Hosted by the Women & Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto
Winnipeg – based Métis multidisciplinary artist Jaime Black will be an artist in residency at the University of Toronto, hosted by the Women & Gender Studies Institute (WGSI). Jaime addresses the complexities of history, gender, place, identity, and resistance under settler colonialism through the artistic mediums of photography, sculpture, print, and installation.
Her 2010 installation piece, The REDress Project, can be described as an aesthetic response to the 12,000+ missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Turtle Island. The installation comprises the public display of hundreds of red dresses, to create ‘encounters’ with the disappeared and to mark their absence, sparking visceral reactions to their loss. The work aims to create space for public discussion and dialogue around the intersections of racism, misogyny and colonialism that are responsible for the precarious and dangerous position of Indigenous women in Canadian society.
Exploring themes of memory, identity and resilience, Conversations with the Land (2016) activates elements of land art, performance and installation to attend to relationships between the land and the body. Mobilizing several modalities of creation, Conversations centers remembering and valuing cultural ties to the land. “In many ways, Conversations with the Land works in contrast to The REDress Project. I wanted to find the places where we are strong, to remember and honour the ties we have to the land. For me the land is where I remember my strength and find connection and healing” (Black, 2016).
WGSI is excited to announce that we will be hosting Jaime Black for an artist residency from March 16th – March 22nd. The residency will feature both The REDress Project and Conversations with the Land. In addition, there will be a number of exciting and important events taking place. [PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS]. This event has been co-convened by Dr. Karyn Recollet and Melissa Nesrallah (PhD Student, WGSI).
Not only is this Jaime’s initial showing for the Toronto community, but this residency will mark the first time that these important pieces have been shown together as one fluid installation.
An official poster/program will be released soon! So keep an eye out!
Contact Information:
Official Email: wearetheland2017@gmail.com
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter- be sure to check back regularly.
Official Twitter: @WeAreTheLandTO
Official Instagram: WeAreTheLand_2017
Official Facebook page: @WeAreTheLand2017
Official hashtags: #WeAreTheLandTO #WeAreTheLand2017 #WeAreTheLand_2017
Note: Please RSVP to the events on our Facebook event page!
We Are The Land – Official Program
Opening Gathering:
When: March 17th from 5:00pm-8:00pm
Where: William Doo Auditorium, New College, 45 Willcocks Street
What: Opening Gathering/Reception for Jaime Black’s Artist Residency: We Are The Land.
(Featuring: Welcoming remarks, Artist Talk with Jamie Black, performance by Tahnee Bennet, Silent Auction, Indigenous artisans/vendors, food from Tea & Bannock, and more)
Film Screening: Lisa Jackson’s Highway of Tears (CBC), Suckerfish, Snare, Parkdale, The Visit, Pow. Wow. Wow, and Savage + Q&A with filmmaker
When: March 18th from 6:00pm-9:00pm
Where: University College, Room UC 179 Media Room, 15 King’s College Circle
What: Screening of Lisa Jackson’s VR Highway of Tears. To be followed by Jackson’s Shorts: Parkdale, Snare, The Visit, Pow.wow.wow, and Savage. Also features guest respondents Susan Blight and Jennifer Alicia Murrin.
Followed by Q & A session with Lisa Jackson (Filmmaker)
Lisa Jackson`s Website: http://lisajackson.ca/
“Mohawk Girls” Episode Screening + Q & A with Maika Harper:
When: March 19th from 12:00pm-3:00pm
Where: WGSI Lounge, 40 Willcocks Street
What: In the TV series “Mohawk Girls,” four twenty-something Mohawk women are trying to find their place in the world. And, of course, trying to find love. But in a small world where you or your friends have dated everyone on the rez, or the hot new guy turns out to be your cousin, it ain’t that simple. Torn between family pressure, tradition, obligation and the intoxicating freedom of the “outside world,” this fabulous foursome is on a mission to find happiness… and to find themselves.
Join us for a free episode screening and Q & A session with Inuk actress Maika Harper.
Official TV Series Website: http://aptn.ca/mohawkgirls/
Artist Talk: Jaime Black on The REDress Project & Conversations with the Land:
When: March 20th from 12:00pm-2:00pm
Where: University College, Room UC 140 Balcony Amphitheatre, 15 King’s College Circle
What: Jaime Black is a Métis multidisciplinary artist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Through the mediums of photography, sculpture, print, and installation she addresses the complexities of history, gender, place, identity, and resistance under settler colonialism. In this artist talk she will be discussing the installations The REDress Project and Conversations with the Land.
Followed by Q & A session with the artist. Moderated by Andrea Derbecker.
Panel Discussion: Indigenous Futurities – Land, Territories, and Belonging:
When: March 20th from 3:00pm-5:00pm
Where: William Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks Street
What: This panel offers a discussion of cultural productions meaningful to the exercise of decolonial futures. We explore forms of ‘urban glyphing’ as ways to speak about kinstilatory relations of Indigenous cultural producers and expressions of decolonial love. Invited artists and activists will share their rematriative processes of mapping decolonial love in our cities through their chosen artistic forms.
Panel Speakers: Jaime Black, Lisa Jackson, Nyla Innuksuk, Monique Mojica, and Susan Blight
Moderator: Karyn Recollet
Teach-in & Migrant Dreams Screening @ OISE
When: March 20th from 6:00pm-9:00pm
Where: Nexus Lounge, 12th Floor OISE, 252 Bloor Street West
What: Join us for a film screening of Migrant Dreams, a locally produced documentary that tells the untold story of migrant agricultural workers who are struggling under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Screening will be followed with a panel discussion to discuss the relationship between migration, labour, and Indigenous land.
We Are The Land – Guided Walking Tour
When: March 21st from 10am-12pm
Where: Meeting in front of Wilson Hall, New College, 40 Willcocks Street
What: Guided walking tour of Jaime’s various activation site concluding at First Nations House, to experience Conversations with the Land.
Workshop: Glyphing Decolonial Love in Tkaronto:
When: NEW TIME: March 21st from 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Where: Wilson Hall Lounge, New College, 40 Willcocks Street
What: This workshop invites community members, activists, organizers, and those interested in the potentials of mapping- to turn our intentions towards the land and be generative about how we are in love with our futures. What does it mean, perhaps to map kinstillatory futures?
Special Guests: Karyn Recollet, Jaime Black, Maika Harper, Nazbah Tom, and Jenny Blackbird.
We Are The Land – Public Workshop/Activation:
When: March 22nd at 12:00pm
Where: Philosopher’s Walk, University of Toronto
What: Jaime Black and the graduate students in Indigenous Decolonial Aesthetics WGSI 1025 will be showcasing a new piece of performance art. More details to come!
(This performance is located outdoors)
Closing Gathering:
When: March 22nd from 5:00pm-8:00pm
Where: William Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks Street
What: Closing Gathering/Reception for Jaime Black’s Artist Residency: We Are The Land.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Jaime will not be at the closing gathering, however we will be playing video recordings of her messages.
(Featuring: Provocations & responses to the past week’s events, Silent Auction, Indigenous artisans/vendors, food from Tea & Bannock, and more)
Note: All of the events are free and open to the public. There will be a designated children`s art table at each event. ASL services will be provided. All of the venues are accessible spaces.
Some of the subject matter of We Are the Land could be triggering or difficult to process.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here is a list of supports that you can access at the University of Toronto and wider community.
For a Safe, Quiet Space visit the Meditation Room of the
Multi-Faith Centre – 569 Spadina Avenue
Open every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Indigenous medicines available
Artist Installation Sites
