Jordan Bennett & Lori Blondeau

Samqwan/Nipiy

Presented by AKA artist-run

Confederation Landing

Sunday, September 24, 2017 - 10am-12pm

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Working together for the first time, Jordan Bennett (Mi’kmaq, Ktaqmkuk) and Lori Blondeau (Cree/Saulteaux/Metis, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4) present “Samqwan/Nipiy.” The performance unites Mi’kmaw and Cree words for water, bringing East Coast and Plains Indigenous cultures together to celebrate, honour, and explore water as a vital resource impacting the way of life for cultures globally.

Bennett and Blondeau will use water surrounding the island and locally sourced fish in a performative feast. By performing within the Indigenous practice of feasting, the artists ceremonially give thanks for water enabling participants to bear witness to their act of celebration and partake in the life that it sustains. This performance is presented by AKA artist-run in partnership with Flotilla, and is curated by Tarin Dehod.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jordan Bennett is a multi-disciplinary visual artist of Mi’kmaq ancestry from Stephenville Crossing Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland). Jordan holds a BFA from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and a MFA from University of British Columbia Okanagan. He has shown extensively nationally and internationally, in venues such as The Museum of Art and Design, NYC; Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM; Campbelltown Art Centre, Campbelltown, AUS, and was one of two artists to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2015 Venice Biennial at Galleria Ca’Rezzonico, Venice, Italy. Jordan’s ongoing body of work utilizes various mediums to explore land, language, the act of visiting, familial histories and challenging colonial perceptions of indigenous histories, stereotypes and presence with a particular focus on exploring Mi’kmaq and Beothuk visual culture of Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland).

Lori Blondeau is a Cree/Saulteaux/Metis artist working primarily in performance art, but also in photography and installation. Blondeau is a member of the George Gordon First nation and is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

AKA artist–run supports the creation and development of artist driven initiatives and emerging practices that speak to, reflect and encourage dialogue in our culturally diverse communities. This includes work in all media by local, national and international artists. Our venues consist of a street-level gallery, billboard and multi-use screening and performance event space; we also source off-site locations for site-specific projects. We are committed to acting as a centre for risk-taking and artistic self-determination produced by a diversity of voices; engaging in critical discourse and intersections with related cultural practices.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Tarin Dehod, “Flotilla: Art work and art ‘work,’” Flotilla, 2019.