Michèle Pearson Clarke is a Trinidad-born artist, writer and educator. Working primarily in photography and video, her work situates grief as a site of possibility for social engagement and political connection. Based in Toronto, she holds an MSW from the University of Toronto, and in 2015 she received her MFA in Documentary Media Studies from Ryerson University. Her work has been included in exhibitions and screenings at Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia; the Royal Ontario Museum; LagosPhoto Festival; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Maryland Institute College of Art; ltd los angeles; and Ryerson Image Centre and Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Art, Toronto.

Most recently, Clarke was the inaugural 2020-2021 artist-in-residence at the University of Toronto’s Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, and her work was added to the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Currently, she is serving as the second Photo Laureate for the City of Toronto (2019-2023), and she has forthcoming solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Mercer Union (Toronto) in 2022.