The Friday Files - news to inform and inspire

Femmes dérangées / Femmes dérangeantes: Women in French UK-Ireland Biennial Conference

For the English reader,dérangées,ordérangeantesmight quickly read as "deranged", but the accepted translation is actually disturbed or disruptive. Speaking about why they chose this arguably provocative title for their conference, organiser Dr. Polly Galis (Bristol University) said,"Women who have challenged the status quo in extraordinarily productive ways have often been the most ‘disturbed’ or ‘disruptive’, from the suffragettes to Cixous’ laughing Medusa, from Colette the author to Despente’s murderous heroines. Feminist action has literally made waves to see effective change take place. This is particularly apparent in the creative expression of women, typified in the 70s by the theorisation of écriture féminine: women have historically deployed experimental narrative forms to develop a way of writing that they could truly call their own, that was noticeably different from a male-dominated literary tradition"

"Women who have challenged the status quo in extraordinarily productive ways have often been the most ‘disturbed’ or ‘disruptive’, from the suffragettes to Cixous’ laughing Medusa, from Colette the author to Despente’s murderous heroines."

Canada-UK Foundation was pleased to sponsor a portion of the Femmes dérangées / Femmes dérangeantes virtual conference, supporting the keynote speaker, celebrated Québec writer Naomi Fontaine.

Naomi spoke of her critically acclaimed book,Kuessipan (meaning to you, or your turn, in the Innu language), a deeply moving, and at times shattering illustration of daily life in an Innu reserve in Quebec. Naomi also talked with the highly engaged audience about working collaboratively with Myriam Verreault for the movie adaptation ofKuessipan. Nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best adapted Screenplay, the movie is available to stream on various online platforms.

---

Sobey Art Award 2021 Longlist

Following up on last week’s tribute to the late Donald R. Sobey, this week we look at the 25 emerging visual artists from across the country who are longlisted for the 2021 Sobey Art Award.

Of this year’s nominations, Rob Sobey, Chair of the Sobey Art Foundation, stated, “The unprecedented number of first-time longlisted artists resonates loudly with the Sobey Art Foundation’s commitment to amplifying new voices. I am pleased to see such an exciting array of emerging artists. Thank you to the Jury; their process has been thoughtful and their optimism for the future is palpable in the longlist. We look forward to celebrating these exceptional artists and contemporary art for all that it contributes to society.”

Sasha Suda, Director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada, added, “In my first year as Chair of the Jury, I’m thrilled that the Sobey Art Award received a record number of nominations with many from outside of the large urban centres that we often associate with the art world. I couldn’t be more proud of the conversation at the jury table and the hard work that each juror has contributed. Most of all, it has been an extraordinary privilege to learn about the amazing art being made from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”

The artists include, from the Atlantic region: Carrie Allison, Rémi Belliveau, Glenn Gear, Meagan Musseau, and Lou Sheppard; from Quebec: Guillaume Adjutor Provost, Lorna Bauer, Dayna Danger, Sheena Hoszko, and Walter Scott; from Ontario: Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushahpour, & Ryan Ferko; Jawa El Khash; Tanya Lukin Linklater; Esmaa Mohamoud; and Rajni Perera; from the Prairies and North region: Alana Bartol, Maureen Gruben, Andrea Oliver Roberts, Laakkuluk Williamson-Bathory, and Nic Wilson; and from the West Coast and Yukon region: Gabi Dao, Sharona Franklin, Julian Yi-Zhong Hou, Emily Neufeld, and Anne Riley & T’uy’t'annat-Cease Wyss. Read about all the nominees on the Sobey Art Award website.

We thought we’d highlight one artist from each region to show the diversity of backgrounds and practices featured at this first stage of the award.

Mycoplasma Altar, 2020, gelatin powder, daisies, foraged rose thorns, baby’s breath, juniper berry, metal nuts, kidney beans, amoxicillin pills, hydrochloroquine pills, methotrexate pills, antibodies in glass syringe vials, tapioca pearls, sunflower seeds, metal buttons, wood, plaster, acrylic and papier mâché. © Sharona Franklin — Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stephen Faught

Sharona Franklin, nominated in the West Coast and Yukon region, draws from her lived experience of physical, psychological and cognitive disabilities. Her practice explores radical therapies, cybernetic craft, bio-citizenship, the pharmaco-industrial complex, and social interdependence.

