Category Archives: News

ALL MY R(el)ATIONS opens Ice Follies 2023

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A poster for Aanmitaagzi's presentation of ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, a spontaneaous performance and celebration of community on the ice. The performance will take place on February 10, 2023 at 7 pm at Shabogesic Beach (formerly known as Marathon Beach) in North Bay, ON as part of Ice Follies' Opening Night celebrations.

Aanmitaagzi is pleased to present ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, a large-scale multi-structure installation and performance on February 10, 2023 at 7 pm. The performance will take place as part of the Opening Night festivities of Ice Follies 2023. ALL MY R(el)ATIONS is part of our multi-year project, All My R(el)ations, a multi-disciplinary project of gathering, reflecting, and dreaming that explores the themes of relationality and resource capacity.

When developing this work we looked at stories around the abundance that was present when the first person arrived at this world, contemplating this abundance and our role within it. We explored stories of the rationing of our culture, language, traditional territory, and ourselves. The installation and performances were created collaboratively with our artists and community members through our ongoing weekly winter workshops series.

We are also excited to co-present Paper Canoe Projects’ Prophecy Fog, created and performed by award winning theatre artist Jani Lauzon. The performance will take place over two nights at Big Medicine Studio on February 16 & 17 at 7 pm.

Ice Follies is a site-specific biennial festival that takes place on frozen Lake Nipissing (Nbisiing) near Shabogesic Beach (Shaabgiizhig Jiigbiik). The 2023 theme “Thin Ice” (Nbagzi Mkwam) looks at our shifting landscapes and communities, including our changing relationships with our environment and each other. This is Ice Follies’ 10th Edition, and they are celebrating this year with free performances, large-scale art installations, community engaged artworks and activities, and a curated look-back at the history of this one-of-a-kind festival.

For more information, please visit www.icefollies.ca or contact Aanmitaagzi at aanmitaagzi@gmail.com or (705) 474-2227.

*Note: Shabogesic Beach was formerly known as Marathon Beach.

Fall/Winter Workshops 2022

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After what seems like forever, we are extremely excited to get back to engaging, making art, and sharing good food with community through our new Fall/Winter Workshop series! The workshops are part of our current project, ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, which explores and examines the themes of relationality and resource capacity/scarcity, and through them we will be gathering, creating, and developing stories, installation materials, and performance pieces that will be presented at Ice Follies in February 2023. The workshops are free to attend and no experience is necessary.

Workshops

Nishinaabemwin with Blair Beaucage
Fun and easy Nishinaabemwin language classes for learners of all ages and abilities.

Singing & Music Jam with Blair Beaucage & Tasheena Sarazin
Weekly drop-in jam sessions. Bring your voice and/or an instrument and join in!

Multi-Arts Kids Class
Geared towards children aged 5 – 13, the Multi-Arts Kids class will include activities such as drawing, painting, storytelling, crafts, dance, and more! Snacks are also included. 😊

Yoga & Dance with Animikiikwe Couchie-Waukey
The focus of these classes will be to build on our strengths and knowledge of our bodies, and gain freedom of motion, so that we can play and have fun. No yoga or dance experience necessary.

Elders Storytelling Luncheons
Have some lunch and an extra helping of stories and conversations with local Elders and knowledge keepers every Thursday afternoon at Big Medicine Studio.

Visual Arts with Sherry Guppy
Working in textiles, painting, harvesting, and sculptural components, participants will explore installation making for Aanmitaagzi’s latest project All My R(el)ations and the upcoming presentation at Ice Follies 2023.

Dance with Penny Couchie
Contemporary dance and movement explorations to unleash our power and creativity.

For more information, please contact Sid or Penny at aanmitaagzi@gmail.com or (705) 474-2227.

*Please note that the Yoga & Dance workshop on Wednesday and the Dance workshop on Thursday are now starting at 6:30 pm.

Aanmitaagzi participating in ON THE EDGE Fringe’s 2022 Duality program

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The Light in Us All
ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival – North Bay, ON

Thursday, August 11th @ 7 pm
Big Medicine Studio – 161 Couchie Memorial Dr.

As part of the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival‘s 2022 Duality program, Aanmitaagzi and the participants of this year’s Summer Arts Program will present a reworked performance of The Light in Us All, which was first presented in Durham, ON last month as part of the Fabulous Festival of Fringe Film.

The performance is free to attend, and all are welcome. For more information, please contact Sid Bobb or Penny Couchie at (705) 474-2227.

ASAP 2022 presenting The Light in Us All in Durham, ON

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The Light in Us All
Fabulous Festival of Fringe Film – Durham, ON
July 23, 2022 @ 7 pm

The Light in Us All is a presentation of the 2022 Aanmitaagzi Summer Arts Program and our multi-year project, ALL MY R(el)ATIONS.  It is collaboratively created and performed by the Aanmitaagzi company artists and the program participants. It is an investigation and expression of an indigenous story shared by Monique Manatch. This is the way we heard it: A long time ago the light went out. Fear and distrust grew. Loved ones were lost. They all journeyed together to find the light. What fans your light? How do we protect the light? The Light in Us All shares and celebrates our stories and imaginings.

This is our 15th Aanmitaagzi Summer Arts Program. Our company and community have experienced great change. We are excited to look back at our repertoire and past participants: our elders, artists, and youth. We have been engaging with, dreaming of and developing our narrative sovereignty through art-making. We will re-imagine and re-envision our previous works in a new performance.

The Aanmitaagzi Summer Arts Program (ASAP) is a 6-week intensive in indigenous performing and visual arts. Now in its fifteenth year, the program faculty is led by award-winning and renowned professional indigenous artists and educators. Participants learn, share, express and create alongside our professional multi-arts team.

ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, our latest work-in-progress, explores our historic abundance in opposition to systemic oppression and poverty. How much of what we have now is a ration? A small shadow of what we once had. What are we entitled to? What dances, stories, songs and language are our birthright?

ALL MY R(el)ATIONS explores historically rooted ways in which we make a return to abundance by connecting to ourselves and all of Creation.

CREDITS:

2022 Aanmitagzi Summer Arts Program Participants – Dan Babin, Ouske Couchie-Bobb, Abby Hopkins, Brad McDonald, Angel McLeod, Georgia Mianskum,  and North Sutherland-Spence

Artist Leads / Facilitators

  • Penny Couchie – Choreography / Direction
  • Sid Bobb – Theatre / Direction
  • Animikiikwe Couchie-Waukey – Dance / Choreography
  • Sherry Guppy – Visual Arts, Installation / Set
  • Michaela Washburn – Theatre, Story-telling
  • Tasheena Sarazin – Singing
  • Blair Beaucage – Anishinaabemowin

Photo Credit – Liz Lott Photography

Graphic Design – Daniel Couchie