barclay rose
A multi-disciplinary artist passionate about community arts and participatory media, I’ve worked with non-profit organizations locally and internationally to facilitate art and media workshops, create promotional videos, and support the building of healthy creative communities.
In 2017 I co-founded The Ou Gallery with my (soon-to-be) husband, Donovan Rose. Over the next seven years, I curated our exhibitions, developed our Artist Residency, organized creative workshops, hosted live music events and edited a number of short films (some which can be viewed here).
An emerging author, I am currently working on a memoir about the last two months of my mother and I’s relationship in the face of her terminal breast cancer as I entered my last trimester of pregnancy, and my own breast cancer diagnosis a year later.
In 2025 my short story Out of Love made the CBC Nonfiction prize long-list. The readers noted: "Preparing for the imminent arrival of your first child while making room for your mother to move in as she deals with the final stages of aggressive breast cancer is as difficult as it sounds, but this story weaves together the frontier of two lives in a way that is, ultimately, heartwarming." Judge Helen Knott wrote, “I cried.”
To contact me, please complete the form at the bottom of the page.
Photograph by Bojan Josic
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Writing
2025
Out of Love. Long-listed for the CBC Nonfiction Prize.
2022
A Longing. Shortlisted for the International Amy Award for Memoir and described by Judge Elizabeth Rosner as “tenderly crafted with vividness and a bittersweet emotional texture.”
Rosie. Semi-finalist for the Shevchenko Foundation Emerging Writers Short Prose Competition
Photography
2020
Album Cover. Dan Challis,No Lonely Road
2019
Artist Portraits. Cowichan Artisans, 2019-2020 Studio Tour Brochure
2017
Cover Image. The Salish Sea Sentinel, Vol. 13, Issue 3.
Assignments for The Salish Sea Sentinel, Vol. 13, Issues 8, 9, 10.
2016
Assignments for The Salish Sea Sentinel, Vol. 12 Issue 8, 9.
Album Photography. Blue Moon Marquee, Gypsy Blues
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2019
Retratos. Paintings. Solo show at Gallery Merrick, Nanaimo B.C.
2018
Dmytruk. Found Objects, Sculpture and Drawings. Solo show at Arc.Hive, Victoria B.C.
Portraits. Paintings. Group show at Gallery Merrick, Nanaimo B.C.
2017
Art is Hard. Installation with found objects. Group show at The Ou Gallery, North Cowichan, B.C.
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2020-2022
The Ou Shorts. Documentary Films of Artists in Residence. The Ou Gallery, North Cowichan, B.C. Canada
2022
Blue Moon Ballad. Documentary Film. Blue Moon Marquee, North Cowichan, B.C. Canada
2021
Hard Times Hit Parade. Music Video. Blue Moon Marquee, North Cowichan, B.C. Canada
2019
Miss Ellen Q: A Drag Love Story. Performed at various locations including The Harbour City Theatre, Nanaimo, B.C. Canada
2018
Burning Field. Supporting Camera for Mila Panic, Reflektor Gallery, Uzice, Serbia
2017
Youth Leadership Gathering. Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
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2020
Penelakut First Nation Elementary School Ferry Shelter, Penelakut Island, B.C.
2013
InsideOut Photography and Painting Murals with youth, multiple locations in Trujillo, Peru
2011
International Women’s Day Mural in Cotonou, Benin
2006
Bedford Row Mural and Award, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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2016
Participatory Video Facilitation Course with InsightShare, Oxford, UK
2012
Master of Arts degree with Honours in Gender and Media in International Development, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
Practical Media & Broadcasting Course, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
2013
Communications Officer with Supporting Kids in Peru, Trujillo, Peru
Created new audio-visual training materials and manuals
Taught media and photography classes in Spanish
Organised community events and fundraisers including a photography exhibition of student works
2012
Workshop Facilitator with Firefly International Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Created and ran arts and language workshops including: English and Spanish classes for adults and children, youth media workshops and a summer camp
Organised and hosted a Future Shorts Film Festival, developed the first issue of a youth magazine and created a stop-motion animation film with youth participants
sample works
click on images below to enlarge
