Biography
of
Amanta Scott

Since 1985 Amanta has been creating Syncretic Art works integrating visual arts, music, theatre, movement, multimedia, mythology and contemporary archaeology.

Amanta Scott is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Leading Tone Arts Productions Inc., an innovative not-for-profit arts organization that promotes arts, environmental and cross-cultural awareness, educating through installations, exhibitions, workshops and performances around the world.

Born in Toronto, Amanta has travelled extensively, circumnavigating the world several times. During a year in Japan, Amanta lived in a traditional Japanese house in Fuchu, a suburb of Tokyo; and later in a one-room cabin on top of a mountain in the foothills of Mt. Fuji: creating artworks and learning the language. Upon returning to Canada, she moved from a funky coach-house in downtown Toronto to a studio on the windy sunset shores of Lake Scugog, where she lived for nine years. Amanta has now returned to settle in Toronto.

In 1994 the Government of Japan - Agency for Cultural Affairs honoured Amanta with an Artist Fellowship Award which enabled her to live in Japan and study Japanese culture, music, art, theatre and dance - including master classes with renowned Buto Master Kazuo Ono.

In 1995 the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei commissioned Amanta to create a sound sculpture entitled O Canada?! for exhibition at the World Trade Center in Taiwan.

In 1995/6 Amanta Scott and collaborator D. Tomlinson became the first Canadian artists to be honoured with an Artist Fellowship Award from the Japan Foundation.

Amanta circled the globe researching dragons worldwide prior to creating Dragon Tango in Japan. For seven months she lived and worked amongst the clouds on top of a mountain near Mount Fuji. Dragon Tango toured Japan and was presented by the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo and the Hijikawa Wind Museum in Shikoku, Japan.

During her six-month Artist Fellowship from the Japan Foundation, Amanta lived in Japan on a mountain in the foothills of Mount Fuji; continued dragon research; developed Japanese language skills; practiced Zazen in the local temple at sub-zero temperatures; conducted arts workshops for local students; created the sound sculptures for Dragon Tango and created the textile work Tamashii no Kodama.

In addition, Ms. Scott collaborated with several Tokyo-based artists in a work presented at the Fuchu no Mori Gekijo Theatre in Tokyo.

In 1998 Dragon Tango was the featured exhibition at the Edmonton Art Gallery, the Singapore International Arts Festival and the Royal Ontario Museum.

A short film on Dragon Tango commissioned by Bravo Arts Network garnered three Gemini Award nominations and won the 1999 Gemini Award for Best Cinematography.

In 2000 the artist created Arising Phoenix, a unique art experience integrating visual art, music, theatre, mythology and archaeology. Arising Phoenix integrates the dramatic assembly of a sound sculpture installation with exciting percussion music played upon found objects, haunting vocalizations and movement. Arising Phoenix featured at the 2001 Earth day celebrations at the Ilan Cultural Centre in Taiwan and toured extensively across Ontario to art galleries, festivals and schools in 2002/3. Arising Phoenix was presented by the Music Gallery in Toronto in 2003 and featured at the National Gallery of Canada in April 2004.

The artist's work Glove Forest began in 1998 at the Edmonton Art Gallery as an installation of gloves donated from visitors. From there it was exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum as a series of hanging glove trees with the continued donation of gloves from visitors.

In 2002 Glove Forest evolved to become an interactive surround sound audio/video and sculpture installation addressing loss, our environment, and accountability.

Glove Forest was exhibited at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Thunder Bay Art Gallery in 2002; and at the Art Gallery of Algoma in 2003.

In 2004 Amanta was commissioned to create a series of works as part of an art/recycling initiative utilizing discarded materials provided by Public Works & Government Services Canada and Correctional Service of Canada. Entitled LockDown the art series features sculptures created with prison beds from Kingston Penitentiary for Women; door hardware, air vent diffusers, office dividers and other objects recycled from government buildings. LockDown was exhibited at the Art Gallery of Algoma in May 2005.