|
View Points More Than Bows and Arrows Discussion Pulls Together
Aboriginal Artists to Take Aim at Indigenous Stereotypes
November 12, 2008
at Harbourfront Centre
The View Points discussion series event More Than Bows and Arrows
explores historical Indigenous misconceptions and stereotypes through
Aboriginal artist responses to these false identities. Panelists
include internationally known musician and event producer John Kim
Bell, who established the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
and National Aboriginal Achievement Awards; Kent Monkman, whose
paintings, film/videos and performances bend both sexual and historical
perceptions and are currently touring in a large solo show to galleries
across the nation and Marc Nadjiwan; whose four albums with the
group Nadjiwan have resulted in touring and critical acclaim across
the U.S. and Canada and nominations for Canadian Aboriginal Music
Awards and Native American Music Awards.
Additional panelists include Gemini and Dora Award winning dancer/choreographer
Santee Smith and accomplished theatre and film actor Falen Johnson.
This View Points discussion is moderated by Toronto curator/producer
Kerry Swanson (imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, LIFT).
For decades many historians and non-Indigenous artists have portrayed
Indigenous people as the noble primitive wearing feathers and beads
while carrying bows and arrows. These misrepresentations have encouraged
the stereotypes placed on the First Peoples in this country. Over
the years, many Indigenous artists have tried to break down these
stereotypes as part of exploring what it means to be Indigenous.
More Than Bows and Arrows (a prelude event to the 2009 Planet IndigenUs
festival) takes place at Harbourfront Centre on Wednesday November
12 at 7 p.m. ($5 at the door, tickets also available in advance
online).
View Points is a contemporary culture discussion series focusing
on cultural issues and local, national and international current
affairs. For public information call 416-973-4000 or visit
www.harbourfrontcentre.com.
Harbourfront Centre is located 235 Queen's Quay West, Toronto, Ontario.
Planet IndigenUs is a free 10-day, international arts festival from
August 14 to 23, 2009 at Harbourfront Centre, the Woodland Cultural
Centre and at respected Arts organizations throughout the city.
It is co-produced by Brantford's Woodland Cultural Centre and Harbourfront
Centre. This multi-disciplinary festival will present Canadian professional
Aboriginal artists in an international context.and in 2009 will
present two weekends of music, dance, visual art, craft design,
theatre, literary art, performance art, film and an international
Indigenous art and food market. Weekday activities will include
artistic residencies, master classes, workshops and screenings,
literary readings, receptions, panel discussions and debates.
For more information visit
www.harbourfrontcentre.com/planetindigenus/
View Points' Biographies:
John Kim Bell has been making music and history since he was a child.
He is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Born on the Kahnawake Mohawk
Reserve in Quebec, Bell was conducting broadway musicals for such
luminaries as Gene Kelly and Vincent Price in New York City at the
young age of 18. He was the first Aboriginal person to ever conduct
a symphony orchestra (the Toronto Symphony) and also served as Apprentice
Conductor to Zubin Mehta at the New York Philharmonic where he met
and studied with the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. Impassioned
by the deplorable living conditions in reserves, Mr. Bell built
the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and established the
nationally televised National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.
Now in its 21st year, the Foundation has awarded more than $20 million
in scholarships to students. For more information visit www.johnkimbell.com
Falen Johnson is a Mohawk from Six Nations Reserve. She is a graduate
of George Brown Theatre School and has been involved with many festivals
in Toronto including Nightwood Theatre's Groundswell Festival, Factory
Theatre's CrossCurrents, and Native Earth Performing Arts' Weesageechak
Begins To Dance. Falen can be seen in the short film 133 Skyway
and last spring was seen in The Place Between, a co-production between
Cheyikwe Performance and Native Earth Performing Arts. She has recently
had the pleasure of joining Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble as
Associate Artist.
Kent Monkman is an artist of Cree ancestry who works with a variety
of mediums like painting, film/video, performance and installation.
A solo exhibition of his work was mounted by the Art Gallery of
Hamilton in 2007 and is now touring museums across Canada including
the Art Gallery of Victoria, Toronto's Museum of Contemporary Canadian
Art, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He has participated in various
international group exhibitions and his award-winning short film
and video works have been screened at international festivals including
Sundance, Berlin, and the Toronto International Film Festival. His
work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of
Canada, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Museum London, The Mackenzie
Art Gallery, the Woodland Cultural Centre, the Indian Art Centre,
and the Canada Council Art Bank. For more information visit:
www.gallery.ca/cybermuse/showcases/meet/artist_e.jsp?artistid=26919
Marc Nadjiwan was born in northern Manitoba, raised in Northwestern
Ontario and now lives in Toronto. After graduating from the Music
Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College he created the group Nadjiwan
to reflect his collaborations with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
artists. The first Nadjiwan 1995 release Brother achieved success
in Canada and the U.S. and was nominated for a Native American Music
Award for Best Pop/Rock Album when it was re-released. In 2000,
Marc released Awake, featuring guest musicians such as Andy Stochansky.
The album was nominated for a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award and
a Native American Music Award. In 2005, Marc released Begin which
resulted in a Best Male Artist nomination from the Canadian Aboriginal
Music Awards. His latest release Philosophy For The Masses features
Juno award winner Donné Roberts and George Koller. For more information
visit www.nadjiwan.com/
Santee Smith is from the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan and lives on
the Six Nations Reserve. She is the founding Artistic Director and
choreographer for Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. She attended the National
Ballet School for six years and holds a Masters Degree in Dance
from York University. From 1996 she began creating her own choreography
and developing a style that reflects who she is as an Indigenous
artist. This has resulted in her productions being performed nationally
and internationally and being acknowledged with Gemini and Dora
Awards. For more information visit:
www.santeesmithdance.com
Kerry Swanson has been with the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts
Festival in Toronto since 2004, where she has worked in many capacities
including Executive Director and a member of the programming team.
Last year, she co-curated (with Candice Hopkins) the group exhibition
Shapeshifters, Time Travellers and Storytellers at the Royal Ontario
Museum’s Institute for Contemporary Culture. She sat on the Board
of Directors of the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto
(LIFT) from 2005-07 and has sat on a number of juries that include
the 2007 Gemini Awards and the 2008 Worldwide Short Film Festival.
She is currently completing a Masters in Communication and Culture
at Ryerson University. Kerry is a member of the Michipicoten First
Nation in northern Ontario.
|
|
