Tompalski’s Afghan Boxers at Gage Gallery Victoria  Canada, 2017.

Efren Quiroz’s YouTube and Website exhibit-V, provides an extensive monthly calendar of openings in Victoria B.C. Canada. He covers the Boxers and Beauties show with interviews of Sherry Tompalski and Arden Rose at Gage gallery Arts Collective.

On Tuesdays through Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. the show continues to Mar 11, 2017.

See a 360 degree panorama of the show provided by photographer Barry Herring. Click to view interactively and then play with the buttons. CLICK http://360.io/XJP7w2 . The gallery is Located in Oak Bay Village, the Gage is close to the corner of Oak Bay and Foul Bay avenues.

Tompalski’s new work is based on and inspired by pictures of the Afghan women who train in the basement of the Kabul stadium where the Taliban used to publicly execute women accused of adultery.

Sadaf Rahimi, a female boxer from Afghanistan who made history by being the first Afghan female boxer to be invited to the Olympics recounts, “In Afghanistan, there is so much violence and prejudice towards women. Because of that, when I come here and box, I feel freedom. Here we are all girls, and we talk with each other and practice. Here is freedom for me and for every girl.” The Boxers & Beauties Show was covered by Christine van Reeuwyk of the OakBay News.

Boxers debut with Beauties at Gage Gallery

Oak Bay artist Sherry Tompalski prepares to unveil her boxers, inspired by Afghan female athletes, during her first show as a Gage Gallery artist collective member. — image credit: Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News

A series of boxers enjoy time in the spotlight this month after waiting three years for a chance in the ring. Boxers, created by Oak Bay artist Sherry Tompalski, were inspired by the Female Afghan Boxing Club in Kabul. “I’ve never exhibited the boxers,” said the new Oak Bay resident. “I’m looking froward to seeing how people respond to them.” Tompalski returned west from Ottawa last June after a dual career as an artist and psychiatrist. Decades ago, after medical school in Vancouver she and her husband Graham Thompson moved to Ottawa for practicum. “We went for one year and ended up being there or 30,” she said. Upon their return, they opted for Victoria, which reminded them of Vancouver as it was three decades ago. Tompalski’s new work is based on and inspired by pictures of the Afghan women who train in the basement of the Kabul stadium where the Taliban used to publicly execute women accused of adultery. She learned of the women after a boxer made history as the first Afghan female boxer invited to the Olympics. “If was shocked, it just sounded almost surreal,” she said.

Artist Sherry Tompalski’s new show at the Gage Gallery opens on Feb 23, (5-8pm) featuring her Female Boxers.”This work began as large graphite drawings that are torn up and reassembled with fragments of musical scores, portraying the process of coming undone, reforming and coming together. The Boxers incorporate a fragmented, difficult history which hopefully with healing and strength becomes music.” Tompalski’s Boxers are accompanied by Artist Arden Rose’s Beauties at the Gage Gallery from February 21 to March 11, 2017.

The Feb 23 Vernissage

Vernissage has its roots in the old practice of setting aside a day before an exhibition’s opening for artists to varnish and put finishing touches to their paintings-a tradition that reportedly dates to at least 1809, when it was instituted by England’s Royal Academy of Arts. (One famous member of the Academy, Joseph Mallord William Turner, was notorious for making major changes to his paintings on this day.) English speakers originally referred to this day of finishing touches simply as “varnishing day,” but sometime around 1912 we also began using the French term vernissage (literally, “varnishing”). Today, however, you are more likely to encounter sparkling water and truffles than varnish at a vernissage, which is how Tompalski’s February 23 opening unfolded. See pictures below.

Arden Rose and Parents in front of Tompalski’s Afghan Women’s Boxing Club

Tompalski in Traditional Afghan Dress

In the show, Tompalski also exhibited Bahara of Kabul #1, #2 & #3, along with Hawa of Guinea West Africa. See below

The show also featured videos of Bahara of Kabul and Hawa of Guinea. See below.