Mask making with a fly visitor, 2017, still from Timiga, Nunalu Sikulu (My body, the land and the ice).
© Laakkuluk Williamson-Bathory — Courtesy of the artist and Chickweed Arts/Jamie Griffiths

Nominated in the Prairies and North region, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory is a kalaaleq (Greenlandic Inuk) performance artist, poet, actor, storyteller and writer based in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is known for performing uaajeerneq, a Greenlandic mask dance that involves storytelling centred around three elements: fear, humour, and sexuality.

Deeper The Wounded, Deeper The Roots 1, 2019, inkjet photograph.
© Esmaa Mohamoud — Courtesy of the artist and Georgia Scherman Projects

From Ontario, Toronto-based African-Canadian artist Esmaa Mohamoud creates powerful work re-examining understandings of contemporary Blackness. Her major solo exhibition To Play in the Face of Certain Defeat draws on the modern industry of professional sports which she equates with a covert form of neo-slavery.

Prison de la santé [La Santé Prison], 2019, plastic security fencing, paint, airline cables, mini-publication.
© Sheena Hoszko — Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Émile Ouroumov

Montreal-based sculptor, anti-prison organiser and Polish settler Sheena Hoszko examines the power dynamics and violence of geographical, architectural and psychological sites informed by her family's experiences with incarceration, the military, and mental illness. Hoszko primarily uses rented and reusable materials, which re-enter the world as non-art after a project is complete.

Porthole, 2016, paper collage.© Glenn Gear — Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Glenn Gear

And in the Atlantic region, Glenn Gear – an Indigiqueer filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist of Inuit (Nunatsiavut) and Newfoundland heritage -- often explores personal and cultural connections to land, people, and animals. His practice is grounded in a research creation methodology shaped by Inuit and Indigenous ways of knowing, often employing the use of animation, photo archives, painting, beading, and work with traditional materials such as sealskin.

---

The Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland's First Biennial Conference

We're happy to share news received this week from Niall Majury, who writes, "We are delighted to send you the final programme for the Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland's (ACSI) first online biennial conference (May 13 and 14, 2021). This year the conference will be hosted for the first time north of the border between the UK and Ireland, at Queen's University Belfast. The programme rolls forward many of the activities we had originally planned to hold in Belfast on campus last May. The conference theme is Borders and Beyond / Les Frontières et au-delàand our keynote speakers include Perrine Leblanc, Jane Koustas and Axel Meisen, with screened performances and Q&As from Deirdre Mulrooney and Julie Morrissy. The programme andregistrationis available here.

The programme has some fascinating and unique academic perspectives to share, while remaining lay-accessible and free of charge to all, including our readers. Without wishing to select favourites, we are drawn to lectures by Marta Croll-Baehre, and her twin Emma Croll-Baehre who are both in the Cultural Studies faculty at McMaster University. Their first offering sounds delicious (forgive us!): "Imitation of Empire Cuisine, an auto/ethnographic exploration of the Canadian Artisanal menu" while the second lecture looks at a controversial woman, E. Pauline Johnson, through a new lens.

Participating Canadian academics come not only from McMaster, but also University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, Carleton, Memorial, Universite de Sherbrooke, Brock, and UBC.

---

Spotlight on William (Bill) Smith, Canada-UK Chamber President

Meeting Bill Smith, you know instantly that he’s a weekend athlete, but you might not suspect that his sport was - initially at least - ice hockey! While life took ultimately him down a business path, backed by an MBA from York, and a Master’s in Political Economy from University of Toronto, his early days saw him in upstate New York playing hockey for St. Lawrence University.

Today, Bill leads the Bank of Montreal (BMO) operations in London, EMEA and Asia, and he is in our spotlight today as we congratulate him on his recent election as President of the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, Europe’s oldest bilateral Chamber. Prior to joining BMO in London over 20 years ago, Bill worked in Toronto and in Tokyo. His ease with these large international moves might have been inherited from his father, an insurance executive, who moved the family to Bogota, Colombia in the early 60’s when Bill was only 3 years old.

In his leadership role with the Chamber, Bill says: “Ensuring that the Chamber remains relevant and proactive is both our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity in the year ahead, a challenge we relish. Bringing together important decision makers in business and industry, we have unique opportunities to promote networks, and provide expertise and insight into business demands in both Canada and the UK. What better way to celebrate our 100th anniversary than to provide the effective and essential networking and insight which is so needed as we all dramatically change the way we do business post-pandemic?”

In addition to his executive responsibilities at BMO, Bill is the Chair of the UK’s Association of Foreign Banks and serves on the International Leadership Council of the University of Toronto. He and his wife make their home in the Chelsea area of London and enjoy time in his native Canada and her native Spain, with their two sons both enjoying the “global citizenry” of their international heritage.