Arthur Renwick is part of a new generation of First Nations artists active in diverse areas of the fine art system, using it to obtain greater exposure and a more nuanced level of discourse on Native issues. Renwick studied photography at Vancouver's Emily Carr College of Art and Design (1989) and Concordia University in Montréal (M.F.A., 1993). He often utilizes the Northwest Coast totem form strategically reinvented to contain photos commenting on issues of personal and community identity, the reclamation of land and culture and the damaging legacy of uninvited colonial presence. Renwick has worked as a research assistant at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (1989), and photographed artists for the INDIGENA exhibition catalogue. He served on the advisory board for the exhibition New Territories: 350/500 Years After (1992), and on the board of the Toronto Photographer’s workshop. In 1993, he completed an orientation program at the National Gallery of Canada, and a curatorial internship at The Power Plant in Toronto from 1993 to 1995. From then until 1998, he worked as assistant curator to Gerald McMaster at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec.
