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Part of the Community Arts Space: Art is Change

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Queer video and performance artist Mikiki, who identifies as a mixed White/Indigenous person of Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Irish heritage, will address issues of identity and colonization through original choreography performed on a foundation of wet clay.

Since 2003, Mikiki’s art practice has been informed by their political history and community work in sexual and reproductive health and HIV, with a recent focus on the intersection of substance use and poverty.

Interested in addressing the connection between the limited availability of locally-sourced clay and the artist’s own tenuous and complex history of claiming their mixed- Indigenous, Two-Spirit heritage, Mikiki will develop a choreographic work for performance upon a foundation of wet commercial clay. Using hand-processed local clay collected through an honorable harvesting workshop led the Titiesg Wîcinímintôwak Bluejays Dancing Together Collective, Mikiki will address the shared collective experience of growing up without access to language or teachings as a result of colonization. These workshops, held in the Spring in collaboration with the Collective and The 519, supported the creation of fired clay tiles by local Two-Spirit artists. These tiles, which will be shown at The 519 and the Gardiner, will be incorporated into the performance and displayed outside performance times.

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About the Community Arts Space: Art is Change

The Gardiner Museum’s unique history and identity is rooted in the city,  but its future is increasingly shaped by those beyond the core cultural corridor. As space increasingly becomes a premium downtown, the Gardiner has collaborated with six cultural and community partners to consider how institutional outreach can be re-shaped by local artists, curators, and architects. Looking to the rapid high-rise developments happening within the Museum’s own Yorkville neighbourhood, the projects in Art is Change consider how the city’s unique and varied local histories of art and social activism can be re-mapped for the future. Learn more