Tompalski Featured as March 2017 Artist of the Month at Exhibit-V

SEE: http://exhibit-v.blogspot.ca/2017/03/sherry-tompalski-march-2017-artist-of.html

CONTACT SHERRY TOMPALSKI
quitecontrarysherry@gmail.com

GAGE GALLERY INFO,
open Tues-Sat 11 am – 5 pm, Sun 1 PM – 4 PM
2031 Oak Bay Avenue,
Victoria, BC, V8R 1E5
250-592-2760

WEB SITES
http://gagegallery.ca/
http://sherrypaints.info/
http://ardenroseart.com/

Voices from Afghanistan video posted on Forced Migration BLOG of University of Oxford, January 2008.

The Voices from Afghanistan video, part of the Voices of Refugees Installation, was posted in the Forced Migration BLOG of Online Refugee Studies Centre of the University of Oxford England’s Department of International Development (QEH) in January 2008.

University of Oxford Backgrounder

The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England, United Kingdom. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second-oldest university in continuous operation.

It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two “ancient universities” are frequently jointly referred to as “Oxbridge”.

Voices from Afghanistan Video

Notable Graduates from Oxford University
Theresa May
(1956- ) St Hugh’s Jul 2016 Conservative
David Cameron
(1966- ) Brasenose May 2010-Jul 2016 Conservative
Tony Blair
(1953-  )St John’s May 1997-Jun 2007 Labour
Margaret Thatcher
(1925-2013) Somerville May 1979-Nov 1990 Conservative
Harold Wilson
(1916-1995) Jesus Oct 1964-Jun 1970 Labour Mar 1974-Apr 1976
Edward Heath
(1916-2005) Balliol Jun 1970-Mar 1974 Conservative
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
(1903-1995) Christ Church Oct 1963-Oct 1964 Unionist/Conservative
Harold Macmillan
(1894-1986) Balliol Jan 1957-Oct 1963 Conservative

The Refugee Studies Centre Overview

The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) was founded in 1982 as part of the Oxford Department of International Development (Queen Elizabeth House) at the University of Oxford. Their mission is to build knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of forced migration in order to help improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. They aim to lead the world in research and education in the area of refugee and forced migration studies and to share our work on a national and global scale. They seek to realise this vision by taking forward new and transformative approaches to research, teaching and engagement with society, informed by Oxford’s long traditions of independent scholarship and academic freedom. A world-class centre for the study of forced migration and refugees has been created at the University of Oxford. With its pioneering research and innovative education and training programmes, the Refugee Studies Centre has had a major constructive influence throughout the developed and developing world and has stimulated effective international networks. In the early 1980s Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond undertook research regarding one such challenge: how to improve the performance of humanitarian agencies in the field. During fieldwork in Algeria she realised the paucity of academic literature available on the subject, and on her return to Oxford she founded the Refugee Studies Centre (then known as the Refugee Studies Programme).

Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal, Retrospective of net.art features North-South-East-West, 2008.

The Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal’s Electronic Magazine,  issue No 32 a Retrospective of net.art, features North-South-East-West Web Site in December 2008.

The North-South-East-West web site was reviewed as follows:

COSMOGONY ALGONKINE CACHÉE/MONTRÉE?

About the well-known work of Graham Thomson, North-South-East-West, we will recall his operating mode first of all, like its organization.     With the opening of the URL an interface of reception informs us of the format of the work, carried out under Flash.

If the hyperlector chooses not to have any action, it will discover a sequence of four distinct sequences:

• a very fast succession of images lets to us guess a plan of country, or city. It is necessary to make use of several captures of screens, then to increase them, to realize that the plan in question is that of the Contracting State of Minnesota (or of the state), the USA. Area bordering, should it be pointed out, of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, ancestral grounds of Algonkins;
• an anthropomorphic figure, that one will be able to associate a totemic representation, becomes animated on a bottom of horizontal screens. A cube drawn in three D also rolls on the space representation which this screen constitutes;
• in tone bluish, dark, a heavenly object occupies the bottom of a scene which seems left an space-opera. A hinged jib (Canadian technology?) approaches a unit which could be a space base;
• finally, of the parabolas, fixed on pylons, roofs, seem to receive waves coming from the sky.   Once the hyperlector will have shelled dissolve-connected these four sequences, it will have to click on one or the other of the bonds hypertexts to discover a new interface – which will give him access to the contents of work itself.

In a very simple way, and as many works born on the Web could show it to us, the interface of work is appeared as a space metaphor. In top north, bellow the south, on the left the west and is on the right.

