Friday January 27th 2017, 5-7pm
Free, all welcome!
The Art-making act, does it matter?
When we see a piece of art we tend to only see what is in front of us, and from there we determine our opinion on the piece. But what about the behind the scenes work or even the artists themselves? So we have invited panelists Penny Couchie, Sid Bobb, Kirsten Kosloski, and Tanya Lukin-Linklater to discuss questions such as:
If an artist exploits individuals in the process of creating or presenting an art work should their art still be considered good? Who should have a say in what should be done with such art works? What is more important: the quality of the work or its production?
What is Salon de Feminists: A discussion evening based off a thematic question focusing on art, feminism and social justice. Salon de Feminists focuses on engaging discussion with guests and panelists about a proposed question. It also allows for the opportunity for people to educate one another based on one’s experience and thoughts of society. It welcomes all community members and lovers of both the social justice and artistic world.
Panelists:
Penny Couchie: Is a dancer, actor, teacher, choreographer and community arts practitioner of Ojibway and Mohawk ancestry from Nipissing First Nation, Ontario. She holds an Honors BA in Aboriginal Studies and Drama from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Penny has performed as a dancer and theatre artist in principal roles both nationally and internationally. She has guest taught at universities and colleges throughout Canada and the US, including the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, where she has been a core faculty member since 1998. Her most recent choreography includes a workshop production of her newest work, When Will You Rage? performed at the Dancemakers Centre for Creation in Toronto, and Manaabekwe, a co-choreography with Christine Friday O’Leary developed with Aanmitaagzi and youth from Temagami First Nation performed for the Temagami Gathering in Bear Island, Ontario. Since 2001, she has been the administrative leader and co-Artistic Director of Earth in Motion World Indigenous Dance, a dance collective she co-founded with Alejandro Ronceria, based in Toronto, Ontario. In 2007 she co-founded Aanmitaagzi, an Aboriginal multi-disciplinary community arts company based in her home of Nipissing First Nation, Ontario.
Sid Bobb: Is a Gemini award-winning actor from Salish territory in British Columbia. Combining his cultural knowledge and experience as an actor and teacher, Sid has been committed to helping bring Aboriginal stories and culture to the forefront. He firmly believes that this necessary endeavor will strengthen our Aboriginal communities and help create a healthier relationship with our Canadian neighbours. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s sociology and drama programs, attended the Second City school of training, the Banff Centre for the Art’s Aboriginal Dance Project and the Native Theatre School (presently known as the Centre for Indigenous Theatre). He has been a professional actor since 1993. Sid has performed in Canada’s largest theatres across the country; story telling, in plays, and dancing. For 3 seasons, he was co-host of the internationally broadcast, Canadian Geographic Kids and is in his 4th season as host for Kid’s CBC’s nationally broadcast Kid’s Canada. He has also been an acting instructor and teacher for the past seven years. While Sid continues to work nationally in television and on stage, he is actively contributing to the arts in the Nipissing community. For the past four years, as a founding member of Aanmitaagzi, he has been working with Nipissing First Nation’s youth, elders and community; engaging the youth within the arts and assisting in carrying forward the traditional and life stories of Nipissing.
Kirsten Kosloski: Is a documentary filmmaker, media artist and educator. Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Kirsten worked in Calgary as a music and pop culture journalist and magazine editor for many years, before returning to Northern Ontario. She founded the artist-run media arts collective, North Light Media Collective, and has directed and produced two documentaries about the northwestern Ontario region — Save the Drama (2012) and The Dozen (2014). Kirsten has taught media writing in the film and television broadcast programs at both Confederation College and Canadore College before accepting a position as Program Coordinator at Near North Mobile Media Lab. Arts education and civic engagement has been a motivating force throughout her arts career and she is thrilled to continue this with the Digital Creator North project — an initiative to build six digital maker spaces in communities throughout Northern Ontario. Kirsten’s latest film project is a feature-length documentary about the history of Crocks N Rolls — a famed punk rock music venue in Thunder Bay. The film is scheduled for production in spring 2017. She lives in Callander, Ontario with her husband and daughter.”
Tanya Lukin Linklater: Her performance collaborations, videos, photographs and installations have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is compelled by relationships between bodies, histories, poetry, pedagogy, Indigenous conceptual spaces (languages), and institutions. In 2016 she presented He was a poet and he taught us how to react and become this poetry (Parts 1 and 2) at La Biennale de Montréal – Le Grand Balcon curated by Philippe Pirotte. This major work included video installation of Maria Tallchief. In 2017, as a member of Wood Land School alongside Duane Linklater and cheyanne turions with Walter Scott, Tanya will participate in the slow exhibition, “Drawing a Line” from January to December. For the duration of 2017, SBC Gallery (Montreal) will be renamed and operate as Wood Land School.
Organizer:
Erin Creed is a Second year Double Honours Major: Social Welfare and Social Development, and Gender Equality and Social Justice with Concurrent Education at Nipissing University. She is currently working with the White Water Gallery on the Salon de Feminists project. She is very involved artistically. She participates in art festivals/ musical back in her home town of Clear Creek, Ontario. However, she has done theatre productions at the University and around North Bay. She has a large interest in art, social issues and feminism. She works with University clubs that focus a lot on these issues. For Salon de Feminists the goal is to bring to light peoples conflicting views of the art and its artist. She is striving to address a specific question tying together feminist viewpoints of art. Erin is at the gallery every other week 11am to 4:30pm on Tuesdays and some Thursdays. She hopes to work with the Water Gallery after the completion of Salon de Feminists.
Photo: LA MOCA’s 2011 gala centrepieces. Image courtesy Getty Images for MOCA; accessed from: http://artradarjournal.com/2011/12/07/dining-with-abramovic-and-her-nudes-exploitation-or-performance-art-opinion-round-up/