Carl Beam

Carl Beam RCA (May 24, 1943 – July 30, 2005), born Carl Edward Migwans, was an Indigenous Canadian multi-media artist whose acclaimed career confronted Canada's colonial legacy through innovate means of creativity. His work engaged with the contemporary issues and experiences of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.^[1] Beam made Canadian art history as the first artist of Indigenous Ancestry (Ojibwe), to have his work purchased by the National Gallery of Canada as Contemporary Art. A major retrospective of his work was organized by the National Gallery of Canada in 2010. He worked in various photographic mediums, mixed media, oil, acrylic, spontaneously scripted text on canvas, works on paper, Plexiglas, stone, cement, wood, handmade ceramic pottery, and found objects, in addition to etching, lithography, and screen process.