IMAA News – March 2023 (Click here!) Become a Member or Renew your Membership! interConnect – Info Session: Call for Participation Upcoming Thematic Meetings on Discord Welcome to Faraz Abdullah, CSMARI Project Manager! DS4Y Funding Recipients 2022-2023 ASO Convergence Conference Ontario Arts Council Budget Cuts +Panorama +Featured Member : FAVA +Opportunities
$43,000 for approximately 39 weeks, at 28 hours/week
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 100 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
Our organization is strong and dynamic, anchored in its diverse membership from all regions of the country, and supported by a small but dedicated staff. We are innovative, forward-thinking and inclusive in our commitment to serve independent media arts communities in all their diversity from coast to coast to coast.
For more information about IMAA, its members and activities, visit www.imaa.ca
IMAA is excited to be hiring a Project Manager to lead its interConnect project. This individual will see the project through all its phases from initiation, to research, and completion.
interConnect comes out of feedback among arts organizations that suggests that the Digital Strategy Fund’s fundamental goals have yet to be fully met. While much important knowledge is being generated thanks to the Fund, the dissemination & concrete application of its results remain incomplete and unevenly distributed. Within the fields of visual arts, media arts, digital arts & contemporary craft, the majority of organizations and artists have yet to benefit substantially from this work. A relatively limited number of organizations are making great strides towards digital transformation and enhancing their effectiveness & sustainability in their respective communities. If these successes could be more widely shared, these transformative impacts would be amplified across the Canadian arts sector.
Based on this analysis, IMAA proposes an initiative comprised of 3 related activities:
(1) take stock of the enduring pain points experienced by organizations, collectives & artists in fulfilling their mandates or creating work;
(2) perform an extensive review, analysis & distillation of the most promising Digital Strategy initiatives already completed or underway;
(3) Match the newly developed expertise in the arts sector with the unmet needs and challenges experienced by the bulk of the arts community, using a methodology based on cooperative inquiry and documenting the results through a collective intelligence platform.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Lead the InterConnect project from April 2022 —January 2023
Manage project budgets in collaboration with the IMAA Director
Prepare reports and updates for public sector funders
Provide collaborative leadership to colleague contractors including the Communications Specialist and Researchers working on the InterConnect project throughout the research, outreach, hiring, interviews, communications phases of the project
Support community consultations with stakeholders to inform project deliverables
Coordinate outreach to expand the reach and relevance of InterConnect to new communities
Produce public reports at key milestones in the development process
Respond to any other related tasks and duties that are required.
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS
Experience in project and budget management
Experience working in artist-run, DIY, and/or independent organizations and collectives
Knowledge of Canada Council for the Arts funding programs
Excellent organizational skills and practices
Consensus decision making and facilitation experience is an asset
An understanding of anti-oppression and equity frameworks
Strong communication skills and experience with remote work and project management
Multilingualism an asset, English will be the primary language of project work
IMAA is strongly committed to correcting historical employment inequities in the sector it serves and is working proactively to centre diversity within the organization. We welcome all applications from women, racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Accommodations will be made available to applicants with disabilities in the recruitment process. If you require accommodation, please provide details in your application.
We strongly encourage applicants from equity-seeking groups to apply. If you are comfortable self-identifying as such, we ask that you do.
To apply, please submit a cover letter and CV (in English or French) by email to the IMAA Hiring Committee: hiring@imaa.ca
Thank you for your interest. Due to volume only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
*IMAA’s National Office is located in Montréal, but we will consider applicants based elsewhere in Canada. We are currently observing work from home protocols. The successful candidate may be required to travel as part of their functions.
This position is funded through the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategies Fund
The Independent Media Arts Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Barbora Racevičiūtė as the new National Director.
Barbora will guide IMAA in its mission to push for structural change with regards to labour and governance and to advocate for equity, anti-oppression and access. Barbora has held roles with various not-for-profit arts organizations and in the academy.
Her previous experiences as Interim Communications and Development Manager at Workman Arts and as Director of Operations with Images Festival have given her a focus on media arts, with a multidisciplinary mandate. She is committed to interdisciplinary partnerships and considers them essential to understanding the emerging priorities of the media arts sector and its overall development.
Barbora has been involved from the sector on the ad-hoc Basic Income Committee to provide resources and support for artists. She cares deeply about the next generation of arts workers and concentrates on building solidarity in the sector and combating labour precarity.
About IMAA
The Independent Media Arts Alliance(IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 100 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
This workshop will be held on Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST). Please note that this workshop will be conducted in French and follows up on the anti-racism policy clinic held for IMAA’s English-speaking members with MANO.
Workshop Objectives
This workshop aims to equip participants with tools to help them understand current and historical issues of inclusion and exclusion. It will allow participants to better understand the specific Canadian and Quebecois historical contexts and grasp the particular manifestations of these contexts in our local and national cultural sphere, as well as the particular realities that participants experience within their cultural organizations.
Following the workshop, participants will be able to :
Identify implicit forms of bias.
Understand historical and contemporary power relations in relation to these explicit/implicit forms of bias.
Better understand implicit/explicit bias and identify the larger impacts of exclusion.
Reflect on the nuances of past “diversity” policies to determine whether or not they are beneficial to their organizations and the communities they wish to include.
Design new and innovative approaches within their organizations, informed by required and optional prior reading and discussion, to rethink past mistakes and shortcomings and highlight new practices.
Become more comfortable and open in conducting dialogues about issues of inclusion and exclusion in the cultural sector.
Ultimately, the goal is for these new tools to lead to new and tangible forms of diversity and inclusion policy within organizations.
Methods of learning
Reading excerpts from books and articles, viewing short videos, large and small group discussions, lectures and formal presentations.
Programming
Day 1: Introduction to implicit/explicit bias, exclusions, historical contexts of racial exclusions, modes of analysis.
Day 2: Discussions about existing modes of inclusion in participants’ organizations (failures and successes) and ideal and critical modes of inclusion.
Participant Engagement
Participants should set aside the time to read approximately 40 pages prior to the sessions. These readings will provide a common ground for the course and will be the focus of the discussions.
James Oscar’s Biography
James Oscar is a writer, art critic and curator. He has studied critical thinking closely with poet/writer Édouard Glissant. His work explores how the complexity of identities is disseminated in the visual, literary and performative arts. James has 27 years of experience writing about contemporary art, cultural criticism, and sociocultural urban histories. James has 28 years of experience in the field of diversity as it relates to cultural inequality and human rights as it relates to urban racialized communities. He is currently advising the City of Montreal on issues of cultural inequity in the city’s current cultural institutions. With his group Montreal in Action, he was one of the main contributors regarding cultural inequity in the first public consultation on systemic discrimination and racism in North America – the OCPM on systemic discrimination and racism. Read the full biography (French)
Montreal in Action
In 2018, Montreal in Action made history by collecting 22,000 signatures from Montrealers to force a public consultation on racism and systemic discrimination involving over 7,000 Montrealers in 2019. The following summary of the full report has been published. https://ocpm.qc.ca/…/files/pdf/P99/resume-reds_english.pdf
Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, as we are limited to 25 participants.
This workshop was initiated by IMAA and CQAM. Please note that CQAM is now the Regroupement de pairs des arts indépendants de recherche et d’expérimentation – Repaire, an organization born from the merger of CQAM and RAIQ.
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) announces new Media Arts Fee Schedule for 2022
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 – At its Annual General Meeting on September 28th, IMAA’s membership voted unanimously to adopt a new transitional fee schedule, as a step towards greater harmonization artist fee recommendations and standards in the Canadian and Québec arts communities.
The 2022 IMAA Fee Schedule introduces significant changes that will impact media arts presenters differently. We recognize that most organizations have fixed budgets and that many plan their programming well in advance. In some cases, transitioning to the new Fee Schedule may require time and adjustment.
We encourage presenters to gradually adopt the new fee structure throughout 2022 and 2023, with the goal of fully adhering to the IMAA Fee Schedule standards by 2024. The 2023 and 2024 fee schedules will be soon available on IMAASource’s website. Presenters should always follow the spirit of the Guiding Principles in implementing a transition that is appropriate to their own organization’s situation.
The objective of the 2022 IMAA Fee Schedule is to raise the standards to which the entire independent media arts community should strive, in keeping with its values of fair remuneration for artists. We encourage organizations to use the new Fee Schedule when budgeting for future programming and to refer to it in grant applications.
$52,000-$58,000 per annum plus benefits, 32 hours per week, 6 weeks paid vacation.
Years of experience: 5 to 10 years
Location: Canada*
Benefits include: 4 weeks paid holidays + 2 weeks during the winter season, health-care spending account, work-from home allowance and annual cost-of-living adjustment to wages.
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 100 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
Our organization is strong and dynamic, anchored in its diverse membership from all regions of the country, and supported by a small but dedicated staff. We are innovative, forward-thinking and inclusive in our commitment to serve independent media arts communities in all their diversity from coast to coast to coast.
For more information about IMAA, its members and activities, visit www.imaa.ca
IMAA’s National Director is responsible for initiating and coordinating IMAA’s projects and activities. Candidates must have experience with grant writing and working in a non-profit arts environment, have comprehensive knowledge of the independent media arts in Canada, and demonstrate a strong understanding of arts funding and the political landscape in Canada.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Chart a course for the Alliance, responding to challenges, seizing opportunities and achieving buy-in and consensus for projects and initiatives with IMAA’s Board and membership;
Work with colleagues and partners in the arts sector to prioritize and pursue advocacy efforts on behalf of the independent media arts;
Research and prepare all operating & project grants for submission to funding agencies;
Promote and maintain communication among IMAA’s membership, staff and Board;
Encourage participation and development of committees among the board and membership;
Develop partnerships within the Media Arts community (in both the private and public sectors);
Ensure sound financial and administrative stewardship;
Support and supervise permanent and temporary staff; and
Respond to any other related tasks and duties that are required.
Work with the IMAA Board of Directors to continue advocacy activities and develop and implement new advocacy campaigns;
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS
5 – 10 years experience in related field
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in both English & French
Experience in grant writing & budgeting
Understanding of non-profit Board governance
Excellent organizational skills and practices
Experience in project management and supervising personnel
Commitment to responding to the needs of the independent media arts community
Willingness to develop new links and partnerships
Bilingualism
IMAA is strongly committed to correcting historical employment inequities in the sector it serves and is working proactively to centre diversity within the organization. We welcome all applications from women, racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Accommodations will be made available to applicants with disabilities in the recruitment process. If you require accommodation, please provide details in your application.
We strongly encourage applicants from equity-seeking groups to apply. If you are comfortable self-identifying as such, we ask that you do.
To apply, please submit a cover letter and CV (in English or French) by email to the IMAA Hiring Committee: hiring@imaa.ca
Thank you for your interest. Due to volume only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
*IMAA’s National Office is located in Montréal, but we will consider applicants based elsewhere in Canada. We are currently observing work from home protocols. The successful candidate may be required to travel as part of their functions.
IMAA engaged in a national conversation to address online presentation models. As a result of this research, we will update our Fee Schedule to include online presentation and produce a series of additional resources on intellectual property, remuneration, accessibility and technical considerations.
The updated Fee Schedule and accompanying documents will be hosted on IMAASource, a searchable collection of resources and tools. The objectives are therefore as follows:
Main Objectives
Create or update web-based layouts for our WordPress website to publish the new resources. They include:
Work with an accessibility consultant (or a team member) to optimize the website for screen readers.
Secondary Objectives
Implement additional web functionalities, such as
a fee calculator and flow charts.