Under each of the four cardinal points, a list from five to eight names proposes to us, thanks to the hypertext link, to discover an animated sequence. Before returning on their contents, we stop a few moments on another element of the interface, which will be always present at the screen, méta-bars it navigation. The choices suggested by this méta-bar are as follows, rather similar to those which one can find on considerable sites: exit, home, contact, information.

The subparagraph “information” will teach us that work is inspired by the symbolic system of the cardinal points traditional of the people algonkin. One will not be thus surprised to have discovered only the plan which ravelled at any speed in introduction was that of a state in the past (and also in a contemporary way) populated algonkins.

All work then, can be included/understood starting from this aspect of the introduction. The history of the American settlement being supposed known of all, one could only be sensitive to the fact that the people algonkin, like all the indigenous people of two Americas, have a report/ratio with the eminently problematic territory, conflict, even painful.

This territory, that the Amerindian people had by force to divide with Europeans, it is represented here in extreme cases of the visible one. So much so that one is forced to fix the image by capture of screen, to discover that it was about a plan of Minnesota.

The territory, literally, is hidden, virtual. It is in addition the territory of the other, since the place names are for the majority resulting from the Anglo-Saxon space representation: Cambridge, Turkey Not, Normandale, etc… It is a case emblematic of the use of information technologies and communication – where the appearance and disappearance as well as the tape speed of the images make direction.

This territory hidden, evoked perhaps by this totemic dance of the introduction, then moved in the space, and finally reinvested on ground through the waves received by parabolas, the body of work then proposes to us to discover it.

It while clicking on different the items is contained under the headings North South – East – West that we will be able to open the sequences having for name:    winter, snow, elder, courage, ice, endurance (North), summer, spirit, quest, secrecies, bloom, vision, adolesence, youth (South), birth, dawn, spring, flower, sun (East), automn, adult, thunder, sunset, renewal, (West).

With the choice, one will stop on the sequence “Vision”, in the North heading, to hear the message whereby “Vision C not reveal”; or one will hear, in “Dawn” this thought animist “All that belongs to the earth belongs to me”. But there is not the essence of our reading: the quality of animations, of the spoken or sung sequences, all that is left with the appreciation of each visitor, according to his sensitivity. It will be noticed only that none the many rewards received by this work is usurped.

What must hold our attention, it is connect it simplicity of the device, behind which semiotics questions differently more complex hide.

The list of the items reproduced above informs us indeed that certain sequences are called in reference to the season (winter…) and in connection with such or such cardinal point; other sequences indicate natural phenomena (snow, ice, flower, sun, thunder); others milked in the human condition (elder, adolesence, youth, birth, adult); others still refer to human or animal qualities (courage, endurance…); and others finally with phenomena of calendarity (dawn, sunset, renewal).

What it is necessary to point of the finger, it is the extreme diversity of the items and the extremely different registers which they indicate: natural seasons (long calendarity), phenomena, age group, human and/or animal quality, short calendarity.

Consequently, the action to click on one or the other of these items, and the surprise to each time discover a different sequence by its setting in image, the absence or the presence of a said text, etc… puts the hyperlector in a situation of imbalance with the project openly announced by the work – which is, let us recall it, inspired of the symbolic system of the cardinal points of the nation algonkine. How indeed to build a knowledge of this cosmogony if no methodology is proposed by the author – and whereas we are in a new mode of expression?

Moreover, one will notice the readily enigmatic character of certain sequences – which seem to function according to a logic well more oneiric rational.

In short, none known in the past cognitive maps seems respected here: we find the linearity of the written text and its paratextuelle organization, neither the syntax of the cinematographic writing (fictional or documentary), nor the methodology of the museographic modes of exposure, etc…

It however remains that the work of Graham Thomson transmits a message well to us, and more still that a message the feeling to have shared a significant experiment.

The logic which seems to prevail is well more that of the dream – a dream directly connected to psyché of Amerindian people – a logic which one will be able to say transverse, for want of anything better for the moment.

It is perhaps the greatest quality of this work, which all at the same time enchants us in the most naive way, and reserves questions differently more difficult to us, having milked with semiotics, and the development of a specific critical language.

