Region Category: Winnipeg

Vi Houssin is a transgender beadwork artist and drag performer. Her family is of white settler and Red River Métis ancestry. Her Métis family names are Ritchot, Poitras, Larence and Plante, and her ancestors held scrip in St. Vital and St. Boniface. She is a proud member of the Two-Spirit Michif Local and a citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation. Vi works and lives in Winnipeg, Canada on Treaty 1 territory where she was born and raised.

Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

I have an eclectic mix of interests reflected both in my personality and work. From Japanese pop culture and history, folklore, gaming, to gothic/cute street fashion and more! If I find it engaging and fun, I want a piece of it; I want my creative practices to be centered on joy!

I was raised on books and visual arts in all their myriad forms. So, of course, that's where my creative outlets flourished! From as early as grade one I was writing and illustrating, surprisingly tragic and dramatic, stories to share with my classmates and teachers.

I have one novel self-published, with more on the way, and several small pieces published in local libraries and such. My inspiration derives from whatever emerges from my head, be it in the form of dreams, random thoughts, or unexpected eureka moments.

I am a freelance pattern drafter, cutter, tailor, stitcher and general textile person. I mostly specialize in for trade era and war of 1812 British clothing, but I’ve also explored several different time periods, including the modern era. I work individual clients, historic sites as well as theater and film productions.