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Native Feminisms with Natani Notah

Native Feminisms with Natani Notah co-presented with Indigenous Creation Studio, Saturday, March 26, 2022, online from 1 PM – 4 PM EST.

Artist Natani Notah will examine the present-day and historical roles of Indigenous women, their intellectual work, feminine aesthetic traditions, and the relevance of contemporary art and performance through text, media, and online discussion for two events on March 26, 2022. The Reading Group Afternoon Tea Session, 1 PM – 2 PM EST, followed by a TalkBack Session for Indigenous Artists 2:30 PM – 4 PM EST.

Pre-registration required. Please note there are two separate events to register for. Zoom link to register:

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrceGorjotEtUVOlSAcoPQxD0dB7qBrZyW

Natani Notah (www.nataninotah.com) is an interdisciplinary artist, poet, and graphic designer. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation (Diné) and of Lakota and Cherokee descent. Inspired by acts of decolonization and Indigenous feminism and futurism, her work explores contemporary Native American identity through the lens of Diné womanhood. By way of fragmented abstraction, bodily scale, and the marrying of natural and synthetic materials, her work provokes conversations about what it means to be a colonized individual in the present-day USA. Notah has exhibited across the U.S. and is currently a 2021-2023 Tulsa Artist Fellow. Notah holds a BFA and minor in feminist, gender, and sexuality studies from Cornell University, and an MFA in art practice from Stanford University.

Indigenous Creation Studio (@indigenouscreationstudioutm) aims to transform institutional models of trust-building and strengthen Indigenous peoples in their homelands resourcefully through art. Initiated by Maria Hupfield, Canada Research Chair in Transdisciplinary Indigenous Arts, and is housed within the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

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.

Nominations Now Open for the 7th Annual Barbara Laronde Emerging Artist Award! – Deadline December 31, 2021

This award recognizes outstanding emerging Indigenous (Status and Non Status First Nations, Métis, Inuit) artists from Northern Ontario who are women or other-wise gender marginalized (transfeminine, transmasculine, non-binary, gender non-conforming). You can nominate yourself or another artist. The winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and up to 5 shortlisted artists will receive prizes of $1,500 each.

Eligibility

Must be 18 years of age or older
Must be an Indigenous person living in Northern Ontario (Métis, Inuit, Status and Non-Status First Nations peoples).
This award is for women and other gender marginalized folks. NWIA respects trans women as women and uses the term “gender marginalized” to be inclusive of not only women but also trans men and other transmasculine, transfeminine, non-binary, Two Spirit and genderqueer folks. Cis-gendered, heterosexal men are not eligible for this award.
Must be at the emerging stages of artistic career. NWIA defines an emerging artist as:
- In the early stages of their career, regardless of age
- Has created a modest body of work
- Has had some evidence of professional achievement but may not yet have a substantial record of accomplishments.
- One who is not yet recognized as an established or mid-career artist by other artists, curators, producers, critics, community members, and arts administrators.

Open to all artistic disciplines including:
- Traditional/Customary Arts (Beading, Carving, Quillwork, Tufting, Weaving)
- Visual Arts (Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Installation and Performance Art)
- Performing Arts (Dance, Music, Theatre)
- Media Arts (Film, Video, New Media)
- Literary Arts (Prose, Poetry, Creative-Nonfiction, Spoken-Word)

Live in one of these geographical regions in northern Ontario:
- Kenora District
- Algoma District
- Cochrane District
- Manitoulin District
- Nipissing District
- Parry Sound District
- Sudbury District
- Timiskaming District
- Rainy River District
- Thunder Bay District
All eligible artists are encouraged to self-nominate.
Individuals can also nominate an eligible artist they feel deserves this award.

Please ensure your nomination includes all of the following items:

Artist Resume or CV
Short bio up to 250 words max
Maximum 1 page letter outlining why you, or the artist you are nominating, should receive this award.
Images, audio, written or video support material of your artwork. Please do not send more than 10 individual files or any originals.
Maximum 1 page letter of support from the nominator or in the case of a self nomination, a letter from someone who is familiar with the nominee’s career in the arts.

Nominations Open: October 30th, 2021

Nomination Deadline: December 31, 2021

Value of Award: $5,000 for prize winner/ $1,500 for up to 5 shortlisted nominees

Award Jury: * NWIA Board of Directors

Our Vision for Award: To support and celebrate the achievement of Indignous gender marginalized artists from Northern Ontario, and to provide financial support and career enhancing opportunities to encourage their continued excellence.

The Impact: The Barbara Laronde Award is given in the spirit of fostering the careers of emerging artists from Indigenous (on and off reserve) communities in Northern Ontario. NWIA recognizes the specific barriers that many Northern artists face, and we aim to support Indigenous artists by creating connections, professional development, and exhibition opportunities through our programming initiatives.Since 1994, NWIA has delivered theatre, dance, music, and spoken word presentations, exhibited visual and media arts, and published three books of Indigenous visual art and writing. We also hold community-driven artist talks, workshops, commissions and symposiums. Our programming is offered to diverse audiences in Toronto and Northern Ontario.