Fix major bugs (such as the display of the landing page and mobile navigation).
Further improve web accessibility.
Propose updates to the website in areas including
navigation, design, and search functionalities.
IMAASource is a work in progress. We are looking for a partner who has an interest in continuing to improve this project in other contracts and who can accompany us in determining the priorities for the development of the resource.
Additional information
The content will be produced in French and English.
The number of pages is yet to be determined, but IMAA can be in charge of the content entry.
Good knowledge of non-profit organization and the independent media arts sector is an asset.
Budget
The budget for the design and web development is limited to $ 4000 with an additional $ 400 for accessibility user testing (all before taxes). If necessary, secondary objectives could be deferred to other projects with additional budgets.
Project’s Schedule
July to August 2021: Production of the resources
September: Translation of the ressources
September 28, 2021: Fee Schedule is voted at the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
September to November 2021: Web design, development and integration
We conduct interviews and/or hire the successful candidate at the end of August/beginning of September. The designer will be able to start working before the vote on the Fee Schedule at the AGM as we do not expect major change in the layout.
How to Apply
Please include in your proposal the following elements:
a short statement of interest including if you will recommend (or already work with) an accessibility consultant,
a quote or preliminary budget,
a portfolio presenting past projects (website can act as a portfolio).
All proposals should be sent to Benjamin J. Allard at proj@imaa.cabefore August 19th. Applications should have “OPS Web – [YOUR NAME]” as a subject line.For any questions, please contact Benjamin J. Allard, proj@imaa.ca, (514) 686-1005.
Give your opinion! Call out to the Independent Media Arts Sector: Have your say on the ONLINE MEDIA ARTS PRESENTATION FEE SCHEDULE.
IMAA is currently accepting registrations to participate in the June 23, 2021, Public Consultation. // Prononcez-vous! Appel au secteur des arts médiatiques indépendants, c’est le moment de donner votre opinion sur le nouveau BARÈME DE TARIFS POUR LA PRÉSENTATION DES ARTS MÉDIATIQUES EN LIGNE.
L’AAMI accepte actuellement les inscriptions pour participer à la consultation publique du 23 juin 2021.
Following the discovery of the remains of 215 children who attended the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, IMAA extends its deepest condolences to all members of the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation, as well as to all indigenous peoples.
In light of the horrific situation, we would like to share various support initiatives:
The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS) whose mandate is to assist First Nation Peoples in British Columbia to recognize and be holistically empowered from the primary and generational effect of the Residential Schools by supporting research, education, awareness, partnerships, and advocating for justice and healing. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society also provides a crisis line. By phone: 1-866-925-4419 Donate | More about
The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous peoples across Canada. Phone and chat counselling is available in English and French. On request, phone counselling is also available in: Cree, Ojibway, Inuktitut. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or use the chat box below to connect with a counsellor on-line. More about
The KUU-US Crisis Line Society is a non-profit registered charity that provides 24 hour crisis services through education, prevention and intervention programs. By phone: 1-800-588-8717, or on the website: kuu-uscrisisline.com.
Introduction The sudden surge of new presentation models exposes an urgent need to formalize standards for streaming and other types of online presentation of media arts. Current recommended fee schedules in Canada only partially reflect these new models and lack consensus on recommended minimum fees or presentation standards.
To address these issues, IMAA is engaging in a national conversation with media artists, arts service organizations, media arts festivals and independent distributors, galleries and other presenters. We want to establish a minimum fee schedule and create a best practice guide on intellectual property, remuneration, accessibility and technical issues for the presentation of media arts online.
The present survey is intended for Canadian representatives of media arts organizations and media artists or independent producers. Responses are collected anonymously. Only aggregated data will be shared with the IMAA network or otherwise made public.
Terms used in the survey are defined in this glossary.If you require assistance to fill-out the survey or would like to provide responses over the phone, please contact Marilyne Parent at engagement@imaa.ca.
This internship will immerse you in the activities of the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) and its close partner the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC). Both organizations are exciting and dynamic workplaces that are currently engaged in a number of ambitious projects, which advance and strengthen the independent media arts community in Canada.
Your time will be split evenly between the two organizations.
During your time with IMAA, you will be responsible for:
Maintenance, expansion and promotion of our online resource hub IMAASource (imaa.ca/Source)
Participating in the early planning stages of a national media arts conference in 2022
While at NIMAC, your responsibilities will include:
Planning and promoting a series of online conversations on subjects of importance to Indigenous media artists
Logistics support (liaison with members, configuring communications tools)
Your general responsibilities at both organizations will also include:
Updating membership contact lists to facilitate engagement and community participation
Communications-related tasks (website maintenance, contributing to monthly newsletter, social media campaigns)
Over the course of this ten-month internship, you will first receive intensive on-the-job orientation and training and then have the opportunity to participate hands-on in our organizations’ active projects. You will benefit from exposure to a very experienced and highly professional team of arts administrators, organizers, and other specialists, participating fully in our day-to-day work over the course of the internship.
By the end of the internship period, you will have dramatically increased your understanding of the Canadian media arts sector, made concrete decisions regarding your future specialization within the field, equipped yourself with tools for seeking further employment or self-employment options, and be better positioned to pursue those options.
About you:
You hold a degree in arts administration, film studies, library and information science, Indigenous studies, or another field related to the position.
You have a passionate interest for, and preferably also hands-on experience working in independent media arts (film, video, audio art, and/or digital art). In particular, you have an affinity with or experience in the Indigenous media arts community.
You’re seeking experience in arts administration and wish to contribute to supporting the development of the independent media arts sector. You’re interested in distributing information or stimulating conversations that support independent media artists in their work.
You have strong organizational skills, including proficiency with all standard digital office tools, and well-developed work practices. You are responsible, accountable, and able to work largely in a self-directed manner. You have excellent communications skills and a demonstrated ability to work well in teams.
English language skills (written and spoken) are essential for this position. Written and spoken French would be considered an asset, but not a requirement of the position.
IMAA is strongly committed to correcting historical employment inequities in the sector it serves and is working proactively to centre diversity within the organization. We welcome all applications from women, racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Accommodations will be made available to applicants with disabilities in the recruitment process. If you require accommodation, please provide details in your application – you may append your requirements to your cover letter.
CQAM and AAMI are collaborating with Diversité artistique Montréal (DAM) to offer our members a discussion and training on inclusion issues in the cultural sector on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 27 and 28, 2021.
The first day will serve as a preparatory step for the workshop the next day, by providing a common vocabulary. Several concepts will be discussed using historical background, artistic references and statistics. It will also address the concrete impacts that issues of under-representation can have in the workplace as well as some avenues to initiate a process of inclusion.
The second part will be a dialogue. A workshop will be held to discuss what is an anti-racist approach. Participants will be invited to submit their concerns and questions without judgment before and during the workshop so that it can be adapted to your realities. The goal of the exercise is to accompany your personal and professional reflections and to open up the field of possibilities for changes that you can implement with your team, your organization and your community. Any process of inclusion must be thought out and planned within your teams and organizations, but we hope to give you some foundations on which to develop it.
The main objective of the iDAM cell is to raise awareness in the cultural and artistic milieu of the systemic obstacles that limit the equitable development of artists and diversity and First Nations organizations and to accompany them towards sustainable change.
April 27 (from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm):
Diversity and indigenous peoples
Racism and systemic racism (through history)
Implicit biases
White privilege and white fragility
Allies
Intersectionality
Equity vs. equality
Inclusion vs. integration
April 28 (9:30am to 12pm):
Anti-racist approaches.
Analysis of the symbolic, organizational, communication and administrative components of organizations.
Recommendations for concrete actions for a structuring inclusive approach.
Suggestions for tools adapted to your needs.
Inclusion measures and policies.
Discussions on concrete concerns raised by participants.
Registration will be done on a first come, first served basis, as we are limited to 25 participants.
*Please note that this event will be conducted in French and follows up on the anti-racism policy clinic held for our English-speaking members with MANO and IMAA.*
The sudden surge of new presentation models exposes an urgent need to formalize standards for streaming and other types of online presentation of media art. Current recommended fee schedules in Canada only partially reflect these new models, and lack consensus on recommended minimum fees or presentation standards.
To address these issues, IMAA is launching a national conversation with media artists, arts service organizations, film festivals, independent distributors, galleries and other presenters. This work will establish a minimum fee schedule and create a best practices guide on intellectual property, remuneration, accessibility and technical issues for the presentation of media arts online.
This project will benefit the media arts community by:
– Encouraging the fair remuneration of media artists when their work is shown online;
– Clarifying fees and best practices for the online presentation of audiovisual work;
– Building the capacity of Canadian presenters to present audiovisual work online;
– Enhancing the accessibility of Canadian independent media arts disseminated online;
– Expanding the technical knowledge of Canadian presenters of media art online.
There are many ways to support this work:
1- Become a project supporter: Please consider making a financial contribution to this important work! By doing so, you will help ensure that all research participants are fairly compensated for their time, that project contributors reflect a broad diversity of voices and regional representation, and that our project’s outcomes are widely circulated and broadly accessible to our community free of cost. We suggest a contribution amount of $500. Your organization’s financial support will be acknowledged and displayed at all related events, press releases, media and promotional materials. IMAA is a charitable organization and can issue receipts for your donation if required.
2- Take part in the discussions: Join us for a round table discussion of these issues on March 24th. Follow this link to register. A second round table will be organized in June.
3- Spread the word:Sign up to our mailing list and subscribe to our social media channels below to follow our process and receive regular updates. Relay news from our project through your own communications channels and invite your community to join the upcoming round table.
4- Declare your support for these standards: Once the updated fee schedule and best practices have been approved by IMAA’s membership, we’d like you to demonstrate your commitment to upholding these standards. Stay tuned for details on how to display your support for our new fee schedule and best practices guide!
Get in touch with us:
If your organization is able to make a financial contribution please contact our Project Manager, Benjamin J. Allard.
For more information about the upcoming roundtable or to get involved in the process, please write to our Engagement Manager, Marilyne Parent.
_____________
About IMAA
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 100 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
IMAA is a charitable organization and can issue receipts for your donation, if required.
IMAA is currently accepting registrations to participate in its March 24, 2021 Roundtableon Online Media Arts Presentation Standards.
🌎 Background and Invitation
— The sudden surge of new presentation models exposes an urgent need to formalize standards for the streaming and online presentation of media art. This is why IMAA is engaging in a national conversation to establish a minimum fee schedule and create a best practices guide.
How are media artworks currently presented online? What principles and best practices should guide us? What tools should be developed?
We want to hear from you! Attend the roundtable and contribute to the discussion.
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the eight recipients of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Up to eight awards are distributed every year: six awards recognize artistic achievements, one award recognizes excellence in the fine crafts (Saidye Bronfman Award) and one award recognizes an outstanding contribution to contemporary visual arts, media arts or fine crafts. The winners receive a medallion and a cash prize of $25,000 each.
Since 2013, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance have put out a call to professional Canadian filmmakers to create video portraits of the award winners. The following are the directors and the GG Award winners they have profiled.
IMAA salutes the outstanding work of each of these GG Award winners, and especially acknowledge the artistic achievement award given to Luc Courchesne (Media Artist)and Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Interdisciplinary Artist).
