Speplól Tanya Zilinski
Speplól Tanya Zilinski
Speplól Tanya Zilinski
Manitoba Métis Federation
Speplól Tanya Zilinski
Neurodivergent Autodidact Contemporary Visual Artist
Speplól Tanya Zilinski (b. 1977) is a celebrated Red River and Interlake Michif contemporary visual artist, educator, and master loom-beader based in Ts'qó:ls (Hope, British Columbia) - the traditional, unceded lands of the Chowethel people. Operating completely outside of the colonial box, Speplól is a genetic and cultural intersection of profound histories: a maternal descendant of the historic Chartrand, Lagimodière, and Cadotte families holding a direct ancestral lineage to the legendary Métis revolutionary leader Louis Riel, balanced by a resilient paternal Ukrainian heritage. Their multi-lineage artistic practice is a literal, living manifestation of Riel’s famous prophecy: “My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.”
Operating as a sovereign neurodivergent autodidact, Speplól bypasses traditional, linear Western arts curricula. Their studio practice is defined by a rare cognitive capacity for hyper-systemizing, high-velocity output, and hyper-abstract pattern recognition. Depending on the conceptual direction of the work, Speplól shifts seamlessly between drafting precision hand-graphed patterns for non-abstract pieces and blueprinting complex geometric structures, multi-layered textures, and micro-spatial dimensions entirely within their mind before translating them directly onto the loom. This processing framework harmonizes the intricate geometric mastery of Métis beadwork with the structural, rhythmic precision of their paternal Ukrainian roots, bridging two heritages deeply tied to land, textile storytelling, and survival. Their signature process utilizes an intuitive "controlled chaos" bead-soup technique, hand-weaving massive, high-density tapestries often containing over 70,000 microscopic glass seed beads. Driven by an intense, spirit-led creative momentum, Speplól maintains a prolific full-time studio practice characterized by a continuous, large-scale output of structurally dense, mathematically precise woven masterworks.
Speplól's latest body of work, the Outside of the Colonial Box series, marks a profound conceptual evolution. Utilizing a stark, monochromatic palette and bold multimedia frameworks, they strip away romanticized, colonial expectations of Indigenous art. In pieces that merge cybernetic Warholian pop-art aesthetics with forensic family archives and state documentation, they use their spirit-driven geometry to reconstruct historical Half-Breed Scrip certificates and childhood surveillance documents into triumphant monuments of familial reclamation and futuristic survival. The climax of this series is crystallized in the high-concept piece, Altering Time With Light - a large-scale photo-canvas installation that weaponizes dawn light to permanently dissolve the power of state apprehension warrants.
Their major touring solo exhibition, Transcendence, exploring themes of chaos theory, structural math, and ancestral astronomy, has anchored public galleries across Western Canada with the competitive backing of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Artist Statement
Exploration of cultural identity. This is how my voyage with loom beading tapestries emerged. Colour, materials and textures are guided by spirit; my hands flow with direction of that which cannot be seen but is there in celestial essence and in my reality.
I use traditional loom beadwork for the purpose of passing on cultural knowledge, language, oral stories, for a spiritual connection to my Ancestors and as a daily tincture to cure the body and mind. I have developed my own methods and techniques through experimentation for creating large loom beaded tapestries that unite two cultures, complimenting one another, for the next seven generations and beyond of community and family while honouring the previous seven generations. I am at oneness while I am creating, and this process has given me a new perspective on life. It is with great gratitude I acknowledge this canoe journey has guided me to a good place and the Ancestors will continue paddling alongside me to help me navigate through the waters.