Please share this call on Facebook, Twitter, and by email to family and friends!

Please submit your nomination directly to Native Women in the Arts at awards@nwia.ca or if you have any questions.

For more info visit: www.nwia.ca/apply/

*In the event of a direct conflict of interest with an NWIA board member and a nominee, said NWIA Board member will recuse themselves from the selection process. Examples of direct conflicts of interests include a nominee being a family member, partner, employee or employer of a board member. A board member being from the same community as a nominee, or having worked in collaboration with or curated a nominee in the past would not be considered a direct conflict of interest.

Native Americana: Indigenous Women in Roots Music

Native Women in the Arts announces the launch of a new summer concert series, Native Americana: Indigenous Women in Roots Music. This concert series will launch June 25th, and continue throughout the summer, featuring live-streamed performances by Samantha Crain, Dawn & Shawna Redskye, Celeigh Cardinal and more!

American roots music would not exist without Black and Indigenous people. Their artistry, talent, and cultures informed, birthed, and shaped the genres which fall under the musical umbrella often referred to now as Americana, including folk, country, blues, old time, rock ‘n’ roll, and bluegrass.

In commercial roots/americana music the longstanding and ongoing appropriation, erasure and marginalization of Black and Indigenous folks and their work, particularly in old time, country, and bluegrass, has resulted in these genres largely being seen as “white music”. This is not only historically inaccurate, it also does not reflect the reality of contemporary Indigenous and Black artists working with these genres today.

During National Indigenous History Month, Native Women in the Arts is thrilled to Launch a new concert series showcasing Indigenous women working in roots music.

Native Americana: Indigenous Women in Roots Music will feature artists whose musical stylings pull from and incorporate elements of folk, country, bluegrass, blues and roots rock.

Due to the pandemic this concert series will be presented online via live streams on Native Women in the Arts’ Facebook and Instagram pages.

The recorded performances will then be archived on Native Women in the Art’s youtube channel for audiences to enjoy anytime.

Native Americana: Indigenous Women in Roots Music

Featuring Samantha Crain + Dawn & Shawna Redskye

LIVE on Facebook & Instagram

Friday, June 25, 2021

7 PM – 9 PM EST

Samantha Crain is a Choctaw singer, songwriter, poet, producer, and musician from Oklahoma. She is a two-time Native American Music Award winner and winner of an Indigenous Music Award. Her genre spanning discography has been critically acclaimed by media outlets such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, Paste, No Depression, NPR, PRI, The Guardian, NME, Uncut, and others. She has toured extensively over the past 11 years nationally and internationally, presenting ambitious orchestrated shows with a band and intimate folk-leaning solo performances. She has toured with First Aid Kit, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lucy Rose, The Avett Brothers, The Mountain Goats, Brandi Carlile, Langhorne Slim, and many other bands and artists.

Dawn and Shawna Redskye are two Anishinaabe Irish sisters weaving personal narratives of love, land, displacement, and medicine. Through their songs – carried by warm blood harmonies, poetic and sometimes hard-hitting lyrics, acoustic guitar, and banjo-they aim to challenge colonial impressions of past and present. They are currently working on their first full-length album.

Later This Summer

“I’ve always connected with artists whose voices resonate; you can feel it in your body. That is what I’ve always wanted to be.”

With a confident voice and boundless energy, Celeigh Cardinal owns a stage, connecting deeply with her audience through humour, passion and love. Whether sweetly strumming an acoustic guitar or leading her band in a rocking rave-up, she commands our attention. Her singing is rich and deep with a burnished maturity and a nimble technical virtuosity that wraps itself around notes with a purr, a snarl or something in the middle. Her songs are authentic and heartfelt and connect us to the healing power of music. Cardinal has received many accolades and nominations for her two full-length albums, but most notably was awarded the 2020 Juno Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year and recently received two 2020 Western Canadian Music Award Nominations.

More to be Announced Soon!

Kwe Performance Series

Native Americana is presented as part of Native Women in the Arts’ 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.

Winner of the 6th Annual Barbara Laronde Emerging Artist Award & Short List Nominees

Native Women in the Arts is pleased to announce the shortlisted nominees and winner of the 6th Annual Barbara Laronde Emerging Artist Award

The Barbara Laronde Award is given in the spirit of fostering the careers of emerging Indigenous artists in Northern Ontario who are women and/or Two Spirit people and/or gender marginalized people*.

NWIA recognizes the specific barriers that many Northern artists face, and we aim to support Indigenous artists by creating connections, professional development, and performance opportunities through our programming initiatives.

