Join us on zoom February 16th at 7pm for a discussion about the complexities of the gaze with Filmmaker, Artist, Writer & Curator Thirza Cuthand, Artist & Curator Kablusiak and Visual Artist & Organizer Dayna Danger. The gathering will be moderated by Algonquin Knowledge Carrier Monique Manatch.
SPEAKERS
Thirza Jean Cuthand (b. 1978 Regina SK) makes short experimental videos and films about sexuality, madness, Queer identity, love, and Indigeneity, which have screened in festivals and galleries internationally. She completed her BFA majoring in Film/Video at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2005, and her MA in Media Production at Ryerson University in 2015. She has performed at Live At The End Of The Century in Vancouver, Performatorium in Regina, and 7a*11d in Toronto. She is a Whitney Biennial 2019 artist. She is Plains Cree/Scots, a member of Little Pine First Nation, and resides in Toronto, Canada.
Kablusiak is an Inuvialuk artist based in Mohkinstsis and holds a BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts. They are represented by Jarvis Hall Gallery, and their work has been acquired by public and private collections across so-called Canada. Awards include the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Young Artist Prize (2017), short-list nominee for the Sobey Art Awards (2019), and the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Arts Award (2020). The lighthearted nature of their practice extends gestures of empathy and solidarity; these interests invite reconsideration of the perceptions of contemporary Indigeneity.
Dayna Danger is a 2Spirit, Métis – Saulteaux – Polish visual artist and organizer. Danger was raised on the northwest edge of Win-nipi, Treaty 1 territory, or so-called Winnipeg. They are currently based in tiohtiá:ke (Jo-Jah-Ghey), or so-called Montreal. Utilizing the processes of photography, sculpture, performance and video, Danger creates works and environments that question the line between empowerment and objectification by claiming space with their larger-than-life works. Ongoing works exploring BDSM and beaded leather fetish masks negotiate the complicated dynamics of sexuality, gender and power in a consensual and feminist manner. Their focus remains on Indigenous and Metis visual and erotic sovereignty. Danger has exhibited their work most recently at the National Gallery of Canada with Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel. They were featured on the cover of Canadian Art’s June 2018 Kinship cover, and they have participated in residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and at Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. Danger is an independent student pursuing an INDI-PhD at Concordia University that focuses on hide-tanning practices from their great-grandmother, Madeline.
