KENT MONKMAN is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works between New York City and Toronto.
Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle often appears in his work as a time-travelling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples. His artworks are held in the permanent collections of public institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Denver Art Museum; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Hirshhorn Museum; Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; the National Gallery of Canada; and macLYON. Private foundations that house his works include Art Bridges; the Gochman Family Collection; the Sobey Art Foundation; and the Walker Youngbird Foundation. His works have been exhibited at institutions such as Louvre-Lens; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Palais de Tokyo; and the Royal Ontario Museum.
In 2019, Monkman was commissioned as the inaugural artist to make two monumental paintings for The Met’s Great Hall Commission project. In 2023, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada—Canada’s highest civilian honour—and in 2025, he received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.
KENT MONKMAN is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works between New York City and Toronto.
Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle often appears in his work as a time-travelling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples. His artworks are held in the permanent collections of public institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Denver Art Museum; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Hirshhorn Museum; Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; the National Gallery of Canada; and macLYON. Private foundations that house his works include Art Bridges; the Gochman Family Collection; the Sobey Art Foundation; and the Walker Youngbird Foundation. His works have been exhibited at institutions such as Louvre-Lens; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Palais de Tokyo; and the Royal Ontario Museum.
In 2019, Monkman was commissioned as the inaugural artist to make two monumental paintings for The Met’s Great Hall Commission project. In 2023, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada—Canada’s highest civilian honour—and in 2025, he received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.
