David Fortin is one of the first people of Indigenous heritage to direct a school of architecture in Canada, and he is the only person to twice co-curate Canada’s official entry to the Venice Biennale (2018, 2023). An architect and professor at the University of Waterloo, he has taught architectural history, theory, and design in the UK, U.S., and Canada and leads a boutique design practice primarily working with First Nations and Métis communities across Canada. Fortin’s research investigates the intersections between Indigenous knowledge, design practice, pedagogy and speculative thinking, while his current teaching focuses on what reconciliation means for design. Born and raised in the Canadian prairies, Fortin is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Previous