Building self-determination

In May 2020, Toronto-based Indigenous artists Nanook Gordon and Brianna Olson-Pitawanakwat started Art Days, a series of art-based gatherings that took place in one of Toronto’s encampment communities, highlighting the work of its residents. Through the creation of this important initiative, they went on to found the Native Arts Society – an Indigenous, 2spirit-led organization providing gallery and studio space to artists, using a harm reduction framework. On Thursday, August 12 at 4 pm, Gordon and Olson-Pitawanakwat will join Kathleen McLean, AGO Assistant Curator, Talk Programs and Screenings, via Zoom for an Art in the Spotlight conversation about the Native Arts Society. 

In partnership with Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, the Native Arts Society has recently secured a venue for their studio and gallery. The space will provide a much-needed platform for Indigenous Art that is often unseen or undervalued, sourced primarily from the Toronto street community, from those who are incarcerated or otherwise marginalized due to systemic barriers. “The expressive arts have been an incredibly important aspect of the work that Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction does,” says Olson-Pitawanakwat. “Many of the folks we work with are talented multimedia artists and come from a long line of Indigenous artists, including relations to the Indigenous group of seven.” 

Nanook Gordon is a Toronto-based actor, carver and silk-screen printmaker who was born in Inuvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT. They are the founder of Feeding Canada, which sends food and other essentials to northern communities. Gordon also founded the Intergenerational Survivor Project to share the stories of those dealing with intergenerational residential school trauma, as well as the Porcupine Warriors, which stages peaceful protests for increased land and water protections.  

Brianna Olson-Pitawanakwat is a lifelong helper, diverse multimedia artist and member of Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation. She specializes in trauma-informed care, harm reduction and artistic programming. Apart from being a jingle dancer, beadworker and spoken-word artist, Olson-Pitawanakwat also serves as a community birthworker with Seventh Generation Midwives. She is a co-founder of both the Kwewok Nakii Collective and Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction. 

Don’t miss Art in the Spotlight: Native Arts Society, happening Thursday, August 12 at 4 pm. This is a free event. Register here.