Danis Goulet Scott Benesiinaabandan Postcommodity Kent Monkman 2167 – An Indigenous VR Project
Danis Goulet, Scott Benesiinaabandan, Postcommodity, Kent Monkman
Exhibition
December 12-16, 2017
Artist Talk
Saturday, December 16, 2017, from 4 to 5pm
with artist Scott Benesiinaabandan
in conversation with Jason Lewis from AbTeC
A virtual reality project commissioned and produced by TIFF, imagineNATIVE, Pinnguaq and Initiative for Indigenous Futures (IFF).
As part of TIFF’s sesquicentennial initiative Canada on Screen, four Indigenous filmmakers and artists – Danis Goulet, Kent Monkman, Scott Benesiinaabandan, and the interdisciplinary arts collective Postcommodity – have been commissioned to create VR projects envisioning Indigenous life 150 years in the future.
“First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people must always contend with the past. We live with the echoes of decisions and actions taken seven generations ago, and we know that the actions we take now will resonate for the next seven generations. 2167 imagines what some of these Indigenous futures may be – and the very act of imagining a future for ourselves is itself a rebuke to colonial rule, which prefers that our images, our stories and our existence be strictly historical, consigned to the past.
As Indigenous peoples our very presence in the present is political, our mere existence an act of resistance against more than 150 years of state policy designed to erase us from Turtle Island, and against a dominant culture that requires our extinction in order to make it’s own self-determined destiny manifest. 2167 insists that we will still be here, as we have always been, in the future; it demands that the states that now occupy this land reconcile their actions against us not only in the past and present, but those against our future selves as well. 2167 is not just a date, but a cry of survival, of endurance, of triumph. This is our destiny. Welcome to our future.” Jesse Wente
A Waiver will be required to be signed on-site for the 2167 Experience. Please be aware:
– Children under 13 are not permitted to use the VR gear.
– While viewing, some people may experience dizziness, seizures, eye or muscle twitching or blackouts triggered by light flashes or patterns.
– If you feel that you may be experiencing discomfort or adverse health effects, please let us know immediately so we can stop the trial and safely discontinue your use of the headset.
– You must be aware of your physical surroundings.
– A 2167 Tour volunteer and/or Facilitator may be required to provide some assistance so you can make the most of your time with the VR headsets. This may include such actions as making sure that the headset is securely fastened to your head, guiding you so you can locate and navigate the controls, and safely removing the headset once the trial has ended.
Danis Goulet co-programs the Festival’s Short Cuts programme. She is the former Artistic Director of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and has curated award-winning short-film commissioning projects including Embargo Collective I and II. Goulet has developed initiatives for the Ontario Arts Council, served on the boards for the Toronto Arts Council and the Images Festival, and is a former programming committee member for the Canadian Film Centre’s Worldwide Short Film Festival.
Scott Benesiinaabandan is an Anishinabe intermedia artist that works primarily in photography, printmaking and video. He recently completed international residencies at Parramatta Artist Studios in Australia (12) and Context Gallery in Derry, North of Ireland (10), and was awarded the University Lethbridge/Royal Institute of Technology iAIR residency (13). He is currently in Montreal and recently completed a Canada Council New Media Production grant through OBx Labs/Ab-tech and Concordia.
Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martínez, and Kade L. Twist. They work to promote a constructive discourse that challenges the social, political and economic processes that are destabilizing communities and geographies, and to connect Indigenous narratives of cultural self-determination with the broader public sphere.
Kent Monkman is a Canadian artist of Cree ancestry who is well known for his provocative reinterpretations of romantic North American landscapes. Themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience – the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experience – are explored in a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance, and installation.
