Native Women in the Arts presents the Kwe Performance Series: Voices, on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the TD Music Hall, featuring Mare Advertencia, Bobby Sanchez, Dioganhdih, and Kimiwan.

Kwe Performance Series: Voices, is a culturally dynamic event that amplifies the perspectives of Indigenous women and gender-marginalized artists. Through a carefully curated lineup of performers including Mare Advertencia, Bobby Sanchez, Dioganhdih, and Kimiwan. Each featured artist brings their own lived experiences, cultural influences, and activist work to the stage, using their craft as a means of resistance, empowerment, and connection.

Through musically immersive soundscapes, this series highlights the ways in which Indigenous artists navigate identity, challenge colonial narratives, and advocate for social change. Whether through Mare Advertencia’s sharp political lyricism, Bobby Sanchez’s approach to gender and decolonization, Dioganhdih’s restorative rematriation methods, or Kimiwan’s sonic storytelling. Voices creates a platform where Indigenous experiences are acknowledged, centered, and celebrated. 

Kwe Performance Series: Voices

Saturday, March 22, 2025, TD Music Hall, 178 Victoria Street, Toronto

General Admission – $25, Indigenous Discount Code: VOICES25

Doors 7PM, Show 8PM – 11PM

Tickets on Sale Now

Mare Advertencia

MARE ADVERTENCIA (rapper, zapotec, feminist, and immigrant) is one of the most important Rap references in Mexico: since 2003 she has independently developed her project, she is self-taught, and self-manager. 

Rap has allowed her to build her story and question her reality, dealing with uncomfortable issues on three productions, multiple collaborations, and projects as diverse as Narrativas y Memorias de la Desaparición en México (2021) (Narratives and Memories of Disappearance in Mexico), the album Un Canto Por México, Vol. 2 (A Chant for Mexico) of Natalia Lafourcade, and the soundtrack Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), in which she collaborated with Vivir Quintana on the song “Árboles bajo el mar” (Trees under the sea). 

She has claimed different political identities through her songs since the beginning of her career ; her voice has amplified and questioned the present reality based on a narrative that evolves constantly. Earlier, her work was more socially oriented, with collective questioning; as of now, she carries out a more introspective process, a process of grief and healing that allows her to embrace all her facets and to build up her new album.

Her path is not defined by a series of hits, rather by reaching places where she still walks while her voice, impact and work is recognized, through two decades; she establishes connections and carries out political and social actions outside of the music scene. She has given workshops at the Escuela para la Libertad de las Mujeres en Oaxaca (School for Freedom of Women in Oaxaca), she has collaborated in projects as the Colectivo Altepee in Veracruz, and she has managed spaces for women and dissents in Mexico City, this will soon grow into a label in which women’s work and dissents in music will make themselves visible.

Bobby Sanchez

BOBBY SANCHEZ (she/they) is a 29 year old poet, musician, model, painter, and personal trainer. Bobby identifies as trans as well as two-spirit in honor of her Indigenous ancestry. Her music and artwork cover topics of indigenous identity, environmental issues, LGBTQ+ discrimination and liberation on all fronts.

Some of her biggest accomplishments have been participating at the 2018 National Poetry Slam in Chicago, Performing at 2023 NYC Pride, 2024 Oakland Pride, Tulsa Pride, featuring in The July 2024 Issue of National Geographic, 14th annual Two-Spirit Powwow, and releasing 8 EPs since March 2021.

Dioganhdih

DIOGANHDIH (They/She) is a two-spirit Mohawk of Akwesasne, musician, MC, producer, and multi-disciplinary artist. Dioganhdih speaks on navigating and finding home through landback, rematriation, decolonization, and sovereignty work across Turtle Island. Dioganhdih’s art reflects the ever present and ongoing importance of honoring your individuality while being committed to uplifting your people and community. They are currently engaged in food sovereignty work across Haudenosaunee territory with their land based project, Iron Path Farms. 

Dioganhdih self released two albums, Do it Ourselves (2017) & Rezbien (2021), and currently is working on their next studio album. They have performed internationally at Club Gretchen in Berlin, Asinabka Film & Media Festival in Ottawa, House of Vans in Brooklyn, Women’s Audio Mission in San Francisco, the SoundCloud Summer Party in Berlin, Pride Toronto, The Art House in New Orleans, on the frontlines at Oceti Sakowin Standing Rock, in countless DJ booths, stoops, bodegas, rooftops and park benches.

Dioganhdih’s music has been reviewed in The Fader, CBC Music, Afropunk, BitchMedia, APTN’s Digital Drum.

