By Will McGuirk
Toronto's Yonge & Dundas Square will be the site of a free Indigenous History Month Celebration hosted by The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) together with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT) on Wednesday June 26 2018. Along with music performances by A Tribe Called Red, Keys 'n Krates and Iskwe, those massive screeens will show Indigenous historical moments, 50 contemporary artworks by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women artists and Caroline Monnet's short film 'Mobilize' and the National Billboard Project 'Resilience'.
"It is an extremely exciting opportunity for me to work with 50 Indigenous women artists and with MAWA on Resilience, the national billboard project,” says Lee-Ann Martin, Resilience Curator. “For these artists, resilience is embodied as endurance, adaptability and sovereignty in relation to customary practices, contemporary identities, the land, and the impact of colonial practices and strategies. The large-scale billboard images exist outside of art galleries, standing alongside the country's roadways. The artists in Resilience stand as Defenders of their cultural sovereignty and Protectors of this land."
