Arts Event

Tansi! Tawnshi! Tawow! Shé:kon! Annii! Boozhoo! Kwey Kwey! ᐊᐃ

The AACC and Willis College is very pleased to be working on this small conference with friends, artists and community members. Willis College will host the event and they are located at the St.Laurent Mall in Ottawa.

The purpose of this conference is to provide basic art workshops to people who need more access to learning traditional Indigenous art forms, are subject to restricted budgets and cannot normally afford Indigenous arts workshops, or have been disconnected from their family/community and culture and seek to (re)connect with traditional teachings.

Likewise, our focus is on Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs and we intend to provide women with the tools they need for sustainable business practices.

We welcome all who share our concerns for endangered Indigenous art form and artists and thank those who have already offered their support to this small initiative including The Ontario Arts Council, Meridian Credit Union, Zomaron Merchant Services, Willis College, St.Laurent Mall, Ottawa School of Art, Kagita Mikam, artists, Algonquin Elders and volunteers.

This project is in it's preliminary phase and will rely heavily on funding and volunteers. If you'd like to volunteer, please email dawn@passthefeather.org. If you'd like to know more about the AACC, please explore our website.

Indigenous Artists and Vendors:

I am the founder and president of the Aboriginal Arts Collective of Canada (you may also know it as Pass The Feather). The AACC is an Incorporated Canadian Not-for-profit Organization (Corporation # 9469869). Pass The Feather is now a registered business name under which I work as an artist (formerly was the name of our programming under the AACC).

This year our focus is on hosting an Indigenous Arts Conference in Ottawa (March 2019) at the St. Laurent Mall in Ottawa.

The objective of this conference is to ensure that knowledge of traditional Indigenous art forms are taught and shared across our communities.

We all have the right to learn how to make the things that our ancestors made – regardless of financial status.

We all have a responsibility to teach our youth the history and spirituality that comes with creating hand made items.

This conference intends to offer all or some the following free art workshops to Indigenous adults:

drum making
beadwork
painting
rattle making
moccasin making
basketry
quill work
storytelling
traditional jewelry
drum/song circles
warrior bracelets
smudge feathers/feather bundles
tattoo art

And the following free
Entrepreneurship | Business Development Workshops

web design for small business
social media marketing
product photography
completing grant applications
merchant services (credit card machines)
business banking
business education
....and more!


Traditional teachings WILL be the focus of every art workshop ensuring that people have Indigenous context to the product that they make or skill they learn.

For example:

• Drum workshop may include activity/information on the birthing of a drum
• Smudge Feathers will include bird medicines and spiritual concepts of smudging
• Painting will include teachings such as the medicine wheel colours, pictoral symbolism
• Dancing will include teachings behind movements and regalia (jingle dress, stomp dance)

* we are limited to traditional art forms. Contemporary art forms are not eligible under this event.

VENDOR BOOTHS | POSITIONS OPEN FOR WORKSHOP FACILITATORS

We are ONLY looking for vendors and artists that create traditional hand made arts with products sourced on Turtle Island. Vendor booths are extremely limited as our focus is on learning.

You MUST be First Nations, Métis or Inuit to facilitate, vend or participate in this conference. If you do not hold a status card for political or personal reasons, please provide the reason. We are only trying to ensure that we do not allow any non-Indigenous artists to teach or sell in our space.

* web form can be found at http://passthefeather.org/indigenous-arts-conference/