Western Voices in Canadian Art by The 'Rooted Resilience' conference final project spanned two days at the end of the course, featuring two panels of themed research presentations each morning. The overarching theme of all presentations was to demonstrate writing using eco-critical or land-based perspectives to discuss contemporary and modern artists from prairie communities. Panels evolving from student’s ongoing research leading into this conference were:
Art, Identity, and Ecological Connections: Prairie Perspectives
Presentations focus on the intersection of art, identity, and place. Subthemes include responses to historical and contemporary ecocide, exploration of the sense of place on the Prairie, dynamic Indi-Queer expression, and the relationship between identity and nature/culture.
Art, Environment, and Consciousness: Perspectives from Prairie-based Artists
Presentations showcase the diverse ways in which Prairie-based artists engage with and respond to environmental concerns with subthemes being water degradation and environmental issues, the interplay between human consciousness and the surrounding world, the ecological history of bison on the Prairies, the representation of prairie vegetation with a focus on healing and repair, and the impacts of climate change on societal and individual levels.
Exploring Diverse Artistic Perspectives on Nature and Environment
Presentations focus on the nuanced ways artists engage with and represent nature, the environment, and ecological consciousness, showcasing diverse perspectives and approaches within the context of the Prairie region.
Art, Environment, and Industry: Perspectives from Prairie-based Practices
Presentations on prairie artists or prairie-focused work by artists engaging with the multifaceted relationships between art, the environment, and industry.
Jessy Tyson's presentation served as a curator’s lens, bringing together the works of Prairie-based artists Shannon Carla King and Christi Belcourt. Each artist explores the rich vegetation of the prairies with the thematic context of healing and repair, yet their artistic journey takes distinct and intriguing paths beyond this common ground.
Jessy is a fourth-year student majoring in Ceramics and minoring in Psychology at Athabasca University. Their educational background in psychology combined with ecological themes in this course led them to become interested in the symbolic appropriation of vegetation by prairie artists in the service of communicating various kinds of healing and repair.