“Luc Courchesne is a pioneer in media art and design. From interactive portraiture to immersive experience apparatuses, he has developed innovative approaches that have earned him prestigious awards […]”. Read more
“Of Cree/Halfbreed and German/Polish ancestry, Cheryl L’Hirondelle is an interdisciplinary, community-engaged artist, a singer/songwriter and a critical thinker whose family roots are from Papaschase First Nation, amiskwaciy wâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) and Kikino Metis Settlement, Alberta. Her work critically investigates and articulates a dynamism of nêhiyawin (Cree worldview) in contemporary time-place with a practice that incorporates Indigenous language(s), audio, video, virtual reality, the olfactory, sewn objects, music and audience/user participation to create immersive environments towards ‘radical inclusion.[…]’”. Read more
>> Video portraits of the winners will be available on Air Canada’s domestic and international flights from May 1 to October 31, 2021.
As part of its Cyber Safe and Sound resource, the Independent Media Arts Alliance invites you to a Cybersecurity Workshop! Come share your inspiring initiatives, discuss your situations with colleagues and meet our experts.
This sharing and solving session of two-hour is designed to support arts organization employees in their cybersecurity efforts. If you consulted our cybersecurity resource, and if you wish to start to implement cybersecurity measures in your organization, this event is made for you.
This session will be divided in two parts: 1. A sharing information session on cybersecurity issues. This part will be confidential.
2. A collaborative brainstorming session to meet our cybersecurity experts. This part will be recorded and available on Cyber Safe and Sound website to inspire other organizations in their management of digital risks.
The event is open to all, but spots are limited. Please read this Participation Guide before registering.
English Session: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 Start time according to your time zone : PST (Vancouver) at 10am, MST (Edmonton/Calgary) at 11am, CST (Winnipeg/Regina) at 12pm, EST (Toronto/Montreal) at 1pm, AST (Halifax) at 2pm, NST (St. John’s) at 2:30pm.
The sudden surge of new presentation models exposes an urgent need to formalize standards for streaming and other types of online presentation of media art. To address these issues, IMAA is engaging in a national conversation with media artists, arts service organizations, media arts festivals and independent distributors, galleries and other presenters.
With this project, we want to establish a minimum fee schedule and create a best practices guide.
Interested in taking part in the conversation? You can join one of the three working groups:
Intellectual Property and Remuneration
The online presentation and distribution of media artworks challenge existing models for the remuneration of artists. The use of digital technology to disseminate works also raises specific issues related to intellectual property, including copyright, attribution standards, moral rights, fair dealing, etc. This working group will be directly involved in the development of a national media arts fee schedule for online presentation and support the development of best practices regarding intellectual property and digital practices.
Online Accessibility
Putting into practice accessibility-driven values – offline and online – is an ongoing process in which the media arts community is engaged. There is much to accomplish in this area, least of which is the development of a common understanding of what is meant by accessibility and how this translates into online presentation practices. This working group will lay the groundwork for the development of best practices for making online presentation accessible to audiences with diverse realities. We specifically value the contributions of those who have experienced lack of access to this working group.
Technical Considerations
Digital technology changes the playing field for media arts presenters and distributors, providing multiple new ways of disseminating work and reaching audiences. However, from a technical point of view, online presentation comes with its own set of issues. Setting security parameters, using a third party or custom-built platform, configuring geo-blocking, ensuring that works cannot be downloaded, these are only a few of the additional considerations that come with online presentation. With the goal of increasing the media art community’s capacity when it comes to online presentation, this working group will support the development of best practices related to technological issues and digital presentation contexts.
Engagement
These three groups will meet regularly to support the research, discuss best practices and provide feedback on working documents. The meetings, organized according to participants’ availability, will last between 1 and 2 hours (with some requiring up to 1 hour of preparation before the meeting). A compensation of $75 per meeting is offered.
February to end of April – Research Phase: Approximately 1 meeting per month.
May to end of August – Writing Phase: More frequent meetings as needed.
We encourage individuals with lived experience of oppression and self-identified members of marginalized communities to apply. If you require accommodations to participate, please address it in your application.
To participate
Send a brief letter of interest describing your relevant experience and skills and specifying the group(s) you would like to join (500 words max.) to engagement@imaa.ca.
Date: Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 Time: 1PM EST Free for IMAA and MANO members Session offered in English
IMAA andMANOhave partnered to bring a series of policy clinics to our members over the coming months.
The Anti-Racism Policy Clinic looks to expand the sector’s anti-racism work, not only by examining existing organizational policies, but by going beyond and exploring how these policies are enacted, or not; how they contribute to systemic change or how they might hinder real transformation.
Facilitators will review a sample of existing policies from the sector, provide feedback and an action plan to see these activated by indicating milestones and wins in a process that is complex, takes time, organizational and sectoral buy-in and requires both human and financial resources.
Particular attention will be paid to the challenges faced by organizations as well as strategies to move beyond diversity and into inclusion, belonging, equity and retention. The session will be facilitated by Malissa Bryan and Jess Notwell from the Rainbow Diversity Institute.
To sign up, please email Adriana at membership@mano-ramo.ca with the name of the person attending from your organization, their job or volunteer title/role, name of organization or group and email address.
Registrations will be managed on a first come-first served basis as we are limited to 24 participants nation-wide.
If you would like to submit your anti-racism policies for review, please indicate whether these can be shared with the group at the clinic in an anonymized format, or not.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us!
The cultural, heritage and sport sectors were among the first to experience the immediate financial impacts of COVID-19 and will be among the last to return. These sectors are not only an important driver of the Canadian economy, but also play a critical role in nation building, fostering Canadian identity, and social cohesion. These guidelines are intended to assist with the development and consideration of written proposals that aim to support arts and culture, heritage, and sport organizations in the recovery period, where COVID-19 health and safety risks are expected to remain significant and normal economic linkages may still be damaged. If applicable, information is also requested on partnerships, costing, and return on investment.
Request for video proposals to honour great Canadian artists from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories
Note: Due to COVID-19 and unpredictable travel restrictions, which may be tightened in the coming months, it may not be possible to film the GGArts 2021 video portraits on location. Should this be the case, the video portraits will have to be produced remotely without the possibility to meet and film the winners in person.
The Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) are once again coming together to honour the recipients of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts).
We are looking to pair Canadian filmmakers with the 2021 GGArts winners to create artistic video portraits (3 minutes max., including credits/bumpers) and a 30-second teaser. We also encourage production centres and filmmakers to enter an agreement that would help cover the costs of services and equipment they might need.
The commissioned filmmakers will be acknowledged in every way possible as creators of these videos. The video portraits will be shown on Council’s web site and YouTube channel. They will be promoted via social media, on partners’ web sites and at public events. The commissioned filmmakers and IMAA members are also encouraged to show the works on their websites and social media channels.
The videos will be a key element of a national campaign to raise the profile of the winners and the visual arts, media arts and fine craft in Canada.
Each video will be an artistic and original portrait of the GGArts winner of which the commissioned filmmaker has complete creative control. It will celebrate the winner’s achievement and the impact his or her life’s work has made on the lives of Canadians. The Council reserves the right to use the video portraits for promotional purposes. The commissioned filmmakers retain copyright and ownership of their works and may use them as they wish to promote their own work.
Budget (max.): $7,000 Deadline for submissions: Sunday, November 1, 2020 Deadline for questions regarding the RFP: Friday, October 23, 2020
Digital Shift will be comprised of six weekly sessions, held online from 10am -12pm (Pacific time) each Thursday from September 17 to October 22, 2020. Each session will be made up of a one hour round-table conversation, followed by a virtual break-out, where participants will gather in working groups to discuss the issues raised during the conversation. These discussions will have French/English translation and ASL interpretation.
The first session on September 17 will feature speakers France Trépanier & Chris Creighton-Kelly, co-directors of Primary Colours/Couleurs primaires. They will present “A Shifting Landscape” by approaching the immediate challenges in the Canadian arts system. Using a historical perspective, they situate the development of this Eurocentric system in the context of colonialism; the post World War 2 ‘cultural nation building’ period; the 80’s and 90’s push by IBPoC artists to gain access to this system; the 25 year response of Canadian arts institutions/organizations and the current resetting of this system in the wake of Indigenous struggles and the BLM uprisings.
Register for the first session here: bit.ly/RegisterWeek1 —– Digital Shift will also showcase the work of artists from the Pacific Region (BC and the Yukon) through a rotating weekly program of screenings, online artists’ works, and virtual walks by artists through different territories within the region. These pieces will be shown on our website from September 17 to October 28.
Events for the first week of September 17 to 23:
Featured Screening – “At the Confluence” programmed by Yukon Film Society (YFS) and The Klondike Institute for Art and Culture (KIAC). Works will be available to stream on our website in the Cinema.
Featured Artist Works by Farheen HaQ and Anchi Lin will be shown on our website in the Gallery.
Informal Meetup Sessions focusing on Artistic Staff and Technical and Production Staff will be held simultaneously on our website in the Main Hall on Sept. 22, 10am–12pm PST.
Digital Shift is hosted by the FLUX Media Gallery, which is situated on the ancestral and un-ceded territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, including the WSANEC peoples of the Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout First Nations (Victoria BC). The Gathering is presented in partnership with the Media Arts Alliance of the Pacific (MAAP), the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC) and IMAA.
IMAA to deliver Digital Skills for Youth program from 2020-2022
IMAA is pleased to announce that from September 2020 until March 2022, we will offer funding opportunities for youth internships as part of the federal government’s Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) program.
The DS4Y program is a national initiative coordinated through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy overseen by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). The program helps youth advance their digital skills, improve their employability and use their talent to their full potential in the digital economy.
Thanks to the DS4Y program, IMAA will help at least 35 underemployed post-secondary graduates develop their digital skills, gain valuable work experience and enhance their future employability through work and training internships hosted by nonprofits and small businesses in the arts and culture sector.
“Digital skills and work-integrated learning are key to future success, innovation and jobs in Canada,” said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “The DS4Y program helps graduates get the best possible head start so they can thrive in the digital economy, while delivering the highly skilled workforce that Canadian businesses are looking for.”
To learn more about the Digital Skills for Youth program or to submit your application to host internships, please visit IMAA’s DS4Y page.
Resource List – Some places to give working locally in the US – Some places to give working nationally in the US – Some places to give working nationally in Canada – Some places to give working locally in Canada – Take Action (Call Scripts + Petitions) – Resources and educational tools (Some incredibly helpful and comprehensive resource guides, Podcasts, Movies and TV and Books) Anti-racism resources – Where you can donate – Online reading – On protest – Practicing Allyship – Prison Abolition – Videos – Podcasts – Books – Follow + Support Support Black initiatives or Organizers Helping Black Communities in Montreal – Lawyer/Legal Aid/Mobilization – Culture – Education/Youth – Assistance to migrants – Assistance to ethnic and racialized communities – Fight against poverty and exclusion / Entrepreneurship Anti-racism resources for white people by Women do Stuff (France) – Books – Articles, blogs – Films, series, documentaries – Podcasts – Youtube – Organizations, associations, collectives, activists – Youth – Collections
Workman Arts’ Anti-Racism Resources – Donate – Petition – Directories – Action – Tools IMAASource – (Re)conciliation – Think Before You Appropriate: A guide for creators and designers – Interactive Territory, Treaty and Language Map (Native Land) – Understanding Aboriginal Arts in Canada Today: A Review of Knowledge and Literature (Canada Council for the Arts) – Impacts and Benefits Agreement – Indigenous Corporate Training (ICT) – Indigenous self-government – Indigenous Corporate Training (ICT) – Indigenous Peoples: A Guide to Terminology – Indigenous Corporate Training (ICT) – 27 valuable “must do” tips for Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples – Indigenous Corporate Training (ICT) – 23 Tips on What Not to Say or Do when Working with Indigenous Peoples – Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (ICT) – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN) – Guidelines for working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Elders (CACE) – Cultural Representation in the Media Arts, Ethics and Freedom of Expression (FOFA Gallery) – Learning From Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations: A Case Study of Three INGOs in Canada with Transformative Impact on their Communities (Tides Canada) – Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) – Cultural Diversity in the Media Arts (NIMAC – IMAA) Afrique au Féminin (Montréal-based) Afrobiz.ca: Black owned businesses in Canada BIPOC TV & Film Black Lives Matter: Ways You Can Help (unofficial) Black Lives Matter Vancouver Demands & Calls to Action
This internship will immerse you in the activities of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, an exciting and dynamic workplace that is currently engaged in a number of ambitious projects, which advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. This internship will cover two areas of activity: assisting in the coordination and planning of an online media arts gathering, and coordinating the operations of IMAA’s online resource hub IMAASource (imaa.ca/Source).