CV
Solo Exhibitions
- S'íwes te Tém:éxw (Teachings of the Earth) Manitoba Arts Network Touring exhibition Sept. 2026 – Jan. 2028
- Loom Beaded HustkaKookum Scarf Project in Weaving Exhibition at Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Saskatoon Sept. 2026-Sept. 2027
- Transcendence at Canadian Pacific Gallery Port Moody BC Sept 10 – Oct 5, 2026
- A Fusion of Traditions at Prairie Fusion Gallery, Manitoba Aug 4, 2026 – Sept 10, 2026
- Transcendence at The Gallery of ST. Albert Alberta June 4, 2026 – July 18, 2026
- Transcendence at Gallert@501, Strathcona County, Alberta March 10, 2026 – April 25, 2026
- Canada, Here We Are! Ukrainian exhibit at Chilliwack Museum and Archives Feb 2 – May 16, 2026
- Evolution of Beadwork at Odlum Brown Gallery Chilliwack, BC December 10, 2025 – Jan 17, 2026
- Transcendence at Ranger Station Gallery Harrison Hot Springs, BC Oct 4 – Oct 26, 2025
- A Fusion of Traditions at Dal Schindell Gallery Vancouver Sept 17, 2025 – Oct 29, 2025
- Transcendence at The Gallery at Queens Park New West, BC Sept 3, 2025 – Sept 27, 2025
- Spirit Maps at VIVA Alliance Vancouver, BC July 18 – August 5, 2025
- Transcendence at The Alternator Center of Contemporary Art Kelowna, BC May 30, 2025 –July 11, 2025
- A Fusion of Traditions at the Art Gallery of St. Albert, Alberta April 29, 2025 - July 26, 2025
- A Fusion of Traditions at Massy Art Gallery Vancouver June 5, 2024 – Aug 8, 2024
- O:xwest kw’e Shxweli la ye Mestiyexw, The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford, BC Sept 2022 to January 2023.
- S’iwes te Siyelyolexwalh, The Ranger Station Gallery, Harrison Hot Springs, BC From April 2022 to May 2022
Group Exhibitions
- CICA Vancouver International Emerging to Mid-career Art Awards Sept 11 – Oct 4, 2025
- On Origin Stories VIVA Alliance at Roundhouse Gallery Vancouver, BC Sept 3 – Sept 10, 2026
- A Celebration of Indigenous Artistry, Amelia Douglas Gallery, New West Sept 17, 2024 - Nov 1, 2024
- A Canoe is an Island, Gachet Gallery Vancouver Feb 2, 2024 - March 22, 2024
- Our Home on Native Land, CityScape Gallery, North Van from Sept 2023 to Nov 2023
- Bead by Bead at Meteque Atelier D’Art, Montreal, Quebec from November 2020 to Jan 2021
Grants Awarded and Recognition
- CICA Vancouver Emerging to Mid-career artist awards shortlisted artist November 2025
- Canada Council for the Arts, Research and Creation grant for Interlake Region Manitoba Michiss/Michif research and loom beaded tapestries November 2025
- Canada Council for the Arts, Research and Creation grant for loom beaded Hustka/Kookum scarves June 2025
- Canada Council for the Arts, Research and Creation grant for “Transcendence” series February 2025
- Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Across Canada Touring and Circulation for, “A Fusion of Traditions” October 2024
Public Art and Collections
- Commission for seven loom beaded tapestry artworks. Seabird Island Band cultural center. November 2022
- Commission for loom beaded tapestry. GroundWood Books, My Name is Seepeetza 30th Anniversary Edition book cover. December 2021
Singing Performances
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at UFV incoming President’s Installation ceremony Oct. 24, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Chilliwack Cultural Centre Truth and Reconciliation event Sept 29, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Controlled Chaos Music Festival Chilliwack, BC July 5, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Coquihalla Elementary, BC June 20, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) SD33 Indigenous Education awards, BC May 17, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) Skwa First Nation, BC March 18, 2025
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) Step in the Right Direction production Nov. 29, 2024
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at GW Graham Secondary, BC Sept. 25, 2024
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Maple Ridge, BC GETIFest on Sept. 21, 2024
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Kent Elementary School Agassiz, BC June 18, 2024
- Artist Response Team, Ey St’elmexw St’elt’ilem (Good Medicine Songs) at Abbotsford, BC June 15 and 16, 2024.
Teaching Experience
- Halq’emeylem language teacher for School District 78 Fraser Cascade 2022-present
- Indigenous Education Cultural worker for School District 78 Fraser Cascade 2018-present
Artist Talks
- VIVA Alliance Medias Res Gallery July 2025
- Gallery @501 Strathcona County, Alberta March 2026
Commissions...
- Commission for seven loom beaded tapestry artworks. Seabird Island Band cultural center. November 2022
- Commission for loom beaded tapestry. Ground Wood Books, My Name is Seepeetza 30th Anniversary Edition book cover. December 2021
Buy their work...
Please contact artist for any inquiries.
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