COMMUNITY ARTS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR BIPOC + NEWCOMER ARTISTS
In November 2021, Myths and Mirrors launched a Community Arts Mentorship Program for BIPOC + Newcomer Artists. Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and with project support from Thinking Rock Community Arts (Thessalon, ON), the mentorship program was designed to provide six emerging BIPOC artist mentees with the skills and training to develop their own community arts micro-projects. With the support and mentorship of four professional BIPOC community artist mentors from across Ontario and a materials budget of $1,000 per artist, mentees were given the creative freedom to design and develop a project of their choosing, to be delivered to their respective communities, as defined by the artists themselves. They could choose to work alone or in groups, with the only constraints being that their projects had to be completed within six months, remain within budget, and be delivered in adherence to current public health guidelines.
Through regular online check-ins, the program offered ongoing support to mentees in the development and creation of their community arts micro-projects, and made space for creative and cultural exchange between the artists. This vital relationship-building was key to the success of the program; fostering relationships among BIPOC artists both locally and throughout Ontario, and offering support and training to help build the artistic practices of mentees and mentors.
A culminating in-person gathering was held in Sudbury and Atikameksheng in May 2022. Over three days, the group was able to share feedback on the mentorship program, while taking part in activities that included: a site visit to Manidoo Bineshii Dreams, an Indigenous-lead community arts and food sovereignty space in Atikameksheng; ‘Burning Embers,’ a two-part community arts workshop lead by artist mentor Betty Carpick; and an open mic event at Galerie de Nouvel Ontario/Place des Arts featuring performances by artist mentor Jermaine Henry, Baawaating/Sault Ste. Marie-based artist CONiKA, and artists from ‘Open Hearts,’ a community arts zine curated by artist mentee Isak Vaillancourt.
Read below to meet the artists and learn more about their community arts micro-projects.
ARTIST MENTEES
Manidoo Bineshiinh (Atikameksheng, ON)
Manidoo Bineshiinh (Spirit Bird) is a member of the Loon Clan from Traditional Territory Robinson Huron (1850) Treaty 6 (Atikameksheng Anishnawbek) of the Three Fires Confederacy. Born into a family history of farming, land-based living, and crafting, Manidoo Bineshiinh is a visionary artist specializing in custom artworks like jewelry, beadwork, and leatherwork. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Manidoo Bineshiinh started to garden full-time and founded Manidoo Bineshii Dreams, a creative collective and edible forest with a full garden and greenhouse located in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, ON. This safe space promotes healing and connection by returning to land-based living and the arts. Throughout 2022, workshops will be offered grounded in history, creative wellness, herbalism, organic gardening, and seed-saving.
Instagram: @manidoobineshii
PROJECT: Manifest Dreams
A three-part workshop series in collaboration with Jermaine Henry (mentor) and Reshma Nair (mentee). Through this series, participants learned more about Manidoo Bineshii Dreams’ Creative Collective and Edible Forest with a virtual garden tour; and connected, explored, and collaborated through music, writing, and visual arts.
Jay Buswa (Sudbury, ON)
Jay is an Anishinaabe and Filipina self-taught artist of various mediums, though beadwork is her primary medium. In November 2020 she started her own business selling beadwork called Diving Loon Beads. Jay finds inspiration and colour palettes from nature, as well as utilizes natural materials in her works such as dentallium shells, quills, antler, and home, tanned smoked hides.
Instagram: @divingloonbeads
PROJECT: Reconnecting
Online beading workshop for Indigenous folks that have been adopted and/or disconnected from their culture. Participants received a free beading kit with printed tutorials so they may continue their ‘beading journey.’
Raven Debassige (Sudbury, ON)
Raven Debassige is an emerging artist, art instructor, and project coordinator. Growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, Raven was inspired by her Aboriginal heritage and found comfort expressing this passion through art. Using vibrant colours, Raven’s art reflects storytelling, expression of personal feelings, and connections she’s made.
Instagram: @ravend.arts
PROJECT: The Self-Portrait Mini Collection
An art-based workshop focused on emotional well-being and perspective of self. Participants were given the opportunity to play with colours and techniques to express themselves through self-portraiture, resulting in a group exhibit of completed artworks at Good Luck in May.
Jasmine Manning (Sudbury, ON)
Jasmine Manning is Ojibway and a band member of Cape Croker First Nations (Neyaashiingmiing) with paternal roots to Stony Point (Aazhoodena). A jingle dress dancer with Medicine Warrior Dance Troupe in California, she has trained at Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto and worked in community arts organizations such as Red Pepper Spectacle Arts in Toronto and Myths and Mirrors Community Arts in Sudbury. Jasmine incorporates puppetry, clown and pow wow into the land based homeschooling of her 9 year old daughter.
PROJECT: Intro to Shadow Puppet Theatre
In-person workshop series geared towards LGBTQ2S+ families with children and teens. Participants learned the basics of storytelling, character development, and shadow-puppetry. With so much adversity going on in the world, this workshop offered participants a fun way to express themselves, and to build meaningful connections.
Reshma Nair (Burlington, ON)
Reshma Nair's art always has something to talk about – her thoughts, her surroundings, and her memories. She is fascinated by the beauty of Canada and loves to depict it's landscapes and beauty in her paintings. Reshma's currently working on landscape paintings and concept art showing some of the places she's been to. She likes to work in traditional mediums, such as acrylic and watercolour, and is also passionate about digital painting.
Instagram: @resh.arts
PROJECT: The Roots We Share
Part of Manidoo Bineshiinh‘s three-part workshop series, this workshop explored our shared connection to nature. Participants were guided through a series of visualization, drawing, and writing exercises, with the resulting artworks coming together in a collaborative collage.
Isak Vaillancourt (Sudbury, ON)
Isak Vaillancourt is photographer, multimedia artist, activist, and filmmaker based in Sudbury/ N’Swakamok. In 2019, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Laurentian University. Recently, he has started his Masters of Arts in Media Production at X (Ryerson) University where he plans to further explore research-creation methods centralized around the theme of Black and Indigenous solidarity. His personal interests in relation to social justice led him to become a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Sudbury.
Over the past years, Isak has worked on a handful of dynamic multimedia installations and zines. Most notably, Isak directed and produced the short documentary, amplify, in 2020, which was selected by three film festivals and won Best Northern Ontario Film. In the future, he plans to continue the development of knowledge through artistic expression, scholarly investigation, and experimentation, with the goal of providing visibility for marginalized communities while educating diverse audiences.
Website: isakvail.ca
Facebook: @isakvail
Instagram: @isakvail
Twitter: @isakvail
PROJECT: Open Hearts
Open Hearts is a community-arts zine project which reflects on the many experiences, dreams, and disclosures of Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth living in Northern Ontario.
There are a total of fourteen submissions included in Vol 1. which highlight the overarching theme of mental health and wellbeing (including: survival, decolonization, loss, burn-out, identity, love, trauma, healing and liberation).
ARTIST MENTORS
Betty Carpick (Thunder Bay, ON)
Betty Carpick an interdisciplinary land-based artist and educator. Her work looks at social, cultural, and environmental issues in both serious and playful ways by creating art that exists in the space between process and performance as well as the missing portions between the real and the imagined. She also engages in creativity with community of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds as a metaphor to speak to the fragility, strengths, and transitory state of our lives and surroundings. Betty’s practice includes ink making, textile arts, writing, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, film, performance, and installation. Many times, there’s not a distinct line between disciplines. Betty is Cree and European from Northern Manitoba.
Facebook: @bettycarpick
Instagram: @bettycarpick
Twitter: @bettycarpick
Sarah Gartshore (Sudbury, ON)
Sarah Gartshore (wiin) is a part-Anishinaabe, part-settler educator and theatre creator who works in solidarity with voices from the margins as a Story Teller and champion of Radical Self Love. With ancestors from the Crane Clan of Batchewana First Nation and Clan Gartshore of Scotland, Gartshore is at home in leadership and in love with collaboration. Gartshore’s work highlights this Debwewin; the experts on the homeless community, people in active addiction community, and sex working communities’ needs, are those with lived experience. Gartshore believes in the magic of theatre as a sacred space that welcomes transformation and the honouring of our stories.
YouTube: Zaagi’idiwin
Jermaine Henry (Toronto, ON)
Jermaine Henry is an author, emcee, and facilitator. He helps create B.R.A.V.E.R (Bold Real Accountable Vulnerable Expressive Relations) cultures for creatives who want to make change happen in their lives and in the world. Jermaine is also the creator of IBLV DREAMERS, a cross-cultural collective of Black and Indigenous creatives and community leaders making change across Turtle Island!
Website: jermainehenry.ca
Instagram: @jermainehenry.ca
Rihkee Strapp
Rihkee Strapp entered the world from a sea of blood, fully grown wearing a gold set of armour. They are an Ayakwew Metis multi-disciplinary artist raised in Northern Ontario by nohkum’s dial-up internet and its dark vistas. Rihkee is an alumni of the Studio [Y] systems leadership fellowship at the MaRS Discovery District. Their highly collaborative work re-appropriates pop-culture, myth and nostalgia, playing with concepts of time and technology often using humour and character to animate their ideas.
Website: rihkeestrapp.ca
PROJECT SUPPORT TEAM
Miranda Bouchard (Thessalon, ON)
Miranda Bouchard (she/her) is a community artist, curator and arts manager. Her roots and residence in the rural Algoma District, Northern Ontario inform her multifaceted work as a project collaborator, contributor and interpreter. Miranda has studied studio art, art history and nonprofit management at the White Mountain Academy of the Arts (Elliot Lake, ON), the University of Guelph (Guelph, ON), the Institute of Fine Arts, Lahti University of Applied Sciences (Lahti, Finland) and Ryerson University (Toronto, ON).
Cassandra Spade (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)
Cassandra Spade is a grassroots, human rights activist from the Mishkeegogamang First Nation, located in Northwestern Ontario. She is the founder of Gaa-Minwaajindizowaaj, a grassroots organization that works to provide Youth programming. Her work is community-driven, and focuses on relationship-building, (re)localization, Youth leadership, community healing and accessibility. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba with a Major in History, a certificate in Community Economic and Social Development (CESD) from Algoma University and is a graduate from Ojibwemotaadidaa Omaa Gidakiiminaang (OOG) Ojibwe language immersion academy.
Myths and Mirrors gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Greater Sudbury for their support of this work.