Over the course of this six-month internship at IMAA, you will first receive intensive on-the-job orientation and training and then have the opportunity to participate hands-on in the two projects described above: online media gathering and resource hub. You will develop new skills in the use of digital tools for sharing knowledge and facilitating conversation. You will benefit from exposure to a very experienced and highly professional team of arts administrators, organizers, and other specialists, participating fully in an exciting and ambitious project over the course of the six-month internship.
By the end of the internship period, you will have dramatically increased your understanding of the Canadian media arts sector, made concrete decisions regarding your future specialization within the field, equipped yourself with tools for seeking further employment or self-employment options, and be better positioned to pursue those options.
About you:
You hold an undergraduate degree in an arts or communications related field. You have a passionate interest for, and preferably also hands-on experience within the media arts (independent film, video, audio art, or new media/digital art). You have an interest in gaining experience in the use of tools to facilitate knowledge exchange and professional gatherings using online means. You have strong organizational skills, including proficiency with all standard digital office tools, and well-developed work practices. Familiarity with media streaming platforms and software would be an asset. You are responsible, accountable, and able to work largely in a self-directed manner. You have excellent communications skills and a demonstrated ability to work well in teams.
English and French language skills (written and spoken) are required, with preference given to fluently bilingual candidates with excellent writing skills. IMAA is committed to equal employment opportunities and encourages candidates who identify as women, Indigenous, members of visible minorities, LGBTQ2SIA+, and persons with disabilities to apply.
To apply:
Please use the young-canada-works.canada.ca portal to submit your application. Please include the following three documents with your application:
●your CV
●a cover letter summarizing your interest and relevant skills and experience
●a writing sample in either French or English (something you’ve written in the past either for work or for studies – we ask for this in order to get a sense of your writing skills)
Incomplete applications will not be considered. The application deadline is Friday June 26 2020 at 11:59 pm EDT.
The Independent Media Arts Alliance stands in solidarity with Black and Indigenous communities.
We are committed to confronting and fighting systemic racism, police brutality and oppression in all of its forms. We encourage members of the media arts community and beyond to amplify Black and Indigenous voices, to financially support initiatives in their local areas dedicated to racial justice, to engage with family, friends and colleagues in difficult and welcomed conversations of privilege and institutional racism.
We invite member organizations to share this statement or to create their own, to ask themselves what more they can do and to commit themselves to the constant learning that racial justice demands.
IMAA is proud to present its ambitious new action plan for 2019-2023. In this document, you will find details about IMAA’s six key goals and the various projects we will be undertaking to accomplish them. For more regular updates on our activities and projects, you can subscribe to our newsletter.
Where do the parties stand? Non-partisan information on parties’ platforms. Note that this page will be updated regularly as the Coalition receives answers to their questionnaire.
The Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada and the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) are once again coming together to honour the recipients of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts).
We are looking to pair Canadian filmmakers with the 2020 GGArts winners to create artistic video portraits (3 minutes max., including credits/bumpers) and a 30-second teaser.
Type of Service Required : Video production Closing Date : 24 September, 2019 Contact Person : Sylvain Laporte Phone : 1-800-263-5588 | 613-566-4414, ext. 5270 Email :sylvain.laporte@canadacouncil.ca
We are pleased to share the videos we produced this year for Arts Day on the Hill with theCanadian Arts Coalition in partnership with Saw Video and Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal. IMAA took part in Arts Day this year by interviewing several arts participants on the role of advocacy and promotion of the arts. Various messages were communicated by arts participants, among others, the essential need to fund the arts, Indigenous cultures, diverse cultural values, and official and minority languages.
Eight videos are now available for all to view on IMAA’s Youtube channel, including the speech made by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez.
The Coalition’s messaging was focused on addressing weak links in the creative value chain. Arts Day delegates sought support in three areas: Arts presentation in Canadian communities; Training and internships; and Charitable donation incentives.
IMAA would like to thank the participants: Steven Smits, Producer and Independent Arts Manager,Niki Little, Director of the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC), Cynthia Lickers-Sage, Visual artist from Six Nations and Executive Director, Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA),Ellen Hamilton, Executive Director of Qaggiavuut, Janita Grift, Independent Arts Administrator, Jean-François Packwood, Executive Director of CCAFCB, Howard R. Jang, Vice President, Arts and Leadership, Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Carmen Gibbs, Executive Director of the AAAPNB,Monique Renaud and Ainslee Beer of the Canadian Arts Coalition.
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This reflection by Missy LeBlanc is in response to the National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering that took place in June 2018 at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon.
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June 12-15, 2018 – Saskatoon, SK
In June 2018 the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC) in partnership with the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) held a national gathering at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon. The gathering—Listen, Witness, Transmit— brought Indigenous scholars, artists and cultural workers, along with non-Indigenous allies and media arts organizations together for three days of panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions, performances and screenings. The gathering was centered around Indigenous resurgence with each day dedicated to a specific resurgence practice— listening, transmitting, and witnessing.
The night before the official gathering start, there was a community feast to welcome panellists and participants. Alongside the feast was a viewing of Cree Métis artist Jason Baerg’s and Fransaskois artist Jean-Sébastien Gauthier We Are Star People, an interactive installation based on Cree cosmology that takes the viewer on a journey to Pakone-Kisik (Pleiades star cluster). The feast and installation was a way for all those involved to get to know one another and to start building relationships for the often heavy conversations that were to come during the remainder of the week.
For each day of the gathering, a film screening corresponding to the day’s theme was showcased over the lunch hour. All of the screenings were curated by Indigenous curators and featured films and video art created by Indigenous filmmakers and artists. On the first day, I had the opportunity to curate the first film screening, Reverberate, which reflected the theme of listening. Filmmaker, artist and curator Eli Hirtle (Cree, British, and German) used the theme of witness on day-two for his film screening micimwaci: kayâs, mekwâ, nîkânote // ᒥᒋᒪᐧᒋ: ᑲᔮᐢᒣᑳᐧᓃᑳᓄᑌ // timeless: past, present, future. For the last day of the gathering, Jennifer Smith (Métis) reflected on transmission in her film screening The Future.
The gathering kicked off with an opening from keynote speaker and powerhouse media matriarch, Métis filmmaker Marjorie Beaucage. Beaucage opened up the gathering with a poem and a discussion on storytelling. For Beaucage, stories are medicine and artists are storytellers. Stories connect us all and it is the responsibility of artists, as storytellers, to share and transmit these gifts and medicine. Beaucage ended her keynote with a screening of Giving Back, a video commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Aboriginal Film and Video Art Alliance gathering in Banff. The gathering was a way to create space where Indigenous artists could explore their stories in their way—something that is still being fought for today.
The first panel discussion “(Dis)Organizational Structures” was moderated by Jennifer Smith and featured panellists Lori Blondeau of TRIBE Inc. (Cree/Saulteaux/Métis), Dr. Erin Sutherland of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective (Métis and settler), and Tania Willard of Bush Gallery (Secwépemc and settler). The panel explored Indigenous arts organizations from across Canada that operate in a collective framework and utilize Indigenous methodologies and ways of knowing within their organizational structures. Through the use of personal narratives, the panellists shared their thoughts on why such collective models—rather than the Western white-cube model of organization—was the best fit for their organizations. They also spoke on the use of Indigenous labour within non-Indigenous spaces and what that means when it comes to the presentation of artistic work; dedicated spaces, or lack thereof, for Indigenous artists and collectives; and what sovereign Indigenous spaces could look like.
Day two of the gathering started with a lively panel discussion. “The Canada 150 Hangover” was moderated by Ariel Smith (nêhiyaw and Jewish) and featured Jason Baerg, Jamie Isaac (Anishinaabe), and Janet Rogers (Mohawk/Tuscarora). The panel delved into the topic of post-reconciliation and post-Canada 150 funding, and how Indigenous artists and arts organization can continue with the important conversations that were started during the ramp up to Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017. Rogers, a prolific poet and sound artist, suggested that artists need to occupy and take back space and use it authentically rather than taking up space that is given. For Rogers, Indigenous lands are not stolen, but occupied lands, and the only way we are to get them back is to take the land back. Artists, as carriers of culture, can facilitate the occupation by taking back physical (gallery) space, land, and even the airwaves. Indigenous occupation will lead to Indigenous survival. Isaac, who is the Curator of Indigenous and Contemporary Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, works within and outside of colonial institutions. She noted that we are not at the beginning and that there has already been much work done by Indigenous cultural workers in the past, citing the 1992 Task Force Report on Museums and First Peoples, and that it is now time for institutions to address these calls to action. Baerg, an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Practices in Contemporary Painting and Media Art at OCAD University, spoke on his experience of decolonizing institutions by providing source material for his students and encouraging them through art. There has been much labour performed by many Indigenous artists and cultural workers to get us to where we are today, but it is time for colonial institutions to do some of the labour that is required for real structural change.
On the final day of the gathering, participants were encouraged to think about the theme of the day, transmit, and how they can continue the conversations that were started at the gathering once they return home. The panel “Publishing and the Self” moderated by Lindsay Nixon (Cree/Métis/Saulteaux), featured Joi T. Arcand (Cree) speaking on the zine Kimiwan, the blogger and arts writer Amy Fung, Victoria Inglis from Red Rising Magazine (Dënesułįne and Nîhithaw), and Dr. Julie Nagam, Chair of the History of Indigenous Art in North America, a joint appointment between the University of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Art Gallery (Métis – Anishinaabe/French/German/Syrian). The panellists discussed ways of thinking and how, as Indigenous people, we can write our own histories and share our own stories. The panellists discussed the importance of archival documentation and dissemination for future generations by creating source material written from Indigenous perspectives and voices; the importance of giving space to voices that are not usually heard; and how and when to prioritize Indigenous languages over English within publishing.
Listen, Witness, Transmit focused on issues facing Indigenous media artists and organizations. However, these issues and topics are important to share with the larger media arts community. Indigenous artists and cultural workers have worked, and will continue to work, for the space and recognition they have received, but they cannot continue to do so alone. It is with the ethical allyship of non-Indigenous media artists and organizations that the space can be provided for these conversations to continue to grow.
BIO
Missy LeBlanc is an arts administrator and emerging curator of Métis, Cree and Polish decent. She recently completed an internship at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and is currently the Program Coordinator for Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. LeBlanc holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, majoring in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture and Sociology, as well as a Diploma in Arts & Cultural Management from MacEwan University. LeBlanc was born, raised, and is currently based in Edmonton, AB.
