Aanmitaagzi participating in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus

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Installation photo of NGAPA YAAN / NIIBI AANMITAAGZI from Pier 2/3 at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct in Dawes Point, Australia.

NGAPA YAAN / NIIBI AANMITAAGZI

(WATER SPEAKS)

12 March – 13 June 2022
Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
13 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW 2000

As part of the 23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus, taking place from March 12 – June 13, 2022, Aanmitaagzi collaborated with Moogahlin Performing Arts to create Ngapa Yaan / Niibi Aanmitaagzi, a short video work on display at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. The work is  one stage of an ongoing artistic and knowledge exchange between the two companies, and features creation stories told in Murrawarri and Northern Cree language as well as footage of their respective lands and waterways.

As stated on Moogahlin’s website:

This project is a durational investigation of two cultural stories, Serpent People from Nipissing First Nation (Turtle Island) and Mundagudda from Murrawarri Country in Far West NSW, Australia.

Through a discursive practice of storytelling, and story-weaving connected by a common theme – WATER – we are engaging with historical references to water from across different nations and countries that celebrate and highlight our relational identities and connection to country. The stories come from juxtaposed locations, one a frozen inland lake, the other in an often-dry land. We ask, what knowledge about water is contained and transferred through each story? How do these stories define a relationship to water?

In articulating our relationship to water, we are in a process of communicating our identity, blood ties, and clan affiliations.

Aanmitaagzi would like to thank our artistic team Perry Mcleod-Shabogeesic (Storyteller / Knowledge Keeper), Penny Couchie (Creative Lead / Script / Narration), Megan Lozicki Paulin (Creative Lead), Sid Bobb (Creative Lead / Script), Cecile Hookimaw (Northern Cree Translator / Narration), Bradley Trudeau (Camera), Sherry Guppy (Production Support), Michaela Washburn (Production Support), and Merilee Helmer (Production Support) for their amazing work, as well as Richard Fortin (Camera Assistant) & Bernardo D’Avila (Camera and Drone Operator) from RFPMEDIA for helping us to produce our portion of the video.

We also want to thank the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for their continued support, and Moogahlin Performing Arts and the Biennale of Sydney for inviting us to participate in this project.

Misdemeanor Dream opens March 10th in NYC

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Misdemeanor Dream at the Abrons Arts Centre, February 2020. Photo by Sherry Guppy.

After months of hard work, Aanmitaagzi and Spiderwoman Theater are proud to present Misdemeanor Dream at La Mama’s Ellen Stewart Theater in New York City. A multi-generational theatre project that brings together performers, designers, and cultural practitioners from across Turtle Island, Misdemeanor Dream uses storyweaving, text, movement, sound, video, and installation to explore current and traditional stories. languages, and identities through characters both of this world and of other worlds.

The show opens March 10, 2022 and runs through March 27, 2022. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit La Mama’s website.

Grounds for Goodness – Online Screening February 17th

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In the fall of 2020, Aanmitaagzi artists Sid Bobb, Penny Couchie, Animikiikwe Couchie, Sherry Guppy, Tasheena Sarazin, and Michaela Washburn participated in creative explorations with Ruth Howard and Adrienne Marcus Raja as part of Jumblies Theatre’s Grounds for Goodness project. On February 17th, Jumblies Theatre presented The Light Inside Us All a video documenting the work that took place at Big Medicine Studio, as part of their two-week celebration of the project in-person in Toronto and online.

The event was live streamed, and Penny was invited to talk about the video and the project with Dorian Pearce and Ruth Howard via Zoom.

ASAP 2021 culminating presentation this Friday

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Aanmitaagzi Summer Arts Program 2021
Culminating presentation of ALL MY R(el)ATIONS

Friday, August 20, 2021 from 5 – 7 pm @ Big Medicine Studio

Aanmitaagzi and the youth participants of the 2021 Summer Arts Program invite you to attend the culminating presentation of the works developed this summer as part of the ALL MY R(el)ATIONS project. The presentation will include a screening of the short film produced for the 2021 ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival (re-edited to include additional footage), arts installations, live performances, and more! Refreshments will also be served. Hope to see you there!

Aanmitaagzi wishes to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Canada Summer Jobs Program for helping to make this year’s Summer Arts Program possible.