Kate Craig

Kate Craig (September 15, 1947 – July 23, 2002) was a Canadian video and performance artist, costume designer and a photographer.

Catherine Shand Craig was born on September 15, 1947, in Victoria, British Columbia.

She was the third child of Sidney Osborne Craig (née Scott) and Charles Edward Craig.

Her parents divorced in 1956.

In 1960, her mother married Douglas Shadbolt, an architect and brother of the painter Jack Shadbolt.

The family moved to Montreal and then to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Craig attended Dalhousie University starting in 1961.

Craig quit her studies at Dalhousie in 1966 and began attending the University of Victoria the year after.

Craig met the artist Eric Metcalfe at the University of Victoria, whom she married in 1969, as well as artist Dana Achtley who got her involved in the mail-art scene

In 1969, he created a mail art persona called "Dr. Brute", and Craig became "Lady Brute" also known as "Lady Barbara Brute."

This collaborative project created the fictional world of "Brutopia."

Their collection of leopard material filled this world and the characters examined the foibles of western society.

Lady Brute continued to make appearances and participate in exhibitions through the 1970s.

Craig and Metcalfe moved to Vancouver around 1971, where, along with friends and fellow artists Michael Morris, Vincent Trasov and Glenn Lewis, and composer Martin Bartlett, and architect Mo Van Nostrand, writer Henry Greenhow, they bought the space called the Knights of Pythias Lodge at 303 East 8th Ave, that became the Western Front in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver.

Craig was, notably, the only female-identifying co-founder of Western Front.

In 1972, Lady Brute appeared as the "Picture of the Week" in an issue of FILE magazine and marched in the Victoria Day parade in Victoria, B.C. Her performances were usually informal, happening in the real world rather than on stage.

She would attend an opening or a dinner in her leopard regalia and that was the performance.

She was a founding member of the artist-run centre the Western Front, in 1973, and artists-in-residence program in 1977.

She supported the video and performance works of many artists while producing her own body of work.

She is known for her performances such as "Lady Brute," and for her video works.

Craig and Metcalfe separated in 1973, but continued to work together on collaborative projects.

As a couple they worked on projects with Metcalfe, Lewis, Patrick Ready, Margaret Dragu and many others.

In the fall of 1973, Craig met artist Hank Bull and they would begin a relationship.

In addition to her role as the visual and performance artist, video and film maker, she designed costumes for herself or other artists which were worn in numerous performances.

In 1974 she performed "Flying Leopard" in Vancouver at Cates Park, and again on Hornby Island.

In 1974, Craig was a founding member of the "ettes", a women's "postfeminist" performance group.

They performed as the "Peanettes" during Mr. Peanut's campaign for mayor of Vancouver.

She was a founder of the Lux Radio Players in 1974, a group involved in the collaborative writing and production of radio plays performed for live audiences and broadcast throughout North America over community radio stations until 1977.

In 1975 she produced her first video, "Skins: Lady Brute presents her Leopardskin Wardrobe".

In that same year she and Metcalfe curated the exhibition "Spots Before Your Eyes" at the Western Front and A Space.

They also performed as the Coconettes and the Vignettes in 1975.

She was also a founding member of The Canadian Shadow Players in 1976, performing nationally and internationally until 1986.

Craig established and curated the Western Front's Artist-in Residence video program from 1977 to 1993.

In 1980 and 1981 Craig and Bull traveled through Indonesia, India, Africa, and Europe, performing Around The World in Over 365 Days.

Craig married Bull in 1990 at her parents' home.

Craig was passionate about her administrative and facilitative duties at Western Front, including vigilant record keeping, and believed it to be an integral part of her artistic practice.

Craig spent the late 1990s preparing for a major retrospective of her work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, entitled Skin.

Craig's "idea of performance was always informed by community and based on thinking life is an art project", even at end of her life.

Even after retiring from her position as Curator of Media Arts in 1993, she kept up her involvement with the day-to-day duties at Western Front.

She died of cancer in Storm Bay, British Columbia, in 2002.

Eric Metcalfe was a fine arts student at the University of Victoria and Craig was drawn to his circle of artists and performers.