Have you ever wondered, “Where do the Arts fit into the TRC Report? How can we apply the arts to fit into the TRC 94 Calls to Action? Can we use art as a tool to address these calls?”We have asked these questions too, and are proud to announce PAVED Arts’ “Truth Art (Re)conciliation”, a free community workshop, series and group exhibition in the spirit of Truth and the horizon of (Re)conciliation. With the aim of using art and creative expression as a tool to address, explore, critique and unpack Canada’s dark colonial history, participants will engage in educational workshops and creative sessions led by Holly Rae Yuzicapi and Eliza Doyle. No experience is necessary.
Each participant will create a digital work in response to one of the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action, which will then be transferred onto a hide canvas. These works will be on view from July 15th to August 20th, 2022 at PAVED Arts, with exhibition fees paid to all artists in accordance with CARFAC rates.
Participants are encouraged to attend all 3 workshops in order to ensure your work is completed and able to be included in the exhibition. Please ensure your availability to take part on all 3 dates before signing up. This project has a limited capacity but is open to everyone and participation is free.
Register to take part here: https://forms.gle/VkDme6kteG4ZaAg36
Workshop Description
Part 1 – Sunday, April 3rd, 1pm at PAVED Arts
In Part 1 of this workshop series, Eliza and Holly will guide us through an educational “culture conversation” and discuss the history of residential schools in Canada. We will also examine the 94 Calls to Action as presented in the 2015 TRC report. After this workshop, attendees will take the week to develop their digital artworks, and have them ready the following week, for Part 2.
Part 2 – Saturday, April 9th, 1pm at PAVED Arts
In Part 2 of this workshop series, Eliza and Holly will guide us through the first stages of leather image transfer (transferring a digitally printed piece onto buffalo hide). Attendees will also work to create an artist statement which will be specific to the piece. These statements will accompany the works in their summer exhibition. The works will be left to dry overnight, and we will reconvene the next day for Part 3.
Part 3 – Sunday, April 10th, 1pm at PAVED Arts
In Part 3 of this workshop series, participants will make any necessary final adjustments to their pieces and all works and artist statements will be revealed and shared with the group. The workshop will end with a sharing circle led by Marjorie Beaucage.
All works will be collected by PAVED Arts staff, and placed in a PAVED Arts group exhibition to follow in July 2022. All artists exhibited will receive compensation in accordance with CARFAC group exhibition rates. Once the exhibition comes down, participating artists will be welcome to collect their work.
Facilitator Bios
Holly Rae Yuzicapi is a proud Dakota/Lakota woman from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in Southern Saskatchewan. Growing up in a Dakota family, Holly has lived cultural experience with traditional arts, foods and many other cultural aspects. She enjoys being an artist doing work that creates cultural arts learning experiences for all ages. In the past Holly has done a lot of youth engagement and has a passion for helping youth make stronger cultural connections. She has a strong belief that traditional art and cultural experiences can share the history of First Nations people and believes art can create a strong sense of identity and confidence for everyone.
Holly also believes that creating unique common cultural sharing opportunities will help create a strong foundation for building relationships. By providing First Nation influenced learning opportunities, Holly hopes to help influence the perspective people have of the First Nation history in Canada. Understanding how to respect traditional knowledge is very important to Holly. She always encourages positive cultural discussions amongst all people and all ages to help give light the spirit of reconciliation.
Eliza Doyle is a bright, feisty, and fierce troubadour of exceptional talent and vision. Her past discography goes back to 2003, and since then, she’s recorded on 24 albums, toured Canada, the USA, Europe and the UK extensively, and crafted her musicianship to rise in excellence as a leader in this province as a banjo player, songwriter, performer, teacher and session musician.
This international and Juno award winning Saskatchewan musician most recently won the 2021 Industry Achievement Award through the Sask Music Awards for the work she does with the non-profit CAMP, Community Arts Mentorship Program, which she co-founded in August 2020 with Holly Yuzicapi.
Doyle is currently working with CAMP in remote and under-served communities across Saskatchewan to bring Artist Residencies, Girls Rock Camps, Music Mentorship Programs, Music Teachers, Music Video Production, Reconciliation and Trauma and Cultural Sensitivity Training to strengthen communities and build resilience through the arts, as well as working creatively on her own music and new album Fight The War, set to be released in the fall of 2022.
Photo Credit and Artist Statement
Igniting the Spirit of Reconciliation
Call to Action Number 58 – We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools. We call for that apology to be similar to the 2010 apology issued to Irish victims of abuse and to occur within one year of the issuing of this Report and to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.
“I used photoshop and image transfer, and I had a student assist me with beading the feathers. My image consists of the Vatican, but reduced to a black and white image: in the sky is Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School while it was in use, and when it was torn down – symbolic of the tearing down the power the church held over residential school survivors. In the middle of the sky is a tipi village which symbolizes a return to culture and traditions among Indigenous people. On the Vatican is the iconic photo used to promote the positives of residential school bit it is reversed so the young man is going back to his traditional roots. I also overlaid an image of the Canadian apology, to show that groups can choose to be remorseful and accept responsibility for their actions.
I believe that this apology is timely and needed: however, I am doubtful that the Pope will accept this and provide the needed healing so true reconciliation can happen.”
– Michele Schwab, Balcarres Community School Staff
