MOA pays tribute to the contributions of Black Womxn Canadians with an evening of academic and artistic performances. The night (free with museum admission) features readings and artist talks from artist, poet and award-winning educator, Chantal Gibson; founder and director of BlackArt Gastown, Nya Lewis; and arts curator and producer Barbara Chirinos. Each of these womxn will explore how we can decolonize institutional prejudice and evaluate how colonialism has woven its way into our every day lives through their own unique perspectives and forms of artistic and intellectual expression.

Program schedule

Great Hall | 6 – 8 pm
Free with museum admission

Musqueam welcome + Opening remarks
Introduction by co-curator Nya Lewis
Readings from Barbara Chirinos
How She Read: So what does it mean to decolonize your mind? Talk + book signing with Chantal Gibson

*Please note: Adelene da Soul Poet was previously announced in the lineup; unfortunately, she will no longer be able to attend due to illness.

(Haida House | 8 – 9:30 pm
Performance by Tonye Aganabe—SOLD OUT)

Bios

Chantal Gibson is a/Historical In(ter)ventionist, an artist, award-winning educator and poet living in Vancouver with ancestral roots in Nova Scotia. Interested in the cultural production and consumption of knowledge, her creative work illuminates the spaces where literary art and visual art meet, to confront colonialism head on. She uses everyday objects to explore nuances of power and unpack hegemonic mechanisms of oppression persistent across readings, writings and representations of Blackness and Otherness in the Canadian cultural imagination.  

As an arts educator, her public talks, community arts projects and workshop activities encourage individual reflection and collaborative exploration of Identity, Otherness, Privilege and Belonging in this de/colonial moment.

Nya Lewis is the founder and director of BlackArt Gastown—an art showcase that presents outdoor and indoor art installations that stand for social change. A writer committed to creating community, her work celebrates the strength and perseverance of Black Canadian culture, history and its diversity. Last year Lewis presented an installation titled “The Feels” that shed light on mental illness within the black community and created a safe community for black youth to heal, process, share and discuss mental and emotional health.

Barbara Chirinos is an independent curator and producer. She is the founder and co-curator for VIFF Celebrates Black History Month, entering its 8th year at the Vancity Theatre. Working closely with artistic director Margo Kane (Full Circle First Nations Performance), Barbara served as the feature film and lead curator of the NFB Indigenous Short Film Program for the 2017 Drum is Calling Festival. Barbara also co-created (with Mexican artist Ari De La Mora) and produced the International Day of the Dead Exhibit and Tour on Granville Island. She has produced several community engaging events including Afro Hair Savoir Fair (celebrating Black hair and in all its glory through film and partnerships), Feast on Film (bringing lovers of food and film together).