Kimiwan

KIMIWAN is an Indigenous DJ, model, and fashion stylist based in Toronto. She made her debut in 2021 ‘Indigenous Grooves’, which celebrates Indigenous women and nonbinary artists in Toronto, along with sets at TD Music Hall and Toronto Pride, and a feature in Vogue Magazine. She skillfully uses her platform to amplify Indigenous voices and merge cultural heritage with modern creativity, leaving a lasting impact in both the music and fashion industries.

Kwe Performance Series

Voices is presented as part of the Kwe Performance Series which showcases Indigenous women and other gender marginalized Indigenous artists from diverse nations, and communities, leading to a deeper understanding and appreciation for Indigenous arts, culture, and community. 

The Kwe Performance Series events include performances and workshops for the community in Toronto as well as outreach to on-reserve and under-serviced communities in Ontario.

City Hall Live Bridges

Kwe Performance Series: Voices, is presented and supported through Allied Music Centre and the City of Toronto City Hall Live Bridges, a new program dedicated to building relationships with venues to amplify local grassroots promoters who represent Toronto’s exciting and diverse live music culture.

This City Hall Live Bridges partnership was formed based on research facilitated by the City of Toronto with local promoters from equity-deserving groups, whose results highlighted that the most requested music facility to work with was Allied Music Centre – Toronto’s new music hub that is home to legendary Massey Hall, TD Music Hall and a new community theatre. 

Allied Music Centre

Allied Music Centre is Canada’s new state-of-the-art cultural ecosystem featuring the legendary Massey Hall and three additional venues, all devoted to live music, artist development, community outreach, and educational programming.

About Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Established in 1993, Native Women in the Arts (NWIA) is a not-for-profit organization for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women and other Indigenous gender marginalized folks from diverse artistic disciplines who share a common interest in culture, art, community and the advancement of Indigenous Peoples. 

NWIA Presents unique artistic programming while developing, supporting, and cultivating practices in the performing arts, literary arts and publishing, visual arts, customary arts, and community development projects. NWIA’s influence has been felt in communities across Canada. We nourish and transform our communities by pursuing the highest standards of artistic excellence, and by offering development opportunities to emerging artists.

Native Women in the Arts is excited to launch its new online concert series “Home Fires” just in time for National Indigenous History Month!

The Home Fires series features pre-recorded full-length performances by Prado Monroe, G.R. Gritt, Angel Baribeau, Candace Curr with Withe, Leah Shenandoah, Melody McKiver, and RIIT. 

These seven pre-recorded full-length concerts will be made available to the public to stream for free on NWIA’s YouTube Channel on June 1, 2022. 

G.R. Gritt

Juno Award-winning G.R. Gritt pulls effortlessly from the past to create soulful futurisms. With their new sound that elegantly weaves the melodies using vocals, guitar, and electronic elements. they create both intimate and anthemic music that would fit in a folk club, a dance club, and anywhere in between. G.R. Gritt is a Two-Spirit, Transgender, Francophone, Anishinaabe and Métis artist. 

Their music serves as one of these beacons of connection for all who come near it. Welcoming yet truthful, they reclaim space through songs that show that intersectional identity is expansive and not to be divided into parts. By exploring the emotional and cultural core of their heritage as a non-binary, queer, Indigenous artist they create new space and encourage others to do the same. 

They are a Northern Ontario Music and Film Award (NOMFA) winning artist for Outstanding Album by an Indigenous Artist (for Quantum Tangle’s album “Shelter as we Go…”), and a nominee for Outstanding Engineer, and Outstanding Album. In 2021, they were nominated for 2 SSIMA Awards – Metis artist of the Year and Social Voice and they won the FMO Songs from the Heart – Political category Award. 

G.R. Gritt released their full-length album, Ancestors, on April 16, 2021, on Coax Records, and their song “Ancestors ft. Kimmortal” made it onto Sirius XM Indigiverse’s Top 20 countdown for 2021.

Leah Shenandoah 

Leah Shenandoah M.F.A, B.S., is a Wolf Clan Member of the Onyo’ta:aká: – Oneida Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She is an indigenous scholar, artist, activist, and musician currently enrolled as an Apparel Design Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University. Shenandoah combines indigenous methodologies, material culture, and activism to create a space of protection, comfort, and healing through her work. 

