« The Landless Band Project, funded primarily through Canada Council for the Arts New Chapter Program and facilitated by Eastern Edge Gallery in St. John’s, has recently undergone a rebrand. The project will be now be referred as Identify: A Celebration of Indigenous Arts & Culture. This decision was the result of extensive consultation with the project’s steering committee, stakeholders, partners and Indigenous community members who felt that the original title was not indicative of their strong historical ties to the land.
Identify: A Celebration of Indigenous Arts & Culture is reflective of the increasing exploration and reclamation of suppressed Indigeneity in Newfoundland and Labrador. It supports and encourages conversations exploring how we identify ourselves to one another and how we meet that self-identification. The project aims to create a progressive dialogue concerning self-determination, acceptance and cooperation while celebrating Newfoundland and Labrador’s proud and steadfast Indigenous heritage. Eastern Edge Gallery entered into a dialogue with the Indigenous community concerning their needs and desires and have rebranded the project and programmed the forthcoming festival to best meet those needs and desires.
“This project has been ongoing since 2017 through events, exhibitions and panel discussions. Programming has evolved into, Identify: A Celebration of Indigenous Arts & Culture festival, April 8- 22nd 2018. Eastern Edge is excited to facilitate this necessary platform for celebration of Art and Indigenous identities.”
Philippa Jones, Executive Director of Eastern Edge Gallery
Identify aims to create space for Indigenous voices and expression, bringing together Indigenous arts and culture professionals from the theatre, film, literature, visual, culinary and textile art communities of Newfoundland and Labrador while giving time and space to reinforce their history and current experience. Identify will share and showcase the traditional and contemporary artistic and cultural practices of the Mi’kmaq people of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the Inuit, the Innu, the Southern Inuit of Nunatukavut and the Beothuk. The project provides a platform for Indigenous-led conversations on self-identity, self-rediscovery and celebration of Indigenous culture. »
For more information, please visit Eastern Edge Gallery.
-from Eastern Edge Gallery’s newsletter
Read Eastern Edge’s profile in ArtBridges’ Community-Engaged Arts Directory and Map
