Testify: Indigenous Laws + the Arts



Sept 29, 2018 – Dec 22, 2018

Legacy Downtown | 630 Yates St.

Visit the Testify website here

This exhibition is a celebration of Indigenous Laws as expressed through art. This ongoing project is a curated pairing of artists and legal thinkers, working in conversation with each other to create art and written work about Indigenous laws and the opportunities for their dynamic expression as part of Canadian society.

The Testify project invites dialogue that puts the idea of reconciliation into practice. It creates a space for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians to dream a way forward, which respects and reflects the diversity, strength and hope embodied within Indigenous traditions. The goal of Testify is to change the way society thinks about law and to challenge the absence of Indigenous laws in the landscape.

Events

Testify Opening Weekend |Legacy Downtown | 630 Yates St.

Saturday, September 29th

  • 1 – 2:30pm | Kitchen Table Talk and Screening  –  Indigenous laws to protect children – with Halie Bruce and Nadya Kwandibens. Followed by a screening of the video triptych (Re)turning Home.
  • 7 – 9pm | Gala Opening & Performances  –Join us for refreshments and performances – Performances: Not a Juridical Terra Nullius, Testify Collective & (Il)legal: Let Us Live, Mariel Belanger

Sunday, September 30th

  • 10 – 12pm | Bannock Brunch & Screening  –Meet the artists and writers, and take part in a walkthrough description of the project. Followed by a screening of When a Heart Falls Into the River, Jade Baxter.

Friday, October 26th

  • 7 – 9pm | Script Reading & Panel Discussion – Script reading of LNG/Boundary Bay screenplay, Justin Neal. Followed by land based law/learning panel discussion with Maxine Matilpi, Sarah Morales and Justin Neal.

Saturday, October 27th

  • 1pm | Panel Discussion | Legacy Downtown – An Indigenous Law Response to the Boushie/Fontaine Verdicts – panel discussion with Gwaai Edenshaw, Robyn Gervais, Andrea Hilland and Ardith Walkem.
  • 6 – 7pm | Panel Discussion | UVic Campus | Fraser Building (Law) – Indigenous Women and the Recovery of Laws about Protection and Crime – panel discussion with Halie Bruce, Nadya Kwandibens, Joanna Recalma and Kali Spitzer.
  • 8:30 – 10:30pm | Burlesque Performance | UVic Campus | Fraser Building (Law) – Rm. 159 – Virago Nation at Testify: Indigenous Burlesque in conjunction with images from Testify, celebrating the power of Indigenous Women/Law.