Shenandoah received a Master’s of Fine Art from Rochester Institute of Technology in Metals and Jewelry, Magna Cum Laude. Her M.F.A thesis “O’whahsa’ – Protection, Comfort and Healing” was a multimedia experience based on the Haudenosaunee legend of Skywoman. It consisted of: five textile, paint, and steel sculptures, five sets of jewelry, five outfits, and a 45-minute DJ set with 12 original songs written and performed by Shenandoah at the Hungerford Gallery in Rochester, NY (YouTube link below). Shenandoah also received a Bachelor of Science in Textiles, Cum Laude from Syracuse University. 

Her original compositions have received national and regional recognition. Shenandoah’s debut album, “Spectra” with producer JJ Boogie from Arrested Development, received a Native American Music Award for “Best Debut Album” and “Best Alternative Album” from the Syracuse Area Music Awards. Shenandoah’s art and jewelry have won awards from: Schemitzun Pow Wow, Eiteljorg Indian Market, & Ridgefield Fine Art Market. Her work has also been exhibited in national museums and exhibitions such as the “Changing Hands Exhibit” by the Museum of Art and Design, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Syracuse University Art Museum,  Iroquois Museum, Longyear Museum, Fenimore Art Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, Bausch and Lomb Gallery, Institute of American Indian Art Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Memorial Art Gallery, Lemoyne Art Gallery, Everson Museum of Art, Bevier Gallery, and the Alan Houzer Art Park. Shenandoah’s jewelry was showcased at the “Go Native Arts” fashion show with indigenous fashion designers Patricia Michaels and Dorothy Grant.

Prado Monroe 

Born in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations peoples. Of Metis descent, her mom hails from the North End of Winnipeg  – Point Douglas. Meanwhile, her father immigrated from Buenaventura, Colombia to Vancouver in the early 90s. Inspired by everything from Bjork, Whitney Houston, Nelly Furtado, Britney Spears, Crystal Waters – to the melodic trap sonics of Chief Keef, Azealia Banks, and Kanye West.  

Prado Monroe was gifted her first guitar and quickly started self-producing and releasing music on Soundcloud under the moniker of  “Alienkanye” at a prolific pace. The singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer began leading pen to various artists; she  was the contagious melodies behind various NY-based male internet rappers – further unearthing her love and disposition to wordplay and pop music, PM learned to lead without fear using her unique sound and no-bullshit delivery. 

Candace Curr and Withe

Cedar withes are used by Nuu-chah-nulth and Haida nations to make rope; the more withes, the stronger the rope. A powerful performance with many musicians working together to create such strength and the more withes the stronger we are.

Candace Curr is a storyteller, artist, and musician from Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island. With her voice and ukulele accompanied by Rob Thompson from Haida Nation, Clayton Charleybo from Tsilhqot’in Nation, Trevor Ainsworth, and Emily Best. Sentimental listening songs that make you reflect and feel, as Candace Curr & Withe share songs that explore their lives and experiences. 

RIIT 

From the land that never melts comes a sound that radiates life, youth, and promise. Riit, from majestic Panniqtuq, Nunavut, is a new artist making space for herself in the electropop world with Inuktitut lyrics and deep rhythmic vocals layered over gemological synth cuts and sticky, staticky electronic textures. Riot’s music emerges from very distinct circumstances of place, language, and experience.

Throughout her debut full-length album, produced by Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) and recorded in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Toronto, Riot sings about the clarity of forgiveness, the imprint of the past on the present, and personal disconnection. In Inuktitut, Riit’s songs explore family, life, and love. Riit also nods to Nunavut’s rich yet underapprecaited legacy of songwriters, with covers of Inuititut classics included on the record.

The monoamine-fueled flush of “qaumajuapik,” the first song shared from her forthcoming debut full-length album, expresses how intense attraction messes with your sense of time, where a single blink contains a universe. Heart races, clock stops. Produced by Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck), the song sweeps in on a buzzy gust before the Tangerine Dream-esque modulations kick in. Teardrop bleeps fall over Riit’s clear voice like a sunshower (the song title means ‘you are shining’).

On the strength of a 3-song EP released in 2017 by Aakuluk Music, Nunavut’s first record label, Riit was nominated for Best Radio Single (Indigenous Music Awards) and Indigenous Artist of the Year (Western Canadian Music Awards). The host of a groundbreaking Inuttitut-language children’s show, Anaana’s Tent, and soon-to-be recipient of an Emerging Talent Award of Excellence for her broadcast work, Riit is one of the faces of a Nunavut youth movement, a group of remarkable, driven and increasingly high-profile individuals who are creating mainstream waves through art. For an artist who has performed only a handful of shows, a performance in London for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry & Meghan) and a sold out show in Paris are highlights of a young career.