Xavier Malbreil

The Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal Overview

The Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal (CIAC) is a non-profit organisation administered by a board of directors and managed by personnel with an expertise in artistic production, communications and arts administration. The mandate of the CIAC is to disseminate contemporary art from Québec, Canada and abroad. Initially identified with the visual arts, the CIAC also showcases the creative practices of artists working in design, graphic art, art film and video, architecture and urbanism, and landscape architecture.

The CIAC’s aim is to make its activities accessible to the greatest possible number of visitors. It employs various strategies to achieve this, including exhibitions, conferences, discussions between artists and the public and educational activities for a variety of target groups. The CIAC has no permanent space for its activities. It temporarily occupies various locations suited to each event, whether a museum, an unused warehouse, a park or other public space, a gallery or exhibition venue, etc. First identified with the visual arts, the CIAC also disseminates the work of professionals in object design and graphic design, video and art film, architecture and town planning, architecture landscape.

From 1985 to 1996, the CWC was mainly noted for organizing the hundred days of Contemporary Art of Montreal.  In 1998, he set up the Montreal Biennale (BNL MTL), an international biennial included in the biennial network of major cities in the world. In addition to the organization of artistic events, the CIAC also carries out cultural work, aimed at an in-depth understanding of the stakes of contemporary art, which took the form of various programs of activities, in particular the annual competition Of Young Critics in Visual Arts (1997 to 2007).

Finally, the CIAC online edits the CIAC’s Electronic Magazine. This bilingual magazine (English and French) offers critical works and general information on active artists in the middle of the web art (or line art ) and the institutions that disseminate it.

Voices of Refugees Installation – Central Asia, Central America and Africa at Library and Archives of Canada 2010.

The Voices of Refugees Installation was exhibited during Ottawa’s World Refugee Week Celbrations  at Library and Archives of Canada in June 2010. The 5-day event featured 65 works of art, 25 artists, 23 videos, 19 activists and 13 NGOs from Central Asia, Central America, Africa and Canada. The project was organized by painter Sherry Tompalski and videographer Graham Thompson.

Tompalski’s “Hamid” mixed media on canvas

World Refugee Week Celebrations June16-20, 2010

World Refugee Week Celebrations at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, will featured portraits, videos, presentations and live performances of artists and activists from around the world. The work is open for viewing daily from 1-10PM in room A on the ground floor of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) with presentations and live performances given at 3PM daily.

The 5-day multimedia event includes: the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture,  Canadian Centre for International Justice, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,  USC Canada, The Canadian Red Cross, Catholic Immigration Centre of Ottawa, Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies, International Settlement Canada Quarterly, Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, World Skills Immigrant Settlement Support Agency, National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA, Sherry Tompalski (Designer / Canada), Graham Thompson (Videographer / Canada),  Hamid Ayoub (Painter / Drummer / Sudan), Hawa Kaba (Painter / Drummer /Guinea), Dr. Lee (Percussionist / Canada), Yannick Ndongmo (Singer / Cameron), Tito Medina (Singer / Songwriter / Guatemala), Victor Fuentes (Painter / Singer / El Salvador), Martin Mbesha (Painter / Drummer / DR Congo), Marcela Bautista (Activist / Guatemala), Consuelo Perez (Activist / Guatemala), Sandra Hernandez (Activist / Guatemala), Dolores Bautista (Activist / Guatemala), Nubia Cermeno (Singer / Venzuela), Aisha Matar (Body Painting / Sudan), Selma Hassan (Folklore / Sudan), Gustavo Saavedra (Guitarist, Bolivia) and Maria Sabaye (Dancer, Iran)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2010 – Dr Lotta Hitschmanova  + Marion Dewar

5:00 PM:  DOORS OPEN – Refreshments & Food, Video Installation, Paintings, Information Tables, Refugee Artists Victor Fuentes, Hawa Kaba, Hamid Ayoub
5:30 PM: RECEPTION: Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund: Celebrating One Year of Community Success organized by the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO).
5:45 PM: Opening Talks by Hy Shelow, UNHCR Senior Protection Officer and Philip Landon, Director of University and College Programming WUSC.
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM:  PROGRAM: Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund: Celebrating One Year of Community Success, SPEAKERS: Tyler Meredith President OCISO Board, Donna Holtom Chair MDSF Committee, Barb Gamble Artist and Community Advocate. Backgrounder, Application, Invitation ENGLISH. Invitation FRENCH
8:00 PM: Susan Walsh, USC Canada’s Executive Director, will provide a talk about Dr Lotta.

