Simone Elizabeth Saunders (she/her) is a textile artist based in Mohkinstsis - Calgary, Canada.
She holds a B.F.A. with Distinction from the Alberta University of Arts in 2020.
Her textiles are hand tufted in the medium of rug-making using a punch-needle and tufting machine.

Saunders explores themes of the diaspora, ancestorship and Black womanhood. Her colourful textiles highlight motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage and engage with socio-cultural factors reclaiming power from oppressive ideologies. Saunders has a career in the theatre arts, a previous B.F.A. from the University of Alberta’s Acting Conservatory. Weaving her theatre experiences and integrating dramatism and story-telling within her creations - Simone uplifts narratives of Black joy and resilience. 

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Simone was named one of 20 "top Compelling Calgarians for 2022". She was awarded the National Winner for the Bank of Montreal's 1st Art Competition in 2020. Simone has been internationally featured, select media credits include: Studio Magazine, Create Magazine, Canada's House&Home Magazine, CBC Arts, CBCq, Studio Magazine, Boooooom, Uppercase Magazine, Love Embroidery (UK), Pom-Pom Magazine (England), Textiel Plus (Netherlands), FairLady (South Africa), Surface Design Journal, Colossal and DesignMilk (USA).

Recent exhibitions include the Minneapolis Art Institute (Minnesota), the Mint Museum (North Carolina), Contemporary Calgary, the Alberta Craft Council for the Arts and Art Museum University of Toronto. Saunders has been collected by several international museums and several solo exhibitions
are in the works for the fall...stay tuned! 

EXPO CHICAGO 
APRIL 7th - 10th , 2022

u•n•i•t•y

Thank you to all who came out to see the exhibition at 
 CONTEMPORARY CALGARY

TBA - where this exhibition will be showcased next! stay tuned! 

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Four Queens, 2020. Photo by Jesse Tamayo

Hand-Tufted Textiles

Vibrant Designs

one-of-a-kind, carefully hand-crafted
with tufting machine and punch needle.