Now signed to Six Shooter Records, Riit will release her debut full-length album in 2019.

Melody McKiver 

Melody McKiver’s (they/them) musical work integrates electronics with Western classical music to shape a new genre of Anishinaabe compositions. They are the current recipient of the Canada Council’s Robert Flaming Prize awarded annually to an exceptionally talented young Canadian composer, and a recurring invited participant in the Banff Centre for the Arts’ Indigenous Classical Music gatherings. A frequent performer across Turtle Island, Melody has performed at the National Arts Centre, Luminato Festival, Vancouver’s Western Front, and the Toronto International Film Festival. They have shared stages with Polaris Prize winners Lido Pimienta, Tanya Tagaq, and Jeremy Dutcher, and performed with acclaimed filmmaker and musician Alanis Obomsawin. As a composer, Melody was commissioned by Soundstreams and Jumblies Theatre to compose Odaabaanag, a string quartet responding to Steve Reich’s Different Trains, drawing on interviews conducted with Anishinaabe elders. Melody has scored several films and was invited to the Berlinale Talents Sound Studio as a music and composition mentor for the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival. Additional commissions have included Cluster Festival, Marina Thibeault, Duo AIRS, Carnegie Mellon University, TORQ Percussion, and the Elora Singers. A proud member of Obishikokaang Lac Seul First Nation, Melody is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at the Brandon University School of Music and a member of the Mizi’iwe Aana Kwat (LGBTQ2S+ Council) within the Anishinaabe Nation of Treaty #3. Upcoming projects include a setting of Métis author Katherena Vermette’s poem river woman for SATB choir and percussion quartet and a full-length album in late 2022. Melody holds an MA in Ethnomusicology from Memorial University and a BFA in Music and Indigenous Studies from York University.

Angel Baribeau  

With their breathtaking vocals paired and stunningly vulnerable lyrics that cascade over listeners’ emotional terrains, singer-songwriter Angel Baribeau is a notable force. This Montreal based, queer, non-binary, Indigenous artist originally from the Cree community of Mistissini, Quebec, first started through the formation of their early indie folk outfit, Simple Human Tribe. Their solo work gained momentum in 2014, when they were selected for feature on the #1 iTunes chart-topping N’we Jinan compilation album, Eeyou Istchee Volume 1.

Angel’s six-track EP’s debut single Love Is Up The River quickly garnered more than 20,000+ streams on Spotify and hit Top 10 on the NCI FM Indigenous Music Countdown. Their next single “Wish We Were Older” followed its path blazing its way to #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown and was featured on CBC North & APTN National News. The official music video for the single won Best Music Video at the Toronto Indie Indie Shorts Film Festival 2021. Siibii’s gifts have attracted multiple recognitions including the Young Canadian Songwriters Award (2021) presented by SOCAN Foundation and the Canadian Walk of Fame, RBC Emerging Artist Program award (2021). Currently, Angel is casting their self-titled sophomore album, “Siibii”, set to be released in 2022, which will be an introspective compilation of works as they step into their reclaimed identity. Angel is a powerful changemaker, who unwaveringly upholds the responsibility they feel to pursue their talent while also pushing for more representation within the industry.


Native Women in the Arts (NWIA) is one of the leading arts organizations in Canada for Indigenous women and other gender marginalized Indigenous artists working at the intersection of customary and contemporary practices. NWIA serves as a site of artistic exchange, encouraging dialogue between artists and audiences about social, cultural, and political issues and their relationship to artistic expression.

Raven Chacon Mini-Festival

Native Women in the Arts, The Music Gallery, and Arraymusic present Raven Chacon Mini-Festival.

We are pleased to team up once again with The Music Gallery along with Arraymusic to present the Raven Chacon mini-festival featuring the world premiere of For Zitkála-Šá, dedicated to the first American Indian librettist.

Friday, April 12 – Sunday, April 14, 2019
Doors: 7:30PM | Concert: 8PM
The Music Gallery, 918 Bathurst St.
$20 Regular / $10 Members, Students / $15 Advance at musicgallery.org

Festival pass $30

Originally from the Navajo Nation, Raven Chacon, born in 1977, is a composer of chamber music, a performer of experimental noise music, and an installation artist. He performs regularly as a solo artist as well as with numerous ensembles in the Southwest and beyond, and was a long-time member of the Indigenous art collective Postcommodity. Chacon’s work explores sounds of acoustic handmade instruments overdriven through electric systems and the direct and indirect audio feedback responses from their interactions.

