Arlea Ashcroft, a Metis multi-disciplinary artist from Treaty One Territory and the Homeland Of The Metis Nation, has sustained herself in Manitoba’s visual arts scene for over 20 years. She has received local, national, and international exposure through publication, broadcast and public presentation. Whether it be as guitarist for the now defunct punk band SHRIMP, smearing a brush across a canvas, or carefully exposing an image, Ashcroft always has a hard truth to reveal with a rock and roll smirk.
My work spans genres from experimental film, portraiture, photography, multimedia combinations of analog and digital creations. And goes beyond merely capturing a faithful likeness of a person place or thing, often tending towards a heightened illustrative nature. The physical process of creation is very organic usually being born from a desire to express and communicate stories and experiences that I have observed. Often the stories dictate their own mediums and ways of being told and I am just a conduit. My challenge as an artist is to capture a truth and present a moment of honesty that is stylistically revealing about the subject while satisfying my need to for self expression.
“Ashcroft is a multimedia creative dynamo and woman-about-town, having worked in theatre, film and music…..On one level, Ashcroft is documenting a specific social scene. In a larger sense, she’s challenging the usual dynamic of western art, in which woman is a passive object offered up to a male viewer… Ashcroft backs up this antagonistic stance with her painting technique, which is deliberately off-putting. Working acrylics and oils in garish, glaring colours, using harsh lines and sharp angles, Ashcroft keeps the viewer on edge.” Excerpt from Winnipeg Free Press – by Allison Gillmor
Interview from Nov 5, 2016 by Clint Roscoe –
on the evolution of Work, Creation, and Dreams
Interview in 2010 The Artist Nextdoor
Society6 SmAshcroft click here
Arlea Ashcroft 
I don’t deserve to make contact, but I’ve spent about 20 years remembering the power of your persona. You’re an archetype, a prototype, an example of how people can be their best. Simply put, you made my life better, in ( roughly) 2001 . You made my life better, and I appreciate that.
Tim Murphy, clumsy, appreciative roommate, 2001
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