Dates: October 1 2018 to March 29 2019 with a two-week paid break in December-January
English: Advanced
French: Intermediate
Job description:
This internship will immerse you in the activities of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, an exciting and dynamic workplace that is currently engaged in a number of ambitious projects which advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. The specific focus of this internship is the coordination and promotion of IMAASource (imaa.ca/Source), an online resource hub for media arts organisations. IMAASource offers access to a comprehensive, interlocking, and mutually reinforcing breadth of pre-existing content that has been developed by IMAA’s close partners, members, or counterparts in other fields.
Over the course of this six-month internship at IMAA, you will first receive intensive on-the-job orientation and training and then have the opportunity to participate hands-on in the management and promotion of IMAASource. You will become familiar with the latest standards, recommendations, and tools; sharing them within the media arts community and soliciting their feedback and recommendations. You will benefit from exposure to a very experienced and highly professional team of arts administrators, organizers, and other specialists, participating fully in an exciting and ambitious project over the course of the six-month internship.
By the end of the internship period, you will have dramatically increased your understanding of the Canadian media arts sector, made concrete decisions regarding your future specialization within the field, equipped yourself with tools for seeking further employment or self-employment options, and be better positioned to pursue those options.
About you:
You hold a degree in arts administration or equivalent. You have a passionate interest for, and preferably also hands-on experience within the media arts (independent film, video, audio art, or new media/digital art). You have an interest in gaining experience in arts administration and learning more about the available resources, guides, and standards that support this work. You have strong organizational skills, including proficiency with all standard digital office tools, and well-developed work practices. You are responsible, accountable, and able to work largely in a self-directed manner. You have excellent communications skills and a demonstrated ability to work well in teams.
English and French language skills (written and spoken) are required, with preference given to fluently bilingual candidates with excellent writing skills. IMAA is committed to equal employment opportunities and encourages candidates who identify as women, Indigenous, members of visible minorities, LGBTQ2SIA+, and persons with disabilities to apply.
To apply:
Please send an email to info@imaa.ca with “Hiring committee” in the subject line. Please include the following three documents as email attachments:
Your CV
A cover letter summarizing your interest and relevant skills and experience
A writing sample in either French or English (something you’ve written in the past either for work or for studies – we ask for this in order to get a sense of your writing skills)
The application deadline is Monday August 20, 2018 at midnight ET.
Mission & Mandate of IMAA:
The Independent Media Arts Alliance(IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization federally recognized as the National Arts Service Organization for Canada’s media arts sector. Founded in 1981, IMAA is a key player in the domain of media arts on the national scene. IMAA works tirelessly to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 90 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
IMAA’s aims are:
> COMMUNICATIONS | to provide a forum of communication and discussion among independent media arts groups
> COMMUNITY | to provide opportunities for developing links between all members of the IMAA
> ADVOCACY | to represent the interests of independent media arts organizations before relevant agencies in the public and private sector.
This is the time to book your advertisement in the program guide Listen, Witness, Transmit,the NIMAC-IMAA National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering – (June 12 to 15, 2018) in Saskatoon, SK.
Listen, Witness, Transmit will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops, performances, exhibitions and screenings. Each day will employ a resurgence practice: the first day – Listening, the second day – Witnessing, and the third day – Transmitting to build momentum that informs Indigenous pathways of continuities, resilience and relationships through art, the community and the collective.
Your organization and logo will be displayed in the program, a great opportunity to connect with the community, show your support and provide a venue to showcase independent Aboriginal film, video, media arts and interactive media works.
ADVERTISING:
The deadline for ad bookings is April 30th. Download the form
For immediate release
The 2018 National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering Website is Now Live!
NIMAC and IMAA are pleased to announce the launch of the website for Listen, Witness, Transmit: the upcoming National Indigenous Media Arts Gatheringtaking place June 12 to 15, 2018 in Saskatoon, SK. Visit the 2018 National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering website regularly to stay up-to-date on the latest conference information on the schedule, discounts for travel and accommodations, sponsor and advertising opportunities, and learn more about guests that you will meet.Listen, Witness, Transmitwill feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops, performances, exhibitions and screenings. Each day will employ a resurgence practice: the first day – Listening, the second day – Witnessing, and the third day – Transmitting to build momentum that informs Indigenous pathways of continuities, resilience and relationships through art, the community and the collective.
To register on eventbrite: click here
Early Bird Registrationswill be available until May 2, 2018.
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This past November, the Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted the 3rd Annual Symposium on the Future Imaginary, which successfully amassed Indigenous scholars, artists, technologists, activists and members of the community in order to examine and discuss the outlook of Indigenous futurity. This was accomplished through incorporating new media, technology, innovation in conjunction with traditional knowledges, language revitalization and consultation from the community.
The symposium was kicked off with a screening of Skawennati’s Time TravellerTM series, followed by a panel discussion with collaborator Jason Edward Lewis, Chair in History of Indigenous Arts in North America Dr. Julie Nagam, new media artist Scott Benesiinaabandan and of course, Skawennati. The discussion was the ideal entry point to the symposium as it indicated what the remainder of the week would entail. They spoke of Indigenous knowledge and how to incorporate that into digital medias. With guidance from the Indigenous community and elders, they reveal new self-reflection of Indigeneity: one that surpasses Western narratives to create international platforms for healing and knowledge sharing.
Meanwhile, the first official day of the Future Imaginary symposium came two days later. The event welcomed the guests with a song sung by Métis artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle and Plains/Woodland Cree storyteller and actor Joseph Naytowhow. Dr. Julie Nagam opened with a discussion on colonialism within the art institution and how new media challenges these notions. She proceeded to explain that digital technologies surpass Western concepts of linear time and that it refuses the colonial binary of savage versus civilized. The idea that Indigenous people are “frozen in time” perpetuates inaccurate representation of Indigenous cultures and therefore is detrimental to the process of reconciliation. When Dr. Duke Redbird provided a Skype-in lecture, he explained the necessity of switching from colonial vision to an Indigenous worldview with innovation because that can offer sustainability in our Western world.
New media, such as games and graphics, can be considered methods of creating awareness for non-Western ways of life and representations of diversity. It allows for interactivity as a means of generating conversations among participants. By including storytelling, land-based epistemologies, guidance from the community, and by prioritizing Indigenous languages, we can utilize technology as a decolonial tool that allows us to delve deeper into our cultures. During the discussion titled Technology as Decolonial Tools, Scott Benesiinaabandan explained that digital media surpasses white-walled art institutions, that it is a portable method of art display that can facilitate accessible education platforms to our communities. Additionally, technology can strengthen bridges between communities by encouraging communication to distant relations across the globe. Meanwhile, graduate student of University of Hawai’i of Manoa Daniel Kauwila Mahi recognized that video games cultivate decolonial and sovereign potentialities, and through re-constructing coding through Indigenous languages (specially Hawai’ian), we can begin to dismantle colonization from the very foundation of the language of technology. Lastly, art historian Dr. Jolene Rickard stunned participators with her knowledge of past, present and future Indigeneity while inflecting Indigenous perception of non-linear concepts of time. She demonstrated this through the Haudenosaunee creation story of the Skywoman, providing evidence that Indigenous peoples are perpetually considering notions of the future. From the two colours of the Wampum belt, to the DNA of a birch tree, to binary coding, Rickard confirmed that the past, present and future are constantly working in conjunction to manifest fluid representations of time alongside land-based knowledges and histories.
The last day of the symposium consisted of a showcase of Indigenous-developed technologies, such as virtual reality and videogames. A selection of interactive works by digital media artist Elizabeth LaPensée lined the entrance of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, while a side room led you to participate and engage with virtual reality artworks, Kent Monkman’s The Honour Dance and Scott Benesiinaabandan’s Blueberry Pie Under the Martian Sky. Meanwhile, the main area offered a variety of innovative works such as Ogoki Language Inc.’s Ojibway Language App, an app that facilitates proper pronunciation while educating participants on Anishinaabe culture and important phrases. Additionally, the Ojibway Language App was designed to operate without an Internet connection due to the limited internet access of remote communities, advocating for a prioritization of the language across the nation.
The symposium invited Indigenous perspectives from all over the globe, from New Zealand, to Hawai’i, to the Arctic. However, the collective consensus is that Indigenous sovereignty is the most integral aspect to our culture preservation, revitalisation and maintenance. Digital artists are demonstrating that through the fusion of technology and innovation with storytelling, language revitalisation, ancestral knowledge and consultation from the community, new media can be used a decolonial tool in order to facilitate the ongoing process of reconciliation for the Indigenous population.
BIO
Adrienne Huard is an Anishinaabekwe currently based out of Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), Quebec. She is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University, focusing on Indigenous art history while incorporating methods of decolonization within the art realm in order to ensure reconciliation for the community. She has been published in Canadian Art magazine and Red Rising magazine and will be pursuing her master’s degree this fall.
Announcing the NIMAC-IMAA National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering 2018
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) in partnership with the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC) are pleased to announce that the National Indigenous Media Arts Gathering 2018 will take place June 12-15, 2018 in Saskatoon, SK. This joint NIMAC-AAMI Gathering will address concerns of the Indigenous media arts community in Canada. Speakers’ lectures, round tables, workshops, presentations, exhibitions and film screenings will be on the agenda.
EntitledListen, Witness, Transmit,each day will employ a resurgence practice: the first day – Listening, the second day – Witnessing, and the third day – Transmitting, to build momentum that informs Indigenous pathways of continuities, resilience and relationships through art, the community and the collective.
The gathering will be an opportunity for cultural workers in the field to build their national network with the view of strengthening independent media arts organizations and collectives.
The National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition’s (NIMAC) priority is to support, promote, and advocate for Indigenous media artists and arts organizations within the context of Canadian media arts practices. We connect Indigenous artists to not-for-profit arts organizations on a national scale.
NIMAC is a permanent region within the structure of the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA), acting as the Indigenous arm.
The Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. Representing over 100 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country, the IMAA serves over 16,000 independent media artists and cultural workers.
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This reflection by Aimée Mitchell is in response to the Analogue Film Gathering that took place 23-24 March 2016 in Calgary, AB.
Participants at the Analogue Film Gathering
IMAA Analogue Film Gathering – The Ecologies of Film
This past March, I joined representatives from across the Canadian media arts sector who gathered in Calgary to discuss the ways in which the media arts sector can continue to support the production, exhibition, and preservation of analogue film. It was a chance for those engaged within this network to voice concerns and strategize a focused way forward together with the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA). Staff and board members from production and distribution centres, alongside folks from film collectives and our last standing film labs in Canada were present. For two days we addressed the specific needs of analogue film from on-the-ground perspectives, and brainstormed ways forward in regards to sharing and accessing resources, approaching funding bodies for preservation support, and addressing the need for equity and outreach within the sector both for staff and the communities they serve.
The gathering coincided with the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) $100 Film Festival, which happened to be celebrating its 25th anniversary. The festival is one of the few in Canada that solely showcases the work of small-gauge film on film – a poignant and complimentary event that put into practice some of the concerns raised during our daytime sessions.
So after a day of thoughtful discussion, we found ourselves immersed in film and critically engaging with the very medium we spent the day unpacking. Those in the media arts sector understand better than anyone the immense labour that lives within a finished film print running through a projector. But there was something about the proximity of our discussions and engaging with film each night that amplified the network of labour for me. Mostly, it allowed me to consider the ways in which the sector operates as an ecosystem with internal and external forces impeding on its ability to thrive.
What follows here is a recap of the questions, concerns, and suggestions that emerged from the two-day gathering – through the lens of safeguarding analogue film practices and preservation within the media arts sector. This look back at our discussions reveals the gaps and lacks – where we need to learn from failures in order to move away from systems perpetuating inequity and consider whose voices are being safeguarded.