THURSDAY JUNE 17th, 2010 – Central Am Artists, Centre Int’l Justice, Asylum Players

4 PM: “Voices for justice: Canadians seeking truth, accountability and redress” a program developed by the Canadian Centre for International Justice begins with Introductory remarks by Jayne Stoyles, Executive Director, CCIJ
4:15 PM: Reading by Monia Mazigh  from her book, ‘Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar.
4:45 PM: ‘Lemkin’s House,’ a play reading directed by Sarah Mahoney
5:15 PM: Musical interlude by Victor Fuentes
5:45 PM: Closing remarks by Jayne Stoyles (and Alex Neve, TBC)
7 PM: Guatemalan artists Tito Medina, Sandra Hernandez, Dolores Bautista, Marcela Bautista, Consuelo Perez.
8 PM: Peter Showler’s play “Excluding Manuel” performed by the Asylum Players of the University of Ottawa.
1-8 PM: The Installation will feature: Paintings and videos of artists from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, Youtube videos submitted by refugees from around the world, Portraits of featured refugee artists Tito Medina, Hawa Kaba, Hamid  Ayoub, Victor Fuentes and Martin Mbesha by Sherry Tompalski.
1-5 PM: Information tables presented by The Catholic Immigration Centre, The Canadian Red Cross the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies World Skills, YMCA-YWCA and USC Canada.

FRIDAY JUNE 18th, 2010 – Central Asia Day + World Music Circle

3 PM: JP Melville of the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture will provide the opening remarks.
3:15 PM: The installation will feature Afghan poetry translated by Shahbaz Eshani (Iran).
3:30 PM: The installation will feature Iranian dance by Maria Sabaye (Iran)
5 PM:  World Music Circle: Musicians, in support of World Refugee Week, gather to celebrate and to create music together.
1-8PM:  The Installation will feature: Paintings and videos of artists from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, Youtube videos submitted by refugees from around the world, Portraits of featured refugee artists Tito Medina, Hawa Kaba, Hamid  Ayoub, Victor Fuentes and Martin Mbesha by Sherry Tompalski.
1-5 PM: Information tables presented by The Catholic Immigration Centre, The Canadian Red Cross the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies and the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, World Skills, YMCA-YWCA and USC Canada.

SATURDAY JUNE 19th, 2010 – Africa Day

3 PM: Jayne Stoyles of the Canadian Centre for International Justice will the provide opening remarks.
3:15 PM: Nubia Cermeno, activist from Venezula, will sing and display the art work of refugee children from her “I Wish” program at the Catholic Immigration Centre.
3:45 PM: The installation will feature a talk by Hamid Ayoub (Sudan) accompanied by drummers Dr. Lee, Hawa Kaba (Guinea), Martin  Mbesha (DR Congo), singer/dancer Yannick Ndongmo  and a demonstration of Sudanese henna body painting by Aisha Matar and Sudanese folklore and costumes by Selma Hassan.
1-8 PM:  The Installation will feature: Paintings and videos of artists from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, Youtube videos submitted by refugees from around the world, Portraits of featured refugee artists Tito Medina, Hawa Kaba, Hamid  Ayoub, Victor Fuentes and Martin Mbesha by Sherry Tompalski.
1-5 PM: Information tables presented by The Catholic Immigration Centre, The Canadian Red Cross the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies, World Skills, YMCA-YWCA , USC Canada and  Heather Thomson, RN, BScN photonovel project on nutrition, created with a group of Congolese women.

