It was my pleasure to be on the panel Land and Bodies: Reconciliation & Cultural Redress in Public Art at the Creative City Strategy symposium organized by Cultural Services of the City of Vancouver, on March 4, 2019, at the Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. We were asked to examine the question:
How are artists claiming space to centre land and bodies that various structural forces have attempted to erase from the public realm and imagination?
Panelists will explore ways artists working in the public realm reinscribe land and bodies whose stories have been displaced by systemic forces of colonialism and racism.
Marcia Crosby, Curator, Writer, Researcher; PhD – Art History and Cultural Theory, UBC
Arash Khakpour, Cofounder; Pressed Paradise, Co-Founder; The Biting School
Laiwan, Artist; Faculty – Goddard College; Founder – Or Gallery
Dylan Robinson, Assistant Professor Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts – Queens University
Vanessa Richards, Artist; Director – Creative Together Community; Community Engagement Director – 312 Main
The Creative City Strategy symposium was a remarkable day that offered many learnings. Thank you to our Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh hosts, staff at Vancouver Civic Theatres, panelists, interpreters, artists, videographers, graphic recorders, facilitators and participants for making the symposium possible.
This symposium is a significant component in the development of the Creative City Strategy, a culture plan to guide the City of Vancouver’s efforts to support art, culture and creative work and life.
Download the program: Symposium Brochure (PDF)
Watch the video recordings
Daytime Program
Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Visibility and Voice on the Land (Starts at 53:00)
Advancing Reconciliation, Equity, and Accessibility in Granting (Starts at 3:17:53)
Securing Local Arts & Culture Spaces (Starts at 5:47:02)
Reflections on the Day (Starts at 7:58:26)
Evening Program
Land and Bodies: Reconciliation & Cultural Redress in Public Art (Starts at 25:37)