NWT Arts

Shona Barbour is a quilter and textile artist originally from Yellowknife, living for many years in Inuvik and now back living and sewing in Yellowknife. She has had a love of crafts since a very young age, as a child usually choosing craft projects over dolls on most occasions. In the mid- 1990s Shona was fortunate to be part of a strong fine arts program at Sir John Franklin High School (Yellowknife, NT), guided by art teacher Mrs. Betty Wilcox. Although originally planning on entering a college graphic design program Shona choose to pursue her academics at the University of Alberta. It was during her time at the University of Alberta, studying Native Studies and enrolling in many art history classes, that she began quilting and working with fabrics. Shona is attracted to quilting through its fabrics, colour, graphic patterns, and necessity for patience.

Shona was a founding member and President of the Inuvik Quilting Guild from 2006-2017 and a previous NWT Regional Representative with the Canadian Quilters Association (CQA). She has taught classes with the Inuvik Quilting Guild, Open Sky Festival in Fort Simpson, Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik and The Quilted Raven in Yellowknife. Shona won a CQA Judges Choice Award at the 2018 Quilt Canada. Her fabric basket making, felting, art quilting, and fabric dyeing is an extension of her love for traditional quilting and interest in utilitarian arts and usable art. For Shona traditional quilting and other textile arts provide art and design within everyday living; bedding, sleeping, gathering, storage, organization, and warmth.

In Fall 2025, Shona began online/distance studies towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC. These studies will continue her lifelong learning of art and design fundamentals and foundations that she hopes to bring into new and upcoming textile projects. Shona continues to explore and experiment with improv quilting and playing with solid colour and abstract shape in her own personal work. She is currently working with the Tamarack Textile Group as they prepare for upcoming shows in Summer 2025. She is part of an art collective applying for a potential art show at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, NT for Spring 2026; titled Flame, Charred, Rebirth and based on the experiences of the 2023 forest fire evacuation. Shona is also on the planning committee for the 2026 Fiber Art Network Conference to be held in Yellowknife, NT.