SUNDAY JUNE 20th, 2010 – World Refugee Day

3 PM: Dr. Adnan Turegun of Carleton University will provide the opening remarks.
3:15 PM: Nubia Cermeno, activist from Venezula, will sing and present the art work of refugee children from her “I Wish” program at the Catholic Immigration Centre.
3:30 PM: The installation will feature a talk by Hamid Ayoub (Sudan) accompanied by  drummers Dr. Lee, Hawa Kaba (Guinea), Martin  Mbesha (DR Congo) and singer/dancer Yannick Ndongmo and a demonstration of Sudanese henna body painting by Aisha Matar and Sudanese folklore and costumes by Selma Hassan.
1-4 PM:  The Installation will feature: Paintings and videos of artists from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, Youtube videos submitted by refugees from around the world, Portraits of featured refugee artists Tito Medina, Hawa Kaba, Hamid  Ayoub, Victor Fuentes and Martin Mbesha by Sherry Tompalski.
1-4 PM:  Information tables presented by The Catholic Immigration Centre, The Canadian Red Cross the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies World Skills, YMCA-YWCA,  USC Canada.

World Refugee Week Artists/Presenters – Partial List

Dr. Susan  Walsh: Executive Director of USC Canada
Susan initially worked at USC as a Program Officer in the late 1980’s, and in the interim, helmed the World Food Day Association and worked for over a decade with Canadian Lutheran World Relief as that agency’s Director for Latin America Programs. USC drew her back to Ottawa in 2004, this time as the agency’s Executive Director. During these past two decades, Susan has spearheaded strategies designed to promote the legal, cultural, and livelihood rights of indigenous peoples and marginalized farmers, strengthened though the completion of a doctoral degree in cultural anthropology at the University of Manitoba, and a year of SSHRC-sponsored field research on the biodiversity conservation and resilience strategies of indigenous potato farmers in Bolivia’s southern highlands.

Tito Medina: Singer / Song Writer (Guatemala)
Medina is a Singer-Songwriter and an icon for Guatemalan revolutionary music. His voice and musical work started to emerge during the national protests the early 70s on the streets of Guatemala City, rapidly Tito was touring the country side of his native Guatemala with his bands Camino and Grupo Taller, then with the Estudiantina of the University of San Carlos and later with Kin-Lalat Revolutionary Music Ensemble. Freedom, equality, hope, love and consensus have been Tito’s inspirations across the time.

Dr. Monia Mazigh: Finance Professor / Writer
Dr. Mazigh was catapulted onto the public stage in 2002 when her husband Maher Arar, was deported to Syria where he was tortured and held without charge for over a year. During that time, Dr. Mazigh campaigned vigorously for her husband’s release and later fought to re-establish his reputation and sought reparations. In January 2007, after a lengthy inquiry, her husband finally received an apology from the Canadian government and was offered compensation for the “terrible ordeal” his family had suffered. Dr. Mazigh has since authored a new book called Hope and Despair which documents her ordeal after her husband was arrested and how she campaigned to clear his name.

Hamid Ayoub: Painter / Drummer (Darfur, Sudan)
Ayoub, born in the Darfur region of Sudan, fled the expanding civil war in East Africa, to walk on a perilous journey on foot across Chad with the constant threat of famine and attack by wild animals. A graduate from the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Sudan University of Science & Technology, Khartoum, Sudan, Ayoub has exhibited in
Sudan, Nigeria, Germany, England, United States, Niger, Canada and Holland

Dr. Adnan Türegün: Executive Director of CIMSS
Dr. Adnan Türegün is Executive Director of the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies (CIMSS) and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University. His research interests include the labour market integration of immigrants and refugees with a particular emphasis on their access to regulated professions and trades.

Jayne Stoyles: Executive Director of the CCIJ
Stoyles is a lawyer, the first Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, and an Ashoka Canada Fellow.  Jayne served for several years as the Program Director of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court in New York, a network of 2,000 NGOs worldwide that helped bring about the establishment of the Court and that was twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She has been a Senior Adviser to the Institute for Global Policy in New York on issues of human security, UN reform and international justice, provided International Humanitarian Law training for the Red Cross, and taught international law at Carleton University. The Canadian Centre for International Justice is a national charitable organization that works with survivors of torture, war crimes and other atrocities to seek redress and bring perpetrators to justice in Canada and internationally as part of the next phase of the international justice movement.

Hawa Kaba: Painter / Drummer (Guinea)
Kaba’s art is greatly influenced by her early years in Africa. Her interest in women and women’s issues stems from wanting to push beyond the injustice of existing boundaries – a push for freedom to fulfill life’s dreams regardless of perceived limitations. In her native Guinea, art has traditionally been the exclusive domain of men, while women are left to mind the household and raise children. Through her art, Kaba hopes to encourage women, in particular African women, to become interested in painting as a means of expression.

