GardenShip and State – Launch Workshop 1
Western University and Museum London – Centre at the Forks
Nov. 28 – 30, 2019
Artists: Ron Benner, Lori Blondeau, Sean Caulfield, Paul Chartrand, Michael Farnan,Jamelie Hassan, Sharmistha Kar, Mark Kasumovic, Patrick Mahon, Mary Mattingly,Quinn Smallboy, Ashley Snook, Adrian Stimson, Jeff Thomas, Michelle Wilson
Scholars: Tom Cull, Amelia Fay, Joan Greer, Andrés Villar
Day 1: November 28: Western University
GardenShip artists and scholars made introductions and short presentations of current and future work to be developed/presented in the project; initial discussions about the project and the exhibition (opening September 2021) were held. Focused presentations were made on themes: Anthropocene/the environment; decolonization/borders/statehood; and art & research-creation.
Day 2: November 29: Western University & Tour Museum London
Artists and scholars engaged in discussion and planning in group contexts; identified needs for future development of work; sketched out plans for the ongoing development of the project. We toured Museum London exhibition spaces.
Day 3: November 30: Museum London – Centre at the Forks
Public Presentation and Workshop
The public was invited to a “first phase workshop” at which Canadian and international artists and scholars from Indigenous, settler, and culturally diverse backgrounds presented their work, their ideas, and their aspirations for the GardenShip and State project, which will generate an ambitious exhibition at Museum London in 2021. Participating audiences were asked to respond to a series of presentations on: The Anthropocene and the Environment; Decolonization, Borders, and Statehood; and Art and Research-Creation, in a process that emphasized the importance of thinking, imagining, and producing together, in collaborative and generative ways.
Workshop Documentation and Citizen Participants’ Questions and Comments
