Natasha Lavdovsky
Natasha (Tasha) Lavdovsky is a neurodivergent artist & amateur lichenologist, who grew up in Traditional Tsawout First Nation unceded territory (in so-called BC). In 2009
Natasha (Tasha) Lavdovsky is a neurodivergent artist & amateur lichenologist, who grew up in Traditional Tsawout First Nation unceded territory (in so-called BC). In 2009
sirenscrossing is an international, collaborative umbrella for a transdisciplinary site-specific practice. We think of humans as only one node of liveliness in the interweave of the living Earth. Through creating audience experiences in everyday spaces, we deepen into the lived reality of humans (even those in cities) and their sympoietic mesh with nonhumans, landscapes, and Earth systems. sirenscrossing seeks to enliven individual human’s awareness of their spiritual, biological, ecological, social, and technological entanglement in multispecies and hybrid bio/geo/techno processes. All of this has become increasingly urgent, on a planet in crisis. We hope to contribute to a tidal surge of momentum for change. Commissioned artist for Coventry UK City of Culture (2021-2022).
Drouin’s diverse photographic artworks examine the evolving definitions of landscape, and the often contentious relationship between human modifications and natural ecosystems.
Awarded as “Artist of the year” by the Quebec-based artist collective “Les artistes pour la paix,” Aquil Virani’s collaborative art projects combine painting, drawing, filmmaking, writing, graphic design, installation, and participatory art processes and ask important questions about social and environmental justice. In 2021, he was named the first ever national artist-in-residence at the Canadian Museum of Immigration.
Virginia is a public and installation artist, currently working in Petawawa, Omàmìwininìwag -Algonquin territory. She is interested in forging a language rooted in her connection with family and the earth. Exploring the marrying of food into art with growing biological forms enveloping foraged local plant life, creating with the context of walking gently. Conversations mingle with the honouring of culture, family and connection to the land in a collaborative public walking tour of sculptures, stories and songs with traditional knowledge keepers Trish Nadjiwon-Meekins, Susan Staves (Schank) in Owen Sound of the Saukiing Anishnaabekiing (SON). She also may use a climate language of cardboard and plastic to initiate dialogue on what is next for us and the earth. Her ancestors reside in England and the Ukraine.
Project SculptShore is a Art, Action, and Education initiative launching for its first of many campaigns on World Oceans Day June 8th 2022.
For our first installment we have partnered with local artist at the BernArt Maze in creating a life size baby North Atlantic Right Whale sculpture, modeled after the calf of Snow Cone, the North Atlantic Right Whale featured in the documentary, Last of the Right Whales. This interactive sculpture is fillable and will be used to collect washed-up debris during organized shoreline cleanups across the Maritimes. We will be engaging communities in shoreline cleanups by creating a social media sought-after summer selfie with our baby whale. Changing the narrative of conservation engagement from focusing on the problem to showing people that they are, and can continue to be an integral part of the solution, leaving them educated, empowered, excited to participate in other initiatives.
Tina M Pearson is a composer, media artist, performer and facilitator. Her projects invite stretched modes of time, perception and attention, in composition, field recording, performance, and facilitating, and often occur in community-based settings, outdoors, and within/through online platforms. Her work is increasingly focused on linking biospheres, ancestral memory, and technologies, uncovering connections that have been minimized, forgotten, or unimagined. Current projects include “Root Blood Fractal Breath” with Toronto’s ContaQt ensemble; “Displacement and Drift”, a mixed reality machinima and virtual installation; and “Tree Sing”, a long term approach for woman-identified vocalists and dancers to embody languages, sounds and movements directly from trees. Pearson’s work has been commissioned for presentation in concerts, installations, choreography, broadcasts, and video in centres through North America and Europe. She was editor of Canada’s Musicworks magazine, and taught Sound Studies at OCAD University in Toronto. She is director of LASAM Music, a member of the global Avatar Orchestra Metaverse collective, and a certified Deep Listening® practitioner through Pauline Oliveros. Pearson is a first generation Canadian of Nordic / Slavic descent, and lives on the unceded lands of the Lkwungen peoples on Vancouver Island.
No.9 is a cultural organization that provides youth with creative educational tools to address Climate Change and to foster dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Vulnerability and resiliency have been key themes in my 45 year career as a sculptor and a painter. Since the early 2000’s, I have been inspired by others including my friend Alanna Mitchell, author of Seasick: the Crisis of the Global Oceans and my network of Blackfoot women elders to explore human impact on the environment. As such, I’ve delved into the world of plankton, the Ponderosa Pine (a recent collaboration with poet Nancy Holmes) and its struggle to survive amidst the increasing presence of fires in Western Canada. I am intrigued by the intricate tangle of nature. My most recent installation, “SALVAGE: remnants of hope and despair”, featured at the The Art Gallery of Alberta in 2019-2020, reflected my deep need to explore the question of how to survive when everything around us collapses. This large installation, which had its first “performance” 40 years ago, is the connective tissue in much of my work and has literally grown alongside me as I’ve grown and struggled as a woman and an activist over decades. Interestingly, this massive piece just barely preceded the onslaught of Covid and continues to resonate as we attempt to regroup and move forward. I am currently working on its next format as well as continuing my painting explorations.
Omineca’s mandate is “a safe space for creativity to flourish” and our Mission Statement is “Omineca Arts Centre will create space and opportunity for innovative, multidisciplinary, collaborative, and marginalized art forms within the Omineca region.” Our Core Values are: Welcoming, Innovative, Inclusive, Community-minded, Supportive, Accessible and Sustainable.The Omineca Arts Centre is an interdisciplinary, locally-led artist run centre that is grounded in arts-based community development. Omineca continues to facilitate collaboration and diversify opportunities for emerging & professional visual, literary, musical and performing artists. The centre is located in a storefront in the pedestrian core of Prince George’s downtown. Our aim is to co-develop meaningful and collaborative artistic projects, experiences, and models for catalyzing arts and culture in the Omineca region, while prioritizing inclusivity, responsiveness, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The Climate Art Web (CAW-WAC) is a grassroots network that brings together climate artists living in northern Turtle Island (Canada).