Philip Landon is the Director of Programs for the WUSC
Landon has been involved in international development and education for over twenty years. His work has focused on the design and management of sustainable education and international development projects and programs that address marginalized populations and engage Canadians in the issues. He is currently the Director of Programs at World University Service of Canada, responsible for strategic orientation, program development and implementation of WUSC’s programs in Canada and overseas.

Sandra Hernandez: Activist / Artist (Guatemala)
Hernandez, as a student in the National University San Carlos, was a founding member of the Environmental University Commission, an organization that  worked with Greenpeace Central America to create a front against the transportation of toxic waste to Guatemala. Upon her arrival in Canada, Hernandez organized student delegations from around the world,  to raise awareness of issues of toxic waste. As well Hernandez has worked with Union member and indigenous leaders to raise awareness of human rights issues in Guatemala.

Victor Fuentes: Painter / Song Writer (El Salvador)
Fuentes came to Canada from El Salvador with his family as refugees in 1990. Though his country has been ravaged by endless civil war, the spirit of the El Salvadorian people remains strong. Victor is the co-founder of the art group “Harmony Hopes” and is instrumental in organizing the Annual Harmony Hopes Art Exhibition to raise funds for the Youth House, Cal-Pipil in San Salvador.
Victor is a strong advocate for change in social and economic justice and development in El Salvador which inspires him to write poetry and music relating to the continued injustices to his countrymen.

Gustavo Saavedra: Singer / Song Writer (Bolivia)
Saavedra, a leading voice of the Bolivian Choir Society, and founding member of the People’s Centre of Art and Culture Music Workshop, was featured on the “La Explicación de mi País”, a musical resistance compilation during Bolivia’s era of dictatorships. His work developed into the prestigious international “Arawi” Music Workshop. He has performaed in Canada, Bolivia, and Chile.

Jessica Solomon – Comedian (Montreal)
Jessica was working as a war crimes lawyer for the U.N. when she decided to pursue a career in comedy. Frankly, she thought, it was time to get serious. Jessica works out of Montreal, Canada, where she performs regularly at the Comedyworks and the Comedynest as well as every alternative comedy room in town. No audience is too small. Seriously, a single bus stop dweller will do. But she does love a crowd, so Jessica has also traveled to cities with large amounts of English speakers. She has performed in Ottawa and Toronto at Yuk Yuks and Absolute Comedy. Internationally, she’s hit the Comedy Café in London and the legendary Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago, amongst others. She has also auditioned for Just for Laughs. When she’s not writing and performing Jessica likes to check in with her old colleagues in The Hague. She enjoys hearing how sad the war criminals are without her observational wit and storytelling to keep them going. She believes they are jealous of her comedy audience and regret what they have done.

Nubia Cermeño: Singer / Songwriter (Venezuela)
Known for her engaging performances and social work with Catholic Immigration Centre, Nubia’s “no barriers music” has been featured in variety of local festivals and  Women’s  Day events. A receiptient of the Community Builder award from the United,  she has served on the Steering Committee for the City for All Women Initiative and  the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Folk Festival. Her work with the “I Wish” program provides opportunities for refugee and newcomer children to exhibit their paintings at local venues such as the Ottawa Folk Festival, World Refugee Week and City of Ottawa events.

Special Thanks goes to the following Contributors:

The Ontario Arts Council, Library and Archives Canada, Nanda Na Champassak and Ryan Thom, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Bhat Boy (www.bhatboy.com), the Centre for Afghan Progress, Peter Showler of the University of Ottawa, Adnan Turegun and James Milner of Carleton University, Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, Department of International Development (QEH) of the University of Oxford England, the Canadian Centre for International Justice and the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture.

The Voices of Refugees Installation History

Parliament of Canada, June 16, 2009: As part of World Refugee Week celebrations, the Voices of Refugees Installation featured 8 portraits of refugees from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, segments of their life stories displayed on four large screen video monitors and a live performance by Guatemalan revolutionary singer Tito Medina. The event included speeches by the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Abraham ABRAHAM the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in Canada.

University of Ottawa, June 2, 2009: As part of the 2nd