Project Award 2025

Andrea Nelson will create a traveling collection of textile taxidermy, using natural, broken and salvaged textiles to reflect on narratives about the fur trade history in the North and to tell stories about this greater historical narrative. Nelson’s work aims to blur the lines between art and history, and Indigenous and colonial ownership of fur as a subsistence item, décor, status symbol and fashion accessory.

When asked what she would like the public to know, Nelson responded, “The central materials in my compositions are salvaged amongst the natural, broken and abandoned. The known and unknown past of these objects build layers of significance. It is my aim to express facets of these layers and generate intrigue through their modification and arrangement.”

(Left to right) “Royal Replacements: Ermine,” 2024, textile taxidermy ermine form on a driftwood mount clothed in wool, leather, glass beads and porcupine quillwork; “Domestication: Red Fox,” 2024, textile taxidermy fox form on a cottonwood bark mount clothed in red fox pelt, an antique alphabet sampler, upholstery and cloth; “The Temptations of Paris: Arctic Fox,” 2024, textile taxidermy fox form on a chair arm mount clothed in arctic fox pelt, rabbit fur, rabbit fur ruff, Nelson’s great-grandmother’s lace collar, lace, a leather shoe part, antique fabrics and upholstery cloth.