About Lois Klassen

Lois Klassen is an artist, writer and researcher based on Coast Salish Territory (traditional and unceded) in what is referred to as Vancouver. Known for long-range projects that invite and engage participants in collective actions, Klassen’s projects deliberately face ethical demand by way of social, aesthetic and material methods. The project, Reading the Migration Library, invites collaborations in the publishing and distribution of pamphlets, chapbooks and ‘zines with content related to current and historic approaches to human migration. This project and Klassen’s small press, Light Factory Publications, follow her long-standing involvement in mail art and open cultural networks. Lois Klassen’s academic research focuses on ethics and participatory research and art practices—a topic she covers for the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards Circle of Experts. She was a 2020 Fulbright Fellow at University of Texas in El Paso (Center for Inter-American Border Studies and the Ruben Center for the Visual Arts). She completed a PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University in 2019, a Master of Applied Art at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and a Diploma of Art History from University of British Columbia. Lois Klassen serves as the coordinator of the Emily Carr University Research Ethics Board.