Production
Questions:
Knowledge sharing and apprenticeship: how does the sector hold on to knowledge about the repair and care for legacy media?
How can the sector move away from reifying film technology, and the idea of it being an exclusionary medium in order to make it accessible to everyone?
How can production centres address the rural/city divide in terms of resource access?
Concerns:
Scarcity of hardware, repair, and supplies.
Meaningful outreach to marginalized communities where the labour of outreach is not placed on the partnering organization.
Suggestions:
Provide the media arts network with an active database of who has which specialized film equipment and where it is located.
A digital database of equipment manuals that people can continually add to.
A list of individuals who can do major repairs (i.e. the travelling Steenbeck repair person).
An actively updated parts sourcing database for equipment and gear.
Partnering with engineering schools for tooling and 3D part prototyping.
Production centres bulk buying supplies within a region, or perhaps the sector (i.e. approaching Kodak for a bulk purchase of film stock). If a partnership could be made, perhaps they would also donate additional stock for outreach programs.
Create a database of labs in North America and what kind of processing they specialize in to share with filmmakers.
Partnering with schools and community organizations to teach the basics of analogue film in their learning environment rather than at a production centre.
Labs
Concerns
Managing the expectations of filmmakers regarding the fidelity of the original film image versus a new print, and the quality of image of a digital scan.
The precarity of the state of labs, though business is often steady.
Suggestions
Work with distributors and production centres to educate analogue filmmakers about the fidelity of analogue and digital transfers.
Work with distributors and production centres to educate analogue filmmakers about the value of digital scans, especially as a point of reference for the lab. High-resolution film scans are welcomed by archives and labs. It is a safe way to access the work without having to expose original elements to possible damage or environmental changes.
Distribution & Programming
Questions:
How can distributors work with production centres and programmers to promote the work of artists of colour and folks from marginalized communities? How can the notion of a distributor’s film canon be revised, reconsidered, done away with? Who does the notion of a canon serve?
How do distributors support the circulation of film on film when a print is delicate?
How do you not scare off a programmer from showing fragile or one of a kind prints, knowing that they would be liable for damage?
Concerns:
Not enough filmmakers of colour, Indigenous, and Two Spirit folks are being distributed and programmed, especially when they are emerging artists and need the encouragement in order to pursue their art practice.
Distribution centres have become de facto archives, but have no funding to support the safeguarding work they inevitably do by caring for a print collection.
How to keep a fragile film collection active, yet consider the fidelity of the works and the intentions of the artists.
Suggestions:
Bring the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC) into the conversation and listen to what the organizations and artists they represent need and would like support on.
Create more forums for artists to voice their needs with their distributors beyond an annual general meeting.
Develop a dedicated film vault for filmmakers to deposit elements, or partner with one of Canada’s larger archives to begin the discussion of independent artist deposit.
Create a standardized film print inspection form for internal use at distribution centres to accurately track print conditions. These reports could be shared with filmmakers.
Work with filmmakers to discuss their film preservation plan, legacy, and safeguarding their original elements.
Work with IMAA and production centres to secure artist rates at film labs for striking new prints.
Work with labs to educate filmmakers about the benefits of digitizing their work, and help to manage the expectations of the fidelity of the digital scan.
Projection & Exhibition
Questions:
How does a filmmaker or distributor make the call as to what exhibitor is to be trusted with a rare print?
How can distributors and artists educate programmers in the importance of showing film on film when it is possible?
Who should pay for the costs of a new print when damage is done? When is a new print required? What level of damage?
Concerns
Programmers, when given the option, will often choose digital over a print to keep down shipping and projection costs.
There are fewer and fewer venues with 16mm and 35mm pedestal projectors.
There are fewer projectionists who can confidently project and troubleshoot pedestal projectors.
There are fewer people able to properly service projectors.
There are fewer sources for projector parts (for those organizations who are not already hoarding a variety of projector models).
There is no projection/exhibition guideline standard to follow for smaller micro cinemas outside of cinematheques.
Micro cinemas and collectives do not always have the means to pay for replacement prints when a film is damaged, leaving the collective, filmmaker, and distributor left trying to sort out a solution.
Suggestions
Compile and actively update a database of exhibition spaces that have film projection available, including the projector models, bulb wattage, gauges, and film speeds.
Make available a database of digitized projector manuals.
Bring trained projectionists to different regions of the country to knowledge share and give workshops on the basics of film projection, maintenance, and repair.
Create a standard film information sheet that distributors and independent filmmakers can modify and fill out to send along to exhibitors/projectionists. This would also include basic projection tips, and an area for the projectionist to fill out if there was damage or issues with the screening.
Partner with engineering schools for tooling and 3D part prototyping of projector parts (especially rollers and archival gates).
Since the Analogue Film Gathering, movement has been made on a few fronts in terms of advocacy and organizing. A group of attendees at the gathering have continued the conversation on how the sector can move forward on the issues raised this past March. Discussions have been focussing on how a larger national or international gathering could take place within the next few years. While ideas are still in the brainstorming stages, the momentum created by the Analogue Film Gathering is still resonating with participants and calling them to action.
In addition, many of the distribution centres and media arts organisations have also been invited to participate in a SSHRC Partnership Grant spearheaded by Professor Janine Marchessault at York University. I had the opportunity to work on this grant application as an administrator, and once again was inspired by the immense amount of enthusiasm within the media arts sector to come together and share expertise in safeguarding the ecology of the network. Archive-Counter Archive: Activating Canada’s Moving Image Heritage (A/CA) is a 6-year research-creation partnership that seeks to address the crisis facing Canadian audiovisual heritage through a systematic, multi-institutional plan for facilitating public access and public policy. A/CA seeks to activate Canada’s most precarious audiovisual heritage by studying and engaging with a selection of case studies at Canada’s artist-run centres including the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, Groupe Intervention Vidéo, Urban Shaman, VIVO, Vtape, and the Winnipeg Film Group. These case studies will encompass media arts made by women, Indigenous peoples, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, two-spirited and queer (LGBT2Q) communities, and archives from Canada’s immigrant communities. The project hopes to foster an audiovisual archive network in Canada, linking community archives to citizens, researchers and policymakers to identify the needs of audiovisual preservation across different community contexts, and illuminate the challenges and epistemologies that surround 21st century archives. The success of this grant would strengthen the audiovisual preservation advocacy that IMAA and the sector continues to move forward on. The much anticipated outcome of this project proposal is expected in late March 2018.
Returning to the metaphor of the ecosystem to discuss safeguarding analogue film in all its capacities: the 21st century is deeply invested in models of sustainability that involve everyone doing their part to save, reserve, or protect resources. If we think about analogue film as an ecosystem that needs to be revived as a cultural resource, then there needs to be strategies and resources implemented and shared to sustain the system in a way that serves all parties involved. The Analogue Film Gathering enabled the sector to gather an overview in order to move into action. Activating the media arts network requires both professional and unrecognized skill sets to work together – those within our formal media art spheres, but also those who continue to be left out. These conversations are integral moving forward. Agency must be felt within the network of the ecosystem in order to keep the environment active, vibrant, and growing.
Lastly, my perspective and position within this ecosystem at the time of the Analogue Film Gathering was from the standpoint of a film distributor and collections manager at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC). I have since left my post at CFMDC, but continue to find myself connected to the community in my other capacities as a projectionist, programmer, academic, and media arts advocate. I have cared about the living and active legacy of unique film prints from these views: as someone who works with artists to safeguard their work while also keeping it in circulation, as the person trusted to inspect, thread, and project artisanal prints, as a programmer who respects the artistic choices of a filmmaker wanting to screen their film on film, and also as a scholar interested in the history, politics, and day-to-day practices of audiovisual preservation in Canada. From these various perspectives I have reflected on the March gathering, and the network that supports the artists who continue to experiment with analogue film. I look forward to witnessing and participating in future gatherings to build on the momentum that this event ignited.
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Bio:
Aimée Mitchell is the former Distribution and Collections Manager at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. She is currently the Project Manager for the XL-Outer Worlds Project, which is commissioning five Canadian artists to create short large-scale films inspired by the invention and technology of IMAX. She is a MITACS Post-Doctoral Fellow at York University, where she is researching the early history of IMAX, and the reconstruction of this history through traces from personal fonds and counter archives. She holds a PhD from the York and Ryerson University Joint Communication and Culture Program. Her dissertation explored the politics and practices of audiovisual archives in Canada, and more specifically, the importance of DIY archiving practices in its various forms. She was an archival researcher and contributor to the book Reimagining Cinema: Film at Expo 67 (MQUP 2014). She is a collective member of the Toronto Queer Film Festival, which showcases contemporary, innovative, queer and trans film and video art, and also a board member of the8fest small gauge film festival. She is an advocate for media artists of all gauges and mediums.
In January 31, 2018, IMAA sent a letter to Simon Brault, Director and CEO of Canada Council for the Arts questioning the role of program officers and peer committees.
This letter refers to two documents that were published online by the Canada Council for the Arts:
“The Application Assessment Process and the Awarding of Grants” downloaded on December 18, 2017 (the document has since been modified)
“Peer Assessment at the Canada Council for the Arts: How the Council Makes its Grant Decisions” downloaded on December 18, 2017
“The peer committee must be in a position to make funding recommendations to the program officer and the Board of the Canada Council. If the programming officer is to maintain complete control of grant budgets and their allocation, without input from peer committees and the arts community, the arts community is denied a clear and transparent funding process and the program officer put in a position of potential conflict of interest.”
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This reflection by Lindsay Sorell is in response to the Analogue Film Gathering that took place 23-24 March 2016 in Calgary, AB.
Participants at the Analogue Film Gathering
SPA DAY FOR FILMMAKERS: Battling Exhaustion in The Analogue Film Community
Name-tagged and toting bottomless cups of coffee, lab technicians, artist-run coordinators, and filmmakers filled the Engineered Air Theatre. This was the battle-planning commission, a two-day strategizing session on analogue film’s next offensive: the 2017 Analogue Film Gathering in Calgary, March 23-24th. Amid passionate and inspiring liturgies on the vitality of film, I was struck by the exhaustion that is pervasive among us in the filmmaking community. Tired of defending the survival of the medium, the survival of a livelihood, we ask: film exists—isn’t that enough?
With the goal of cross-referencing answers from across the national film community, I asked four filmmakers and coordinators across Canada—Amanda Thomson (Iris Film Collective, Vancouver), Jesse Andrewartha (filmmaker, volunteer technical coordinator, Cineworks, Vancouver), Nicola Waugh (former Programming Director of CSIF, Calgary), and Patrice James (Executive Director, IFCO, Ottawa)—about this exhaustion.
What is your dream for celluloid?
JESSE ANDREWARTHA (JA): Simply that it remains accessible as an artistic choice. But for that, it requires not just the work of film artists—the medium itself has to maintain a momentum and continuing visibility in the public sphere to remain viable. Technology and the Internet is vital to this effort. It’s not without a certain sense of irony that the technology and connectedness that has lead to the rise of digital is also key to film’s survival.
Furthermore, films like Dunkirk from director Christopher Nolan help keep film modern, and culturally relevant. There is a huge viewer response to seeing a film in 70mm; the industry switch to digital projection amongst theatres in 2006 was swift and yet despite the claims that film is dead, ten years later that emotional response to film shown by the public may ensure continued limited releases on celluloid. The efforts and influence of film advocates like Mr. Nolan and other directors such as Quentin Tarantino inspire filmmakers to experiment with film over digital. As long as this can continue, film can remain viable.
