Making Space: Business, Indigenous Art, and Reconciliation

Description

Join the London Chamber of Commerce for the launch of Making Space: Business, Indigenous Art, and Reconciliation, our new Indigenous-led Chamber gallery programme developed in partnership with Indigenous London Arts and the London Arts Council.

Through this initiative, the Chamber’s public-facing spaces will become professional exhibition spaces for rotating displays of work by Indigenous artists from London and neighbouring First Nations communities. The programme includes professional curation, public promotion, artist remuneration in accordance with CARFAC standards, and a sales process administered by the London Arts Council.

This special event will explore how businesses can play a practical role in making Indigenous artists
visible, valued, exhibited, collected, and professionally supported in business leadership  opportunities. It comes at an important moment for London. The City’s ReconciliAction Plan commits the municipality to promoting Indigenous arts and culture. This event asks what role the business community can play in helping move that commitment from policy into practice.

Featuring a keynote from Emily Schuyler of Indigenous London Arts, facilitation by Chamber board
member and Indigenous creator Katie Wilhelm, and a panel of Indigenous visual artists, the evening will invite members and community leaders to think differently about space, civic leadership, and visible action. Participating panelists are currently being determined.

About the Keynote:

Emily Schuyler - The new Specialist, Indigenous London Arts at the London Arts Council
She is an emerging multi-media artist from Oneida Nation of the Thames, which is located in Ontario Canada. Schuyler received a certificate and an advanced diploma in Fine Arts from Fanshawe College. Schuyler was also the recipient of both the Bob and Shelly Siskind Visual Arts Award and The Mackie Cryderman Award for Excellence in the Arts. Schuyler has received her Bachelor of studio arts degree from the Institute of American Indian arts in Santa Fe New Mexico. Schuyler has exhibited internationally, a two artist show titled Preserve, 2019 in London Ontario.
Emily Schuyler creates mixed media works that provide an intimate narrative into her cultural traditions, personal stories and lived experiences. Schuyler continues to create work focused on her cultural heritage, and what it means to be a contemporary Indigenous artist.

About the Facilitator:
Katie Wilhelm - Indigenous Designer and Consultant
Katie Wilhelm, RGD (she/her) is an award-winning Indigenous designer and consultant based in London, Ontario. Katie is a proud Indigenous woman from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation at Neyaashiinigmiing. Prior to founding her own design practice, Katie spent more than ten years specializing in corporate communications, specifically in local economic development. Katie is a leader in the local arts and culture community, having worked in London’s creative industry since 2009. A champion for the Indigenous community, she continuously looks to inspire others to create a colourful future for Turtle Island. Learn more at www.katiewilhelm.design.

Her illustration and design work has been created for organizations including The Walt Disney Company, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, London Public Library, the Ontario Arts Council and TVO, among others.

Mike Cywink, Anishinaabe of the Whitefish River First Nation 
He is muralist and storyteller originally from the Whitefish River First Nation near Manitoulin Island, whose art has reshaped representation across Western and London.
Mike, who goes by @thunderdayvisions, explained that the name comes from the translation of his spirit name, Thunderday, paired with the visions he feels drawn to paint. He views his art as storytelling and hopes it will spark people’s curiosity about Indigenous culture.

Nancy Deleary Chippewas of the Thames First Nation
She has been influenced by the many artists in her family.  She was recognized early to be gifted in drawing.
Her search for identity and training in artist skills translated ancestral works and knowledges into works of art she has created for community. Nancy graduated from Beal Art, the Institute of American Indian Arts and the Vermont College of Fine Art.