FRIDAY NIGHT 4.12

On Friday night, the Array ensemble takes on a selection of Chacon’s chamber works including a newly commissioned work.

SATURDAY NIGHT 4.13

Native Women in the Arts co-presents Saturday night’s For Zitkála-Šá, dedicated to the Dakota violin teacher, activist, and librettist for The Sun Dance Opera, (1913), the first American Indian opera. Each composition is custom written for an Indigenous woman currently working in contemporary music performance or composition: Suzanne Kite, Laura Ortman, Carmina Escobar, and Cheryl L’Hirondelle. The evening also features Raven collaborating with the caustic improvisation of c_RL (Allison Cameron, Nicole Rampersaud, and Germaine Liu).

SUNDAY 4.14

On Sunday, Anishinaabe-Irish (Nipissing First Nation) saxophonist Olivia Shortt (Stereoscope Duo, Dialectica) opens the show with an intensely wide-ranging approach to her instrument.

 

Kwe Performance Series: Quantum Tangle

Native Women in the Arts kicks off National Indigenous History Month with an exciting new edition of our celebrated Kwe Performance Series featuring Juno award-winning artists Quantum Tangle, sister duo Dawn & Shawna Redskye, and Tkaronto’s own DJ Jams.

Join us at the Gladstone Hotel for a stellar evening of folk, blues, roots and throat singing, followed by a dance party featuring hip hop, electro, house and vibes.  

Performance: Friday, June 1, 2018 I Doors 9pm I Show 9:30pm
Venue: Gladstone Hotel, North Ballroom, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto
Advance Tickets: $15 GA I $10 Elders, Students, Low Income I $20 Door 
FB Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/363546617382560/
For More Info: events@nwia.ca

Quantum Tangle Quantum Tangle 

Quantum Tangle combines the wide-ranging artistic visions of Greyson Gritt and Tiffany Ayalik who draw from their respective Anishinaabe-Métis and Inuit backgrounds to create a fusion of old-world sounds and new-world flair. Proudly and boldly displaying their roots, Gritt and Ayalik tailor their music to examine systemic racism and colonialism, while offering ways to empower marginalized groups.

After their 2016 EP “Tiny Hands” won the JUNO for Indigenous Album of the Year, Quantum Tangle followed it up with a dynamic full-length debut for Coax Records, “Shelter as we go…”, a collection of songs that combine deep blues riffs, traditional throat singing and haunting melodies intertwined with hard beats and equally hard-hitting storytelling.

Quantum Tangle was chosen to be one of the feature artists on the “From The North” tour that reached the three territorial capital cities, along with Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. At the same time, Tiffany Ayalik and Greyson Gritt’s sketch writing, song composition and musical directing were showcased in comedy legend Mary Walsh’s stage production, “Canada, It’s Complicated”, which toured to 47 cities across Canada throughout the autumn of 2017.

Quantum Tangle is at the vanguard of indigenous musicians transforming Canadian culture, as they look back through history to challenge, educate and encourage audiences to be socially aware. 

Dawn & Shawna RedskyeDawn & Shawna Redskye

Dawn & Shawna Redskye draw influences that range from folk to modern, this Anishinaabe-Irish sister duo weave personal narratives of love, displacement and medicine. Through their songs- carried by warm haunting blood harmonies, poetic and sometimes hard-hitting lyrics, acoustic guitar and banjo- they aim to challenge colonial impressions of past and present.

DJ JamsDJ Jams

Jams (Jamaican/Mohawk/Cree/Irish/multiracial) is a deejay, spoken word community artist and radio geek specializing in 90s and futurist hip hop, electro, house and vibes. Having recently, co-hosted, produced and deejay of The Vibe Collective (Saturdays 6-8pm CIUT 89.5FM) for over a decade and co-host and producer of Indigenous Waves (Mondays 6-7pm CIUT 89.5FM) since 2011.

The Kwe Performance Series is the evolution of NWIA’s long-standing Catalyst Series. The Kwe Performance Series presents performance based work from innovative Indigenous artists from diverse nations and communities. Native Women in the Arts overall artistic vision is to make visible the artistic and cultural expression of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women, and work in a wide range of artistic disciplines. We recognize Indigenous artistry and forge positive creative links among Indigenous, culturally diverse, and mainstream artists and audiences. We continually work to explore new ways of including artists of all cultures, men as well as women, youth, and seniors, within the framework of an Indigenous-focused arts organization.