AMANDA THOMSON (AT): To have artist-run film labs in Canada that follow the French model: somewhere that one could bring their film and learn how to make it themselves under the guidance of other more experienced filmmakers. From mixing chemistry to printing soundtracks, it would work on a sort of mentorship model with many people over a long period of time so the knowledge base multiplies.
Film bought in bulk and chemistry mixed from its component parts and replenished regularly doesn’t have to be as expensive as it is to do it on one’s own. The system as I’ve experienced in Vancouver relies heavily on an individual being able to work with very little guidance, and this is prohibitive in many ways.
I hear stories about the old NFB and I feel like we were so close. I wish that was something I could have experienced.
PATRICE JAMES (PJ): My dream for celluloid/emulsion is that artists and film devotees alike continue to have access to this original medium/technology that STILL demands great discipline, respect for process, a commitment to detail, and a reverence for craftsmanship and artistry. In my opinion, if we cease to learn, appreciate, and respect existing knowledge, I’m afraid we run the risk of ‘reinventing the wheel!’ And one of the most obvious problems facing us in this ‘free-for-all’ reality is that there is a true lack of understanding about the ethos of film. I want for film to continue to proliferate and thrive through the dedication and commitment towards propagating the medium, by artists, arts organizations, facilities, festivals, distributors and the entire ecosystem designed to support film’s future.
In your opinion, what stands in the way of the sustainability and proliferation of analogue filmmaking?
AT: The word “film” has come to mean so many things to so many people, that when we are talking about film we have to preface it with words like “analogue” and “celluloid.” I think this is also reflected in the way that we approach film in Canada. We have these co-ops and societies that are expected to be too many things for too many people. I don’t know much about many of them, but my sense is that analogue film is suffering for this.
Currently, skills and techniques are passed on in workshops which tend to want to make film accessible, to draw in a large group. There are ways to cut corners, to make things cheaper and/or easier, but as one takes on more of the process it gets complicated very quickly. There’s a point at which someone decides they’d rather send it to a lab than do it themselves. And I think labs are a great service that we should support, but I think it’s important to keep these skills in the community as well.
JA: Simply put: profit. The margins involved in a dwindling consumer base versus the industrial scale required by film must be substantial enough to motivate companies to continue. The problem is that the investment capital and consistent quality required over the millions of feet of film prevents small scale companies from entering the market. We’re at an interesting crossroads: Kodak is still struggling to find the happy medium where their film divisions can remain profitable enough, but are there any companies able to carry the torch if ‘Big Yellow’ decide they can’t maintain the product? ORWO and possibly new film startup Ferrania are the only two that could possibly fill that gap.
NICOLA WAUGH (NW): The largest barrier is technical. The lack of new camera and projector technologies means that artists must use old, and often imperfect gear. Replacing parts is sometimes impossible, and I’ve seen filmmakers go to great lengths to rebuild a part, or make a Frankenstein camera from several others just to get one working. But again, this is the amazing, obsessive passion that is just so wonderful to be around. Even the type of film that people use has become harder and harder to get. There are also only a few labs that process motion picture film in all of Canada.
But that’s not to say it’ll never come back. A few years ago, Kodak released a great new Super 8 camera that merges with digital technologies. I think this is an incredible development – learning to incorporate digital, rather than fight it. Bring in the best of both worlds. Although purists might hate this, I think it’s a nice middle ground. We’ve also seen the highly anticipated launch of Film Ferrania in the past few years, an Italian producer of high quality moving and still film.
PJ: There are a few actual and contrived threats facing the sustainability and proliferation of analogue filmmaking. Access to fewer emulsion service providers, especially labs, various types of expert technicians, machinists etc., is a pervasive and real threat. The idea that the language of film has become appropriated however, ‘dumbed-down’ and re-interpreted to satisfy a hyper-digital, purely consumerist driven creation machine, which dictates the obsoletion of film in order for this machine to thrive and excel, is a contrived threat.
What most exhausts you and your personal efforts in promoting the medium and community of analogue filmmaking?
AT: That I can’t pay the bills or buy groceries in volunteer hours. Work is work and there are only so many hours in a week. I know that it is more complicated than this, but when an organization or sector is dependent on volunteer work, at its best it privileges candidates who already have resources and at its worst punishes those who don’t by bringing down the value of work across the board. The volunteer work and unpaid internships I have taken did give me experience that have helped me to get other jobs, but it wasn’t without a cost physically, emotionally and mentally, not to mention financially.
PJ: I am continuously exhausted by the constant debate about film’s relevance; the ‘tug of war’ between film and digital; the dismissal or relegation of film as a medium for the elite or the privileged; the questioning or constant defending by film artists as to why they choose to use film? And, I am mostly disappointed by the actions and observations of media art practitioners, supporters etc. who dismiss the viability and autonomy of film within a hyper digital reality.
JA: The fact that there is no easily accessible support network; that processing facilities and full service labs are in another province or even another country. This means we are required to often process our own film to keep any reasonable schedule. Also, the reduced cultural awareness of film means that travel with celluloid is complex: the potential for film damage from X-Rays or mishandling is real and is a practical issue in shooting film internationally or anywhere air travel is required and has become a major hurdle in using and promoting film.
We are also up against another pressure of the modern age. We have the world at our fingertips; we can access the worldwide web on our phones and consume any media at any time we choose, to purchase whatever we want whenever we want it. This has lead to an impatience. When I am teaching others about film, they are excited until they learn that there is a process involved. That the medium does not represent instant gratification, but delayed gratification. One recent student bemoaned the 45-minute reversal process on his 100 feet of Kodak Tri-X and asked if he could take out his phone in the darkroom.
Do you have a specific idea that could eliminate or lessen this exhaustion in the national analogue filmmaking community?
NW: I think technology and skill-sharing are the two main issues that need to be addressed. Kodak has finally seen that there is a real demand for new analogue technologies and seems to be innovating to suit. Mailing lists (Frameworks, Forum) are important hubs for analogue filmmakers, but, to my knowledge, there is nothing of this nature in Canada, and nothing that offers that offers the possibility of technology-sharing between people in the same city/region.
AT: It has been liberating and empowering to form and be a part of the Iris Film Collective. A group of us with an interest in working in Super 8 and 16mm were able to pool our knowledge and resources in a more formal way. This has allowed us to apply for grants and we are currently in residence at the Falaise Park Field House. It’s a multi-year program that provides us with a field house to use as a studio through the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Now we can go to each other when we need someone or something. Because the equipment is our own, we know it works and if it breaks down, we know how to fix it.
JA: There is little that can be done to mitigate the impact of lab closures, so we have to look at how we as filmmakers can provide that support network. Film cooperatives in Canada already have communication and connection, but I think we need to formalize these efforts. I’m thinking a centralized resource for film groups to lessen the firewall of film accessibility. A hub! A web page could feature news, resources, a network of film advocates and facilities that’s indexed, maintained and easily accessible. It could include a national buy-in program on minimum requirement film stocks, whereby interested parties could buy units of film and once the minimum is reached, the order could be made. This would permit a wider democratization of film accessibility and also permit some purchasing power with Kodak. Furthermore, it could display a united front that demonstrates the interest and passion for film that exists in the filmmaking community.
PJ: What we can all do is commit to enabling our film support organizations to develop and sustain a community of film artists; push towards creating support systems for training new generation service providers, lab technicians, projectionists etc. And, be enthusiastic and mobilized towards keeping film going, not pessimistic and defeatist.
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Amanda Thomson is a filmmaker from the unceded Coast Salish territory known as Vancouver, BC. Her work focuses on perspective, the subconscious and other things she can’t quite put her finger on. Yet she is drawn to film by the tactile quality of the medium, and by its shifting nature in grain and cultural significance. She studied Film Video and Integrated Media at Emily Carr University receiving a Bachelor of Media Arts in 2009. In 2014 she helped form the Iris Film Collective. More recently Amanda has been back and forth between Paris, Vancouver and Rotterdam where she’s been developing her next 16mm film at L’Abominable, Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society and Filmwerkplaats.
Jesse Andrewartha was introduced to the magic of light and film as a post-graduate in Scientific Photography. A twenty-year veteran of the motion picture visual effects industry, he is an active filmmaker and his films combine both the digital and analogue domains to explore themes surrounding human interaction with the natural world. Jesse is also Vice President of the Board of Directors at Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society and Technical Coordinator at Cineworks Annex.
Nicola Waugh is an independent film programmer and communications professional based in Calgary. She holds a Master’s degree from York University and Ryerson University’s joint Communication and Culture program, and was the Programming Director of the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) and Director of the $100 Film Festival from 2012-2016. She has sat on juries for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Calgary International Film Festival, Prism Prize, GIRAF Animation Festival, Yukon Film Fund and the Gallery of Alberta Media Art (AMAAS), and was a member of the M:ST Performative Arts Festival Board of Directors from 2013-2016.
Patrice James graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies. She has been the Executive Director at the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa Inc. (IFCO) for going on 12 years. She is herself a practicing filmmaker/media artist. Ms. James has contributed to the cultural life of Ottawa for nearly 20 years, as a strong advocate for the media arts both locally and at the national level. She was one of three finalists in 2012 vying to receive Ottawa’s top annual arts prize; the Victor Tolgesy Award, which is given annually to an individual who has “contributed substantially” to culture in Ottawa. Patrice continues to live and work in Ottawa.
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BIO
Lindsay Sorell is an artist and writer in Calgary, Alberta. With a special interest in relationships, art ethics, and the implications of digital media, she has participated in numerous residencies, exhibitions, and lecture series across Canada. She recently collaborated with the Advanced Toastmasters of Calgary for the IKG Live 1 performance festival and completed two solo exhibitions of new work: Exercises in Healing at Contemporary Calgary and Buddha, Why Am I Alone? at AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art. She is currently working on a large-scale watercolour painting of food, she is the Editor of Luma Quarterly, and the Calgary correspondent for Akimbo.
IMAA is currently conducting a survey to analyse the impact of funding results from the CCA to members. If your independent media arts organizations or collective submitted a funding request to the Canada Council for the Arts in 2017, please take a moment to complete this form. You may complete the survey as many times as necessary.
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This reflection by Janet Rogers is in response to the Sound Art Gathering that took place 10-11 November 2016 in Toronto, ON and an artist exchange residency Rogers attended at Alejandro Valbuena’s experimental art centre in Palomino, Colombia.
Photo Credit: Alejandro Valbuena, Tyrona National Park
Spoken Sound
We have champions of sound art practices. Those who go beyond reiteration in conversation and validation of the practice to applying and providing opportunities for artists to conceive, develop and share. One such opportunity was provided by the teams at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival and Alejandro Valbuena’s experimental art centre in Palomino, Colombia during an artists’ exchange in May and June of 2017. Two artists from occupied Canada, one artist from Mexico, one artist from Chile and our host Alejandro came together in the concentrated heat and exotic beauty of South America for a three-week collaboration of sound skills and practices.
When making the ten-minute walk from our artists compound to the small town of Palomino, the calm stroll immediately turns chaotic the second you enter the main drag. Local watering holes compete for business with blaring music from shitty speakers. Dogs constantly bark, heavy transport trucks fly by dangerously fast-kicking up dust and raising sound levels. This is not noise pollution, this is culture. Sound is part of what defines culture. We produce sound art with what is available to us, both in our surroundings and available technologies. And both facets reflect us, our values, our identities, through our interpretative language with sound. So it goes to say that when in foreign territories you hear foreign sounds too. Sounds that stop you in your tracks forcing you to call upon every memory file to place it. Passing a small field beside the dirt road I heard a chorus of popping sounds, like hundreds of champagne bottles being de-corked in succession. I am told these are frogs, burrowed in the cool floor of the brush-covered field, out of sight yet oh so vocal.
