Indigenous Inclusion Resource for Community-Based Arts Organizations
Invitation to Contribute
We are working with Camosun College Indigenous Studies student, April Gallicano, to develop a community inclusion tool and resources for non-Indigenous community-based art galleries.
The purpose of this resource is to educate non-Indigenous community-based galleries on ways to be more inclusive to Indigenous artists and community members.
This resource includes a list of action-items and strategies that have been vetted by Indigenous artists.
Image credit: Fragile Harmony by Haida carver Tejas Collison. Commissioned by the Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival Society; shown at ECAH during Island Part II.
About the Project
Our Plan
We want this resource to be useful, as in something that can bring Indigenous people more success in their professional development. We hope that this is something that will lighten the burden of Indigenizing spaces or being the token Indigenous person that has to educate people that do not already understand basic Indigenous ways of knowing.
Project Rational
We’ve heard from Indigenous artists that non-Indigenous spaces need more inclusive practices and that non-Indigenous run galleries often want to be inclusive, but lack the knowledge to do so.
Many resources currently exist to educate and inform large institutions; however, we’ve noticed a lack of resources aimed at small, often community-based galleries and artist collectives. The irony of this is that community spaces are the ones with the most potential to include and represent Indigenous voices.
Our Approach
To ensure this project is led by Indigenous voices and Indigenous community members, we are holding a series of conversations with Indigenous artists while compiling the material that will make up this resource.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Cultural Safety
A large part of April’s studies has centered around Indigenous Ways of Knowing, as such we will borrow the following practices:
Our conversations will be conducted either one-on-one or in small groups, and any knowledge contributions will be recognized in a manner that they wish.
We’ve created a list of safe space guidelines and agreements, one example is allowing participants to take their time to respond to questions, and this list will be sent along with a list of questions we hope to discuss, with the intension of giving people more time to consider what we want to discuss.
We want to build trust by sharing information and being transparent in our project methods, and all content will be approved by our knowledge contributors before being made public.
Addison’s Supernatural Adventures by Kristy Crawford. Shown during #representationmatters by SNIWWOC at ECAH in November, 2020.
Working with Indigenous People
ECAH is a non-Indigenous run space, and while we have Indigenous voices included at many levels of our organization, our role is to work alongside Indigenous artists and community members.
Often the burden of educating non-Indigenous people on ways to be more welcoming and inclusive is exhausting, repetitive and draining. While it’s not our intention to speak for Indigenous people with this project, it is our intention to help share some of the burden of educating predominately non-Indigenous run and organized spaces in solidarity with our Indigenous audience.
All the material in our resource has been shared with us by Indigenous artists or vetted and approved by Indigenous community members.
Naw Guuda (Octopus Box) by James Crawford. Shown during Island - Part I at ECAH.
Invitation to Participate
We would like to invite Indigenous artists, youth, women, old ones & Elders, and any other Indigenous community members to participate in this project.
If you have a story you would like to share for this project, we would like to hear it.
Contact us to book a time to share your knowledge.
Shawl from Chloe Angus Design, artwork by Clarence Mills, Haida. Earrings by Nicole Mandryk from Maang Creations.
About April
Hello everyone, my name is April Gallicano and I just finished my second year of Camosun’s Indigenous Studies Diploma Program. My ancestors came from Europe and South Asia, and I have lived on the traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples my entire life.
I am grateful for my experience at Camosun. After spending the past two years in the classroom, I am so excited for this opportunity to give back to the community. Art has always been a passion of mine, and it is a pleasure to work in an arts space again.
My intentions for this project are to practice allyship in a way that can help inspire more inclusive spaces. To me, allyship means taking action instead of something that can be self-proclaimed. I hope that this project will help other non-Indigenous spaces practice allyship in their own way.
Our learning is a work in progress and our team continues to educate ourselves on inclusion and diversity best practices.
We welcome all feedback and input on this resource at any time.