Geneviève Hallé

Québec City, Canada

“Art has given me a space to channel my energy, and each brushstroke is a way
to reclaim the freedom to be in control and explore new horizons.”

Geneviève’s (she/her/hers) journey to becoming an artist is one of grit, resilience, and passion. Despite being diagnosed with severe scoliosis as a teenager, Geneviève had an unquenchable thirst for athletic pursuits. She first trained as a gymnast in a sports-study program during high school, then worked as a gymnastics coach. While passionate about gymnastics, Geneviève also developed an immediate love for snowboarding—a sport that gave her an incredible sense of freedom.

When she entered college, Geneviève gave up gymnastics to devote herself fully to her studies in graphic design and her passion for snowboarding. After graduating and moving to Whistler, she continued to pursue both, landing a graphic design contract with the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival and competing professionally as a snowboarder.

During the qualifying round of the 2001 US Open—one of the most prestigious snowboarding competitions at the time—Geneviève fell and couldn’t get up. She was airlifted to the hospital and quickly underwent surgery to repair damage to her vertebrae. Suddenly, she received the diagnosis of paraplegia and was unable to walk.

With an athlete's spirit, Geneviève saw this new situation as a challenge to tackle. She and her boyfriend soon moved back to Whistler—back to athletic pursuits, and back to growing her graphic design portfolio. “I have learned that the only real limit is the one we impose on ourselves. Believing in yourself, even when others doubt you, opens doors you never imagined.” She embraced her new mobility, diving into adaptive skiing and adaptive mountain biking.

Art has always been an integral part of Geneviève’s life and regained prominence as she progressed in her rehabilitation. In addition to graphic design, she began leaning into photography and painting. She shares, “There’s joy in handling paint, exploring materials, and creating something tangible. I love the contrast between initial doubt and exploration and the deep immersion that follows, where time stops. The satisfaction when the final result surprises even me!”

Geneviève’s art is adventurous and vibrant, filled with graphic motifs of mountains, sunsets, bodies of water, and the silhouettes of a figure—often interpreted as her athletic spirit rendered in color on canvas. “I love exploring and experimenting. I struggle to confine myself to just one approach. However, when looking at my body of work as a whole, you can clearly see the influence of my background in graphic design. My art is a mix of structured abstraction, often punctuated with graphic elements inspired by nature. You could say my work has character—it’s colorful and marked by strong contrasts.”

Determined to improve accessibility on multiple levels, Geneviève has many successful endeavors and projects in the works, including co-creating Be Wheeling, a website featuring workout videos for people with reduced mobility. As always, she adapts to challenges with creativity and a design-thinking mindset. She credits her studies in graphic design with providing a solid foundation, the snowboard culture with shaping her athletic and artistic identity, and even the aftermath of her accident with broadening her perspective and fueling her inspiration—especially through the pride of seeing one of her first artworks printed on a snowboard.

She remains excited and hopeful about the new opportunities that ArtLifting will bring—sharing her artwork, advocating for accessibility, and building her creative community.