And although we are encouraged to discuss and debate our art making with sound(s), I respect art and artefact that keeps its secrets. For example, petroglyphs and pictographs from various regions of the world have had their meanings, purposes and messages anthropologized to death. It’s a shame when art has the art dissected out of it, leaving the carcasses lying lifeless in front of us. So to be clear, our collaboration and this article does not intend to kill the wordless medium with words but to inspire exploration and curiosity.
The residency location is where I am writing this article from during the last of our three-week residency. The territory is full of sound and colour. Secluded studios do not exist here. There are no walls to contain the sound–it is boundless and everywhere–from the tiny green-yellow birds that chip and chirp around the clock, to the bullfrogs singing volatile and proud songs, to the constant motor bikes–scooter-like vehicles that pass outside our compound from sun up to past sundown. And those are just the surrounding soundtracks. We have been guided into many community areas, national parks, Colombian reserves and hiking trails. With zoom recorder in hands, we venture forth to respectfully harvest the full and varied landscape voices of these territories. And what a treat it is.
Of Arawak descent, Alejandro describes sound in emotional terms. He describes his relationship to sound as visceral, and having the ability to evoke childhood memories where he is transported immediately through certain sounds. When he hears the crashing of ocean waves, which is constant in his territory, memories of his childhood-self walking along the beach with his grandfather flood his mind. Sounds crowd his mind, he says. And the emotion of sound is carried, never stronger than through voice. “The sound of voice,” Alejandro says, “is powerful and conveys the human condition effectively and efficiently as no other sound can. It is a gunshot to the heart, you can’t move. Voice is the Snake Charmer. It is high art. The human voice is so powerful.”
Casey Koyczan, a Yellowknife-based Cree/Dene musician and Territ-Aur(i)al Imprints sound media participant, works in audio assemblage with 2-D work and audio installations. He engages with sound as a way to enhance and help disseminate his visual work. Casey thinks about sound as early communication. Through sound, before language, people were able to communicate, crying or yelling or sighing. These sounds trigger emotion. To use sound in exhibition work, Casey considers sound as a way to communicate emotion. For his graduate exhibition, titled Mode of Ascension, Casey suspended a hollowed out log with speakers built inside in the middle of the gallery. Without telling me too much of what specific sounds emanated from the log, he reports that audience reactions ranged from euphoria to tears. Casey knows the effects of sound wave forms on our DNA and believes in sound therapy as a way to reassemble the molecules within us.
Personally, my relationship to sound is similar to that of my relationship to radio. We are both transmitter and receiver. We tune in to sounds that inform us, entertain us and that reflect us. I found new ways to work with the new sounds I found in Colombia. I learned that human voices are parallel to nature voices and the blending of those voices creates interesting conversations, producing new languages, without words as we know them. Spoken word? No. Spoken sound.
BIO
Janet Marie Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer from Six Nations. She was born in Vancouver British Columbia, lived in Stoney Creek, Hamilton and Toronto Ontario and is living as a guest on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people (Victoria, British Columbia) since 1994. Janet works in the genres of poetry, spoken word performance poetry, video poetry and recorded poetry with music. Janet is also a radio broadcaster, documentary producer, media and sound artist.
In 2016-2017, IMAA presented a series of two-day gatherings within the Canadian media arts sector, focusing respectively on Sound Art, Analogue Film, and Digital Strategy. Each gathering took place in a different Canadian city, exchanging views and strengthening ties within these far-reaching communities, while also offering an important space for focused conversations on pressing issues faced by each sector. With the idea to continue the discussions in a public format, IMAA has commissioned written reflections from several authors on a subject of their choosing with relevance to the discussions.
This reflection by Christof Migone is in response to the Sound Art Gathering that took place 10-11 November in Toronto, ON.
Can You Hear Me? Can We Hear Them? Can They Hear Us? Can You Hear Yourself? Can You Hear Us? Can They Hear Me? Can You Hear Them? Can They Hear You? Can I Hear You? Can They Hear Themselves? Can I Hear Myself? Can I Hear Them? Can We Hear Ourselves?
Questionable – Questioned – Questionnaire
How to reconcile the absolute necessity for these gatherings with the fact that most of the time they lead to nothing concrete, no lasting effect, no collective endeavour, no propulsive project?
Or should we just acknowledge that the true benefit of these meets is not the stated purpose but the tangential in-between conversations over a meal, a drink, a coffee?
Is the sociality of the event as described above akin to an affect world as articulated by Lauren Berlant: “worlds to which people are bound, when they are, by affective projections of a constantly negotiated common interestedness”?[1]
Do the conditions of possibility for a negotiation have to be a sharing of core principles or can they just be basic parameters like a time and place?
What happens when what we thought we had in common dissipates the longer we spend time together?
Can a plethora of differences be harnessed as an attribute rather than a hindrance to future alliances?
Can differences be amalgamated but not subsumed?
To what degree is a consideration of the sonic dimension of the social different than the implicit purpose of music—if defined in the expanded sense?
Does the expansion of any field lead to amorphous generality at the expense of incisive specificity?
If the term ‘sound art’ is as absurd as ‘steel art’ as Max Neuhaus has asserted, then why does it persist, how has it become the default? Should we accept it or dismantle it?[2]
Is a medium-centric approach appropriate for these times or is it retrograde and revealing of a reductive and remedial tendency in our thinking process?
Might a medium-centric focus be productive only in instances where advocacy is called for? If so, who has time to spend on the considerable (and largely thankless) work that advocacy requires?
If complaints lead to—after extensive consultation—a list of demands, which are then submitted to the powers that be, does the whole process not confirm our subjugation? Or is that routing part and parcel of the work entailed by the pursuit of a more equitable share of resources?
Is the advocacy required vis-à-vis funding agencies the sole common point, and even then are the discrepancies amongst those present too disparate?
How to take the spirit of the second part of Emmanuel Madan’s land acknowledgment, the part that essentially stated that there is still a lot of work to be done, and actually apply it, make it tangible, incorporate it within the aims of this gathering?
To what degree should a sound art gathering require listening more than talking?
To what degree does a predisposition towards listening and a concomitant reluctance to talking accomplish more in the long-term than any more immediate initiative or resolution?
Do we subscribe to Ultra-red’s notion of intentional listening as one that can “support longterm political organizing.”[3]
Are we able to recognize the moments when speaking is a necessity, when it is imbued by urgency, when it is induced and informed by previous endemic exclusion from the conversation?
Can we accept that speaking is sometimes the result of a bona fide enthusiasm that might be well-intentioned but lacks self-awareness?
Can we each take up space in a shared place?
Can we give each other some time?
Are idealism and utopianism strategies with any redeeming force on the ground when pitted up against rationalizations imposed by institutions that output expedient answers and demand quantifiable results?
Can we account for the fact that a significant proportion of the people present have lived in more than one city, more than one province, more than this country and use that local/regional/national/international blur to our advantage?
Can we coalesce around the fact that we lack cohesion?
Can we celebrate each other’s accomplishments without displaying any tinge of the type of envy that precarity and austerity exacerbates?
How can we factor in those who were absent, and their manifold constituencies: those who were invited but couldn’t make it, those who were but did not want to come; plus, those who weren’t invited because they are not on the radar, and those who weren’t because they were perceived as not being relevant?
Could sound art be postulated as a post-discipline discipline? If so, can it from the onset incorporate its own discontinuation within its very definition?
Or, is interdisciplinarity the most accurate descriptor of the variegated communities we stem from and thereby our only possible rallying point?
Or, should we dispense with the word ‘discipline’ altogether and assemble instead around the notion of interconnectedness that Timothy Morton uses to characterize ecological thought?[4]
While we are there and at it, should we also consider his call for radical openness?[5]
Do the four entries immediately above seem to render sound (art) superfluous? Or could it be that it is so integral that it need not be singled out? Also, could it be that it fares fine on its own and does not need our constant claiming?
If sound art is understood to fall within the so-(formerly)-called rubric of new media, then what is its position with regards to the several appearances of the word new in Chantal Mouffe’s following incitation: “The objective of artistic practices should be to foster the development of those new social relations that are made possible by the transformation of the work process. Their main task is the production of new subjectivities and the elaboration of new worlds. What is needed in the current situation is a widening of the field of artistic intervention, with artists working in a multiplicity of social spaces outside traditional institutions in order to oppose the program of the total social mobilization of capitalism.”[6]
While new media may arguably be the antiquated moniker (in lieu of the now commonly understood but descriptively void term media arts), should we not nevertheless assess our capacity to participate in these shifts towards the new (without disregarding our complicity in enabling recuperation)?
Can the predilection towards the new be sustained rather than fleeting?
How do we celebrate incremental steps while still conceding that we are miles behind?
Can one of these steps simply be a move towards in the way that Félix Guattari in “Free Form Radio” theorizes it: “Languages of desire… invent new means and have an unstoppable tendency to lead straight to action; they begin by ‘touching’, by causing laughter, by provoking, and then they make one want to ‘go towards,’ towards those who speak and towards those stakes that concern them.”[7]
Or is move towards already too overdetermined and therefore runs the risk of funnelling our hopes and desires into a sterile programmatic agenda?
Can we supplant the perception of inadequacy and inferiority that we may harbour with respect to our activities and their supposed lack of recognition, and replace it with an genuine eagerness to just carry on doing what we currently do?
Should we just accept that distribution and dissemination, even amongst ourselves, are woefully deficient and therefore splintered, sporadic and consequently amnesiac?
Are we content to conclude with this series of purposely thorny polemical questions, rather than a plan of action as outcome?
Should our plan be merely the refinement of existing questions and articulation of more?
Or should we dispense with questions and plunge into however many contingent attempts and provisional experiments we can devise?
[1]Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism (Duke University Press, 2011) 226.
[2]Max Neuhaus, “Sound Art?” was first published as an introduction to the exhibition Volume: Bed of Sound, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, July 2000. Cited in numerous sources. Text online: max-neuhaus.info/bibliography.
[3] Robert Sember (Ultra-red), “Strong People Don’t Need Strong Leaders: Intentionality, Accountability, and Pedagogy” in What Now? The Politics of Listening, ed. Anne Barlow (London, UK: Black Dog Publishing, 2016) 71.
[4] Timothy Morton, The Ecological Thought (Harvard University Press, 2010) 7.
[5] Morton, 15. Tracing the genealogy of calls for ‘radical openness’ is beyond the scope of this text, but bell hooks would be an obvious place to start, e.g. the chapter “Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness” in her book Yearnings: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics (Boston, MA: South End Press, 1990).
[6] Chantal Mouffe, Agonistics: Thinking The World Globally (London, UK: Verso, 2013) 87. Emphases added.
[7] Félix Guattari, “Popular Free Radio” in Radiotext(e), ed. Neil Strauss (New York, NY: Semiotext(e), 1993) 87. Emphasis added.
Christof Migone is an artist, curator and writer. He has performed and exhibited internationally. He co-edited Writing Aloud: The Sonics of Language (2001) and Volumes (2015); his writings have been published in Aural Cultures, S:ON, Experimental Sound & Radio, Radio Rethink, Semiotext(e), Performance Research, etc. A book compiling his writings on sound art, Sonic Somatic: Performances of the Unsound Body was published in 2012. He lives in Toronto and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Western University in London, Ontario.
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