The Polygon Gallery presents Response: Resonance from January 25 to February 12

Ten video works by emerging filmmakers and visual artists explore themes such as knowledge transfer, ceremony, and healing

The Polygon Gallery is pleased to present Response: Resonance from January 25 to February 12, 2023. This presentation, inspired by a series of workshops by Indigenous artists and Knowledge Holders in the summer of 2022, features video works by ten emerging filmmakers and visual artists. From soundscapes, both found and constructed, to singing circles and monologues, these video works explore themes such as knowledge transfer, ceremony, and healing.

Response: Resonance is the culmination of the Response program, an annual program that inspires ways of responding artistically to historical and contemporary Indigenous ways of being. Open to creators with an interest in visual and media arts, priority is given to Indigenous participants. Fifteen artists were selected from nearly fifty applications.

Participating Artists include Adele ᒪᐢᑿᓱᐤᐏᐢᑵᐤ Arseneau, Rain Cabana-Boucher, Isabella Dagnino, Stacey Donovan iskʷíst Sm̓x̌ik̓ən̓, KJ Edwards, Alysha Johnny Hawkins, Jake Kimble, Marianne Sundown, Toni Leah C. Yake, and Sussan Yáñez.

“This year’s Response program theme, Resonance, focussed on sound and voice, and these films present a wide range of experiences and experimentation inspired by the generous mentorship of the artists and Knowledge Holders who led the 2022 workshop series,” says Nicole Brabant, The Polygon’s Assistant Curator.

The themes in Response will be developed further through a series of online dialogues between participating artists and guest respondents, including Courtney Montour and Cheyenne Rain LeGrande ᑭᒥᐊᐧᐣ, among others.

Artists and Knowledge Holders for the Response Program workshop series included TJ Cuthand (Plains Cree, Scottish, Irish), Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv, Klahoose), and Courtney Montour (Kanien’kehá:ka, Kahnawà:ke).

The short films will play on a continuous loop during gallery hours, Wednesday–Sunday, 12pm–5pm, and late on Thursdays until 8pm. Note that the screening will be closed on the evening of Thursday, January 26, as The Polygon hosts The Lind Prize 2022 Award Ceremony + Closing Ceremony.

The Response: Resonance Opening Celebration + Screening takes place on Saturday, January 28 at 6:30pm. The event is currently at capacity. Click here to learn more and to join the waitlist.

Please note this event is COVID-conscious. Masks are strongly encouraged while not performing, eating, or drinking; when masking is not possible, please practice social distancing.

Banner Image: Toni Leah C. Yake, still from bury me deeper than memory and play my bones to dust, 2022

Participating Artists

Disabled Nehiyaw/Métis artist Adele ᒪᐢᑿᓱᐤᐏᐢᑵᐤ Arseneau engages audiences by creating works that weave connections to cultural, social, and environmental issues. Adele’s mediums include cedar, beadwork, hide textiles, digital art, and video performance art.

Rain Cabana-Boucher is a Michif/British settler artist raised in Treaty 6 Territory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently lives and works on the stolen land of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nations.

Isabella Dagnino is a lens-based artist who works in analogue filmmaking and medium format photography. Much of their work examines their experiences as shaped by their cultural background, and their relationships to place and community.

Stacey Donovan, iskʷíst Sm̓x̌ik̓ən̓, is a Sylix matriarch, artist, wife, and mother. Her work revolves around generational strength, beauty, and empowerment.

KJ Edwards is a Kanien’kehá:ka and mixed settler filmmaker and video editor. She was born and raised in Edmonton, Treaty 6 Territory. Her family are Wolf Clan, Goodleafs, from Kahnawá:ke.

Alysha Johnny Hawkins (Kaska Dene/Tahltan Nation) is a multidisciplinary visual artist. Her practice includes filmmaking, photography, painting, and her Indigenous cultures. She is currently pursuing her BFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Jake Kimble is a multidisciplinary Chipewyan (Dënesųłıné) artist from Treaty 8 Territory whose practice revolves around acts of self-care, self-repair, and gender-based ideological refusal.

Marianne Sundown is a Cree artist from the Treaty 6 Territory of the Big Island Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Marianne resides and works on the unceded Territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations.

Toni Leah C. Yake (European; Kanien’kehá:ka, Turtle Clan) is a composer residing on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ territories. Her work explores identity, blood memories, trauma, and healing.

Sussan Yáñez comes from Mapuche, Andean, German, Spanish, and English ancestries. Her work revolves around being a respectful guest on unceded territories, including the lands, waters, knowledges, traditions, authorities, and gifts that shape our world.

About The Polygon Gallery
The Polygon is one of Canada’s most acclaimed photography and media art galleries. The Gallery moved into its Governor General’s Medal-winning building in 2017 after operating as Presentation House Gallery for 40 years. The organization has presented more than 300 exhibitions and earned a reputation as one of Canada’s most adventurous public art institutions. Admission is by donation, courtesy of BMO Financial Group.

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Press contact
Michael Mann
604 771 6266
m.mann@thepolygon.ca