Relational Walking with Dwayne Donald
Tuesday, May 21nd at 2:30pm – 5:00pm, River Valley
Dwayne Donald leads us on a walk by the river to facilitate the emergence of new stories that can repair inherited colonial divides and give good guidance on how Indigenous peoples and Canadians can live together differently.
Inspired and guided by the nêhiyaw (Cree) wisdom concept of wâhkôhtowin, Dwayne Donald frames walking as a life practice that can teach kinship relationality and help reconceptualize Indigenous-Canadian relations on more ethical terms. He argues that Indigenous-Canadian relations today continue to be heavily influenced by colonial teachings that emphasize relationship denial. A significant challenge faced by everyone in Canada today is how to facilitate the emergence of a new story that can repair inherited colonial divides and give good guidance on how Indigenous peoples and Canadians can live together differently. In my experience, the emergence of a new story can be facilitated through the life practice of walking.
Facilitator
Dwayne Donald (he/him), PhD, is a descendent of the amiskwaciwiyiniwak (Beaver Hills people) and works as a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. He is Canada Research Chair in Reimagining Teacher Education with Indigenous Wisdom Traditions, and his work focuses on ways in which Indigenous wisdom traditions can expand and enhance understandings of curriculum and pedagogy.
Synthesis in Motion through Playback
Friday, May 24th at 1:00pm – 4:00pm, MacEwan University
Members of Third Space Playback Theatre Edmonton collaborate with all the participants to synthesize the discoveries of the four days and create a living memory for the future of the Postmarginal Edmonton collective. Together we will reflect on our collective stories of marginality and imagine a more inclusive performing arts community.
Facilitator
Lucy Lu (she/her) is a Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian practicing as an Art Therapist, Counselling Therapist, and artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton. She is the Artistic Director of Third Space Playback Theatre Edmonton and facilitates community dialogue and storytelling with culturally diverse communities through this form of improvised and participatory theatre.
Third Space Playback Theatre Edmonton uses a participatory, improvisational theatre to promote community dialogue, social change, and justice. It invites audience members to share stories from their lives, which actors reflect back using improvisation including movement, words, metaphor and music. Playback Theatre helps to navigate difficult topics, while also offering perspectives that can highlight people’s actions in resistance and collective empowerment. The company has been co-creating experiences with communities to share personal stories of discrimination, oppression and to support pathways for collective support.
We are a group of creative arts therapists, artists, academics, and activists who are passionate about critically engaged participatory theatre. Our company members identify as racialized and BIPoc (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) people and our vision as a group is to create integrative spaces for dialogue amongst ethnocultural communities in Edmonton.