Indigenous Beauty | On Motherhood

REGISTER

Indigenous Beauty is a program series presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery to amplify and centre Indigenous voices, providing a platform for Indigenous peoples to define themselves.

In honour of Mother’s Day celebrations, our next episode of Indigenous Beauty will focus on motherhood from an Indigenous perspective. Host Shadae Rose Johnson, Community Relations Coordinator of Indigenous Programs, will be joined by multi-talented artists Christie Lee Charles and Fawn Wood, who will discuss how they balance motherhood, community, language and their careers as artists.

In many Indigenous cultures, the practice of balancing community, culture, arts and family is vital to honour. Both Charles and Wood share a practice that is uncommon in this day and age: they both speak their ancestral languages, something that colonization has made an effort to strip away. Charles speaks an ancient hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ dialect, and Wood speaks Cree. Both mothers hope to pass along their languages to their children.

Join us to celebrate Indigenous motherhood and to learn more about Charles and Wood’s journeys, their music and their languages!

This talk will be presented on Zoom and streamed live to the Gallery’s Facebook account here »

Questions? Submit them during the Zoom presentation using the Q&A function. You can also engage with your fellow attendees and panelists during the event using the Chat function.

New to Zoom? Learn how to register and attend a webinar here »

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

As this series evolves, we invite Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island to submit their program proposals for participation in an upcoming Indigenous Beauty presentation.

For more information and to submit your proposal, please contact Shadae Rose Johnson, Community Relations Coordinator of Indigenous Programs at sjohnson@vanartgallery.bc.ca.

Walk in Beauty. #VAGIndigenousBeauty

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Christie Lee Charles (aka Miss Christie Lee) is a full-time mother and hip-hop lover. As an emcee, she incorporates her traditional knowledge and ancient hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ dialect. She has curated an exhibition for Musqueam Youth Claiming Spaces and has served as Artistic Advisor for c̓əsnaʔəm the city before the city at the Museum of Vancouver and for Words Rising Birds Rising, presented at the Roundhouse and Maplewood Nature House. In 2019, Charles was emcee for Canada Day Granville Island, Women Deliver Global Ministers Forum, Feminist Deliver, UBC Indigenous Voices Awards, Vancouver Street Dance Festival, UBC 88th Congress, Nanaimo Dragon Boat Races, Welcoming the Sun Festival, Osprey Festival, Vines Festival and Langara 49 Celebrates.

Fawn Wood is a recording and performing artist. Born into the respected, multi-generational traditional singing Wood family, Fawn Wood’s singing reflects her Cree and Salish tribal lineage. Her perspective brings Indigenous women’s voices to light through her music. She has currently three award-winning albums.