Michael “CY” Cywink is an internationally acclaimed artist born in Little Current (Manitoulin Island), Ontario.
He’s a graduate from the Museum Studies Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, New Mexico). He was first published in 2006 with his short story The Adventures of Crazy Turtle and has been exhibiting his artwork since 1979.
His broad repertoire includes interning with Walt Disney Imagineering and then becoming a First Nations cultural consultant with Disney's America theme park project.
Further internships include:
Michael was an art coordinator with the Wiikwemikoong Art Gallery and a curator for the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation. He’s also a registered band member to the Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island.
Artistic memberships include:
He currently resides in Espanola, Ontario.
“I have always been actively involved in the community development of First Nations cultural arts. My learning of the “Indigenous Creative Process” began in my early teens. This interest drew me to various locations around North America to study symbolic interpretation.
“Art, in all its hidden conceptions, seems to me a vehicle used to transport ideas beyond mere sight. Art in itself contains all viable possibilities in expressions.
“Perhaps it's easier to say, ‘I like to paint and experiment with creative processes.’ As it stands today, I carry a versatility of art techniques and design development. These learnings have also allowed me to utilize art in a therapeutic manner with children and adults within the mosaic cultures.”
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