BIO

COURTNEY M. LEONARD (Shinnecock, b.1980) is a multimedia artist and filmmaker from the Shinnecock Nation in Long Island, New York. As a contributor to the Offshore Art Movement, Leonard’s practice investigates narratives of cultural viability as a reflection of environmental record. Her work is guided and embodies multiple definitions of “breach,” leading to exploration and documentation of historical ties to water, whale, and material sustainability.

Recent solo exhibitions include her mid-career survey COURTNEY M. LEONARD: Logbook 2004–2023 at The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, (NY); a site responsive installation BREACH: Logbook 24 | SCRIMSHAW at New Bedford Whaling Museum, (MA); and BREACH: Logbook 24| STACCATO, based on a collaborative multi-year scientific study of the life and remains of Staccato, a deceased female Right whale, at UMCA, Amherst, MA. Leonard is a current artist fellow of the Coha Nowark Art + Science Residency program at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences, UC Santa Cruz where her residency and research with community and scientists will culminate in an exhibition and public programs on the intersections of art, science, and social justice in Fall 2027.

Leonard’s work is in numerous permanent collections including the Brooklyn Museum, (NY); Mead Art Museum, Amherst, (MA) Hood Museum, Hanover (NH), Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, (CA), LACMA, Los Angeles (CA), Heard Museum, Phoenix, (AZ), Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, (MA). Artist residencies include the Andy Warhol Preserve, Montauk (NY), the Robert Rauschenberg Residency (FL) and the Santa Fe Art Institute Water Rights Art Residency (NM), and The Rasmuson Foundation (AK), among many others.