Fondation

Jenelle Duval (she/her) is a Mi’kmaw woman from Seal Rocks, NL who currently lives and is working in St. John's as an Advisor in media and content growth. She has been creating artistic spaces and opportunities for community and arts professionals since beginning her career in community in 2012. She was the Artistic Director of Spirit Song Festival, an annual celebration of Indigenous Arts and Culture in St. John's for almost 10 years. Jenelle is the recipient of YWCA's Women of Distinction Award (2019) for her work in Arts and Heritage, a founding member of EMCA-winning group Eastern Owl, and a tireless advocate for the preservation and revitalization of cultural arts and music. In 2019 Jenelle was acknowledged with her nomination for Indigenous Song-Writer of the year through the Canadian Folk Music Awards and was awarded the annual Achievement Award from the Atlantic Presenters Association for her contribution to Indigenous arts presentation in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020. She is a gifted songwriter and is currently composing a series of works that embody a lands-based narrative through her interactions with territorial attachments and interpersonal relations. Jenelle is rooted in her home territory of Ktaqmkuk, where she shares her life with her amazing daughter Kassidy.

Kìzis is from fields of manoomin; tended, harvested and unforgotten.

Meagan Musseau is L’nu from Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk territory (Bay of Islands, western Newfoundland). She nourishes an interdisciplinary practice by working with customary art forms and new media, such as basketry, beadwork, land-based performance, video and installation. She focuses on creating artwork, dancing, learning Mi’kmaw language, and facilitating workshops as a way to actively participate in survivance. Musseau’s work has been exhibited nationally at Open Space, Victoria; grunt gallery, Vancouver; Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre, Edmonton; AKA Artist-run, Saskatoon; Ace Art Inc., Winnipeg; VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine, Montréal; and internationally at Canada House, London, UK. She has performed at Spirit Song Festival (2019), Bonavista Biennale (2019), #THIRDSHIFT (2017), as well as in landscapes across Turtle Island. Musseau’s practice has been supported by awards such as an Aboriginal Arts Development Award, First Peoples’ Cultural Council (2016), Atlantic Canadian Emerging Artist, the Hnatyshyn Foundation (2018), and she was on the Sobey Art Award longlist, Atlantic region (2021).

Snow was born in 1928 in Toronto, where he lives and works today. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Toronto (1999), the University of Victoria (1997), the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1990), and Brock University (1975).

Snow has received several prestigious awards including: the Gershon Iskowitz Prize (2011), the Guggenheim Fellowship (1972), the Order of Canada in (1982), and the Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres, France (1995, 2011).

Jacob Wren makes literature, performances and exhibitions. His books include: Polyamorous Love Song, Rich and Poor and Authenticity is a Feeling. As Artistic Codirector of the Montréal-based interdisciplinary performance group PME-ART he has co-created performances such as: Individualism Was A Mistake, The DJ Who Gave Too Much Information, Every Song I’ve Ever Written and Adventures can be found anywhere, même dans la mélancolie. Most recently PME-ART has presented the online conference Vulnerable Paradoxes and the related free PDF publication In response to Vulnerable Paradoxes. His internet presence is often defined by a fondness for quotations.