Colleen Wolstenholme was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1963. She became interested in the visual arts during her first semester studying fashion design at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) and decided to make a career in that field. After completing her bachelor’s degree in the fine arts at NSCAD in 1986, she continued her studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz, receiving a master’s degree there in 1992. A finalist for the 2002 Sobey Art Award, she has taught at NSCAD, the State University of New York and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work has been the subject of many solo exhibitions, including at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, Art Gallery of Calgary and Encomium Contemporary Art in Toronto, as well as featured in numerous group shows, among others at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut, The Horse Hospital in London, England, and ProjectGreen in Brooklyn. Her art is included in the collections of such major museums as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and National Gallery of Canada. Colleen Wolstenholme lives and works in Hansport, Nova Scotia.