Due to a record number of nominees this year, and the ongoing hardships of COVID-19, NWIA decided to do a shortlist of nominees as well as a winner. Each shortlisted nominee will be acknowledged with $1,500 and the winner will receive a prize of $3,500. The winner and their work will also be featured on our website.

The shortlisted nominees for the 6th Annual Barbara Laronde Award are:

Jana Rae Yerxa

Melody McKiver

Courtnee Osawabine

Sonya Belisle

Taryn Bobiwash

Leanna Marshall

The Winner of the 6th Annual Barbara Laronde Emerging Artist Awards is:

Michel Dumont

Michel Dumont is a queer Métis Two Spirited disabled artist who currently resides in Thunder Bay. He enjoys breathing new life into discarded vintage tile by making mosaic pieces. He also works in wearable art, using packing tape, mylar, cellophane and LED lights. He’s shown at Queer Landscapes, Queer Intersections at the John B. Aird in Toronto, and the Queer and Peace Vernissage, Dawson College, Montreal.

Eye of Nanabijiou (Photo Courtesy of Artist)

Michel Dumont was selected from a number of nominees from across Northern Ontario. NWIA’s Artistic Director, Ariel Smith remarked: “ On behalf of the Board and staff of NWIA, we are pleased to present this award to Michel Dumont, in recognition of not only their talent, but their commitment to the development of their craft and artistic practice and to their community. We look forward to seeing what the future has in store for this artist and wish them all the best in their endeavours. NWIA is excited to support the continuing creative and professional achievements of Michel Dumont with a $3,500 cash prize. On behalf of the Board and staff of NWIA we are also thrilled to acknowledge our shortlisted nominees Jana RaeYerxa, Melody McKiver, Courtnee Osawabine, Sonya Belisle, Taryn Bobiwash and Leanna Marshall with $1,500 each. A huge congratulations to all.”

Infinity Rose (Photo Courtesy of Artist)

*This award is for women and Two Spirit people, as well as other gender marginalized folks. NWIA respects trans women as women and uses the term gender marginalized to express inclusivity of transfeminine people who do not identify as women, as well as trans men and other other transmasculine people, non-binary and genderqueer people. Cisgendered heterosexual men are not eligible for this award.

About the Barbara Laronde Award

The Barbara Laronde Award was created to honour the legacy of NWIA founder Sandra Laronde and her vision and commitment to Indigenous artists. It celebrates and acknowledges the career of one outstanding, emerging, Northern-Ontario based Indigenous artist, recognizing the geographic and economic barriers that many Northern artists face. Sandra Laronde’s 19 years of leadership at NWIA paved the way for many Indigenous artists at various stages of their careers. The award is named after her mother, Barbara, who has been the backbone of her family and a leader in the Northern Ontario community, Temagami First Nation. Barbara inspired her children to be creative and entrepreneurial, and it is with this spirit that NWIA launched this award.

Michel Dumont in Performance (Photo by Elijah Nichols)

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 disciples 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 & The Music Gallery Present Silla and Rise + Nannaam

Native Women in the Arts invites you to join us for a virtual concert presented in partnership with the Music Gallery. This Indigenous circumpolar showcase features performances by celebrated Inuit and Saami artists: Silla and Rise (Nunavut/Ottawa) and Nannaam (Finland). The FREE stream will be available to view on Saturday, March 20, 2021, at 7pm and can be accessed here.

Silla and Rise
Juno nominated act, Silla and Rise blend Inuit throat-singing and futuristic dance floor beats. Silla are Cynthia Pitsiulak (Kimmirut, NU) and Charlotte Qamaniq (Iglulik, NU) their name comes from the Inuktitut word “Sila” meaning weather. In respecting and honouring the need to preserve Inuit culture and paying homage to our land and the strong connection to its spirituality, they experience and perform the sounds of traditional and contemporary throat songs. Rise is Ottawa’s Rise Ashen, a Juno Award nominated global-grooves producer, DJ and dancer who has spent his life pursuing the intersection of traditional and futuristic music.

Nannaam
Nannaam, comprised of singer Heli Huovinen, an Inari Sámi artist from Finnish side of Sápmi, has worked with Sámi media and theatre since 2007. Joined by creative collaborator Urayakq, a greenlandic electronic musician/producer and DJ, the two perform Pop music in Inari Saami language.

Native Women in the Arts
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 and communities.

NWIA supports multi-disciplinary artistic expression by connecting, training and presenting emerging, mid-career and established artists whose work reflects a commitment to art, culture, community, and the advancement of Indigenous people. 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. Our programming connects to a diverse participant and audience base, predominantly in Toronto and Northern Ontario.

The Music Gallery
Established in 1976 by members of the Canadian Creative Music Collective (CCMC), the Music Gallery occupies a unique position within Toronto’s musical ecology that allows us to present, encourage and promote leading-edge contemporary music in all genres. For over 40 years, our mandate to foster innovation and experimentation in music has remained constant, and today, we are Toronto’s pre-eminent presenter of genre-defying concert music.