performance art collective, Pretty Porky and Pissed Off with Ruby Rowan and Mariko Tamaki.

In 2010, Mitchell cofounded Feminist Art Gallery with Deirdre Logue.

For her work Kill Joy's Kastle, Mitchell created a lesbian feminist haunted house. She is represented by Katherine Mulherin Contemporary Art.

Work as co-editor

Karaian, Lara (2001). Rundle, Lisa Bryn; Mitchell, Allyson, eds. Turbo Chicks: Talking Young Feminisms. Toronto: Sumach Press. ISBN 978-1-894549-06-6. OCLC 46629305. 

Collections

Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
National Library and Archives, Ottawa, Ontario
Trent University, Peterborough Ontario
Carleton University, Ottawa Ontario
McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario