Articles tagged with: Indigenous

  • Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Indigenous Art Practice: Candidate Research Presentations

    The Brock and wider community is invited to attend the presentations by the three Indigenous artist/researchers who are finalists for the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Indigenous Art Practice at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    Our candidates are visiting the Marilyn I. Walker School in January. Each will give an hour-long presentation and engage in an additional half hour of discussion about their current research interests and focus, and about what they would hope to achieve as a Canada Research Chair at Brock University in the next five years.

    MATTHEW MACKENZIE

    Research presentation 5 – 6:30 pm,
    Friday January 10, 2020
    MWS 156

    Edmonton playwright, director and producer Matthew MacKenzie (Métis) is Artistic Director of Punctuate! Theatre, as well as the founder and an Artistic Associate with Pyretic Productions. In 2018, his play Bears won Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production, was named a co-winner of the Toronto Theatre Critics Outstanding New Canadian Play Award, and won the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Carol Bolt National Playwriting Award. This past fall, Punctuate! premiered MacKenzie’s play The Particulars, which was named one of the top ten productions of 2019 by The Globe and Mail.

    MARK IGLOLIORTE

    Research presentation 11:30 am – 1 pm,
    Friday January 17, 2020
    MWS 156

    Mark Igloliorte is an Inuk artist born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland with Inuit ancestry from Nunatsiavit, Labrador. His artistic work is primarily painting and drawing. Igloliorte’s work has been featured in several notable national exhibitions including the 2015 Marion McCain Exhibition of Contemporary Atlantic Canadian Art, curated by Corinna Ghaznavi; Inuit Ullumi: Inuit Today: Contemporary Art from TD Bank Group’s Inuit Collection; Beat Nation, curated by Kathleen Ritter and Tania Willard; and The Phoenix Art-The Renewed Life of Contemporary Painting, curated by Robert Enright. In addition, Igloliorte has been profiled in features in Canadian Art magazine and Inuit Art Quarterly. Igloliorte is an Assistant Professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

    SUZANNE MORRISSETTE

    Research presentation 5 – 6:30 pm,
    Wednesday January 22, 2020
    MWS 207

    Suzanne Morrissette is a Métis artist, curator, and writer. Using various research-creation methods Morrissette addresses the philosophical roots of historical and contemporary forms of injustice facing Indigenous peoples. Her current and future research looks at the role of locally-based Indigenous knowledges within Indigenous community-based curatorial practice as a way of entering into conversations about robust and unexpected strategies for representing Indigenous art both within Canadian and international contexts. Currently she holds the position of Assistant Professor at OCAD University.r University of Art and Design.


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  • Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Art Practice

    Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Art Practice at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor.

    The CRC in Indigenous Art Practice will be appointed to one or more of the School’s academic units, depending on the successful applicant’s area(s) of knowledge and expertise. We recognize that in Indigenous art there may be no formal divisions between visual, theatrical, and musical art forms. Brock embraces diverse perspectives and pedagogical practices; it is hoped that the CRC in Indigenous Art Practice will help foster new collaborations across academic units and assist the School and university to move towards Indigenization. The CRC will be welcomed into a tight-knit, friendly, and dynamic community of artists, scholars, staff, and students that respects, promotes, and actively engages with Indigenous arts and culture within the University and Indigenous communities.

    Review of applications will begin on October 31, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled.

    For more information see the complete posting at brocku.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/brocku_careers/job/St-Catharines-Downtown-Campus/Canada-Research-Chair—Tier-2—Indigenous-Art-Practice—Assistant-Associate-Professor-Tenure-Track_JR-1002413

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  • Brock recruiting three more Canada Research Chairs

    Brock is recruiting three Canada Research Chairs between now and the beginning of June in the Faculties of Humanities, Applied Health Sciences and Mathematics and Science. Pictured are some of the faculty involved in the recruitment process. From left: Elizabeth Vlossak (Director, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts), Robson De Grande (Computer Science), Beatrice Ombuki-Berman (Computer Science), Doug Bruce (Biological Sciences) and Miya Narushima (Health Sciences).


    (From The Brock News, April 16, 2019 | By: Cathy Majtenyi)

    Brock University is expanding its research net with three Canada Research Chair (CRC) positions in the areas of Indigenous art practice, health and the interlinkage of biology and computer science.

    Recruitment for these positions, which began in mid-March, will wrap up between late April and June.

    Researchers and scholars within and outside Brock are encouraged to apply, especially Indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities and those with disabilities, says Interim Associate Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn.

    “These scholars often bring new perspectives that lead to critical research advances, and they are important role models for the next generation of scholars,” she says.

    The Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Mechanisms of Health and Disease is centred on investigating ways of preventing, managing or treating a variety of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, immune diseases and brain disorders.

    “This chair will position Brock and the wider Niagara community with the opportunity to study mechanisms of health and disease, solidifying and expanding the current research capacity at Brock,” says Deborah O’Leary, Professor of Health Sciences and Director of the Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being.

    O’Leary says those applying to the position need to propose “an original, innovative research program of the highest quality” in one of the following areas: inflammation and immunity; genetic and epigenetic programming; host response to infection; nutritional biology and metabolism; and physical or mental stress-induced tissue remodelling.

    The competition for that position closes Friday, April 26.

    The Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Indigenous Art Practice position will be cross-appointed to two or more of the academic units at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, including the Departments of Dramatic Arts, Music, Visual Arts and Studies in Arts and Culture.

    The successful candidate will be an “innovative artist/scholar with the demonstrated potential to achieve a significant international reputation within five to 10 years,” says Karen Fricker, Associate Professor of Dramatic Arts.

    “The CRC will have an innovative creative practice across one or multiple art forms, working with Indigenous communities and establishing new Indigenous arts-based research and methodologies.”

    McGinn says the position demonstrates the University’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

    “Brock University has renewed its commitment to reconciliation and decolonization in its most recent strategic plan, and the CRC in Indigenous Art Practice responds directly to this priority,” says McGinn.

    The competition for that position closes Friday, May 10.

    The Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology will strengthen collaboration between the Departments of Biological Sciences and Computer Science with the aim of expanding research capacity, says Brian Ross, Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Department of Computer Science.

    He says that, traditionally, researchers in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology are either “primarily biologists who use existing computer software tools, or computer scientists who develop tools that are then applied to biology problems.”

    The successful candidate will be proficient in both areas so as to develop software tools and applications in population genomics, proteomics and structural biology.

    “The areas of bioinformatics and computational biology have matured significantly, and having expertise in both biology and computer science is a distinct advantage these days,” Ross says.

    The competition for that position closes Tuesday, June 4.

    McGinn says the three CRC positions are a “key part” of Brock’s latest Strategic Plan, which “identifies a strengthened focus on building research capacity across the University.

    “Outstanding scholars who have or will build international reputations engage in high-impact research, and they provide exceptional opportunities for students and postdoctoral scholars who work and learn with them,” she says.

    These latest CRCs join Brock’s existing cadre of CRCs and three others in the areas of Psychology, Kinesiology and Child and Youth Studies, announced late last year.

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  • REDress event highlights pain, resilience of Indigenous women and girls

    Red dresses could be seen hanging outside on Brock University’s main campus as part of the REDress Project on Feb. 14. (Photo by Jane Theriault-Norman)Red dresses could be seen hanging outside on Brock University’s main campus as part of the REDress Project on Feb. 14. (Photo by Jane Theriault-Norman)


    (From The Brock News, February 20, 2019 | By: Jeannie Mackintosh)

    In Ojibway, Mashkawizii means “she has inner strength.”

    That strength was harnessed during a powerful event held at Brock University last week to draw attention to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

    The REDress Project’s second annual initiative saw flowing red gowns hung outside around Brock University’s main campus and Rodman Hall Art Centre, as well as inside at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

    Each dress was meant to represent the spirit of a missing or murdered Indigenous female.

    Members of the women’s drum group from the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre accompanied the speakers at the REDress event.

    The Feb. 14 event culminated in presentations in Thistle Complex by local Indigenous women who shared messages of pain, resilience and hope.

    Following a smudging ceremony, Robyn Bourgeois, an Indigenous scholar and Assistant Professor in the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, welcomed guests and introduced speakers Eileen and Sheena Joseph, Lyn Trudeau and Leona Skye — all “people who have felt this trauma personally,” Bourgeois said.

    Eileen Joseph shared the story of her daughter, Shelly, who was murdered. The tragedy left Eileen to raise her then infant granddaughter, Sheena.

    Years later, Eileen and Sheena have, with quiet determination, learned to support one another as well as fellow survivors.

    Addressing the crowd through tears at the event, Sheena, now a mother herself, offered love to those in attendance who themselves were suffering.

    “I have enough to share,” she said.

    Brock PhD student and instructor Lyn Trudeau presented her response to a recent stage production of Pig Girl about the Robert Pickton murders, a play she called “obscene” and “disrespectful.” Originally written and produced by a non-Indigenous team, it has since been re-imagined and presented by Indigenous players.

    A self-described advocate and survivor of human trafficking, artist Leona Skye was once numbered among Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

    Her name was removed from the list only two years ago when “they realized I’d been found,” she said.

    She spoke not only about the abuse she suffered since she was a young child, but also of the compassion she eventually felt for her “first pimp,” her father who had himself been abused in the residential school system.

    In her talk, Trudeau quoted a Cheyenne proverb: “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is finished; no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons.”

    This year’s REDress event called Hearts of our Nations was a testament to the strength and resilience of Indigenous women in Canada.

    “We’re still here,” said Bourgeois. “This is the largest gathering of Indigenous women on campus.”

    The event was punctuated by song from the women’s drum group from the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre.

    The REDress project, founded by Métis artist Jamie Black, aims to focus attention on the issue of gender- and race-based violence in Canada.

    Support for this year’s event was provided by the Student Justice Centre, Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, Women’s Campus Safety Fund/Human Rights and Equity Office, Sexual Violence Prevention Committee, Department of English Language and Literature, Tecumseh Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education, Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) Brock, Master in Social Justice and Equity Studies program, Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation at Brock, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Rodman Hall Art Centre. Organizers also wish to thank the many support staff across the University who helped with this event.

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