Nancy Hall Biography

Traditionally, women's work goes unnoticed and uncelebrated outside the home (if, indeed, it is noticed there). I have taken a conventional form of textile production — hooked rugs made from recycled materials — and moved it out of the usual areas of expression. No lighthouses or family pets for me. I want the whole world to see that even in a rag rug a woman can speak her mind, reveal her soul, and revel in the absurdity of life.

Making rugs is women's work; shouting about it is unheard of. On behalf of all those unsung home artists, I try to make a big "noise" with colour and texture. My subject matter is a kind of blurred magic realism between my imagination and my life. You're as likely to find a rack of fantastical fish drying on a beach as two old biddies sunbathing; a still life of dying roses as a penis ladder; Yoko Ono's philosphy as Spinoza's. It's all there in these rugs.

• Solo Exhibitions
The Climb, October 2007, Crafthouse Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
Rags to Richness, October 2005, Gallery 1C03, University of Winnipeg
Tread Softly, December 2002, CraftSpace Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Group Exhibitions
Instructors' Art Show
Winnipeg Art Gallery Studio Programs, Winnipeg, MB, August, 2007
Womens Ways
Portage and District Art Centre, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, March, 2007
Emergence: North to South,
Leaf Rapids National Exhibition Centre, October, 2003; touring Manitoba, 2005/06.

• Juried Exhibitions
en feu—emerging Canadian artists in contemporary fine crafts
Conseil des Métiers d'art du Québec, Montréal, Québec, December 2007
Spring Juried Exhibition
Manitoba Crafts Council, 2008, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001

Awards
• Juror's Award
Manitoba Crafts Council Spring Juried Exhibition, 2008
• Special Juror's Award for Innovation
Manitoba Crafts Council Spring Juried Exhibition, 2005
•Judith Ryan Memorial Award for Best in Show
Manitoba Crafts Council Spring Juried Exhibition, 2004
• Two Juror's Awards for Excellence in Execution and Design
Manitoba Crafts Council Spring Juried Exhibition, 2002

Grants
Manitoba Arts Council Travel Grant, 2007
Manitoba Arts Council, 2006
Manitoba Arts Council, 2003

Media Coverage
• Carnet, Visual Art in Manitoba, Winter, 2006
• Winnipeg Free Press - Art Review, Lorne Roberts, November 3, 2005
Sorry, snobs—this is just good work, period
• Artichoke, Writings about the Visual Arts, Summer 2005,
Volume 17, Number 2, 2-page colour portfolio
• Going Places, CAA Manitoba Magazine, Winter 2005,
commissioned rug for cover; Art from the Interlake, Claudine Gervais
• CBC Radio, September 2, 2004
• Lisa Best's Night Life, Global Network, December 27, 2002
• Winnipeg Free Press, Art Review, Amy Karlinsky, December 19, 2002
Cast-off clothes yield funky, heartfelt rugs.