Partners in Art is a proud sponsor of an expansive mural commissioned by Toronto Metropolitan University as part of Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity, an expansive curatorial program led by the Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge at OCAD University. Arctic/Amazon is The Image Centre’s (formerly Ryerson University) first public mural and will be in place for at least five years on the southeast façade of Kerr Hall. Curated by Gerald McMaster, Arctic/Amazon brings together artists Niap and Olinda Reshinjabe Silvano to explore relations to global Indigeneity, nature, and places of cultural exchange.
The Arctic/Amazon project is premised on the understanding that artists integrate notions of spirituality, ancestral respect, traditional knowledges, and political critique into their processes of making and presenting their work. Envisioned as a multi-phase interdisciplinary project, the 2019 Symposium centralized Indigenous ontological approaches to develop interconnections between Amazonian Indigenous and Inuit thinkers, artists, and activists whose works address climate change midst shifting political times. The purpose of this initial Symposium was to foster and facilitate a collaborative framework in which participants from Inuit and primarily Brazilian-based Amazonian communities could share their knowledges and consider future work together. This symposium was the first of its kind to provide an in-depth artistic and Indigenous-led exploration of these geographies.
Further fostering collaborations between Arctic and Amazonian communities, the project continues to thrive through the networks and knowledges established in 2019, culminating in a major publication, online educational content, and a 2022 Arctic/Amazon exhibition in partnership with The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and The Image Centre.
Artists of Full Arctic/Amazon Project: Outi Pieski, Pia Arke, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Couzyn van Heuvelen, Máret Ánne Sara, Olinda Reshijabe Silvano, Wilma Maynas, Ronin Koshi , Morzaniel Iramari, Leandro Lima & Gisela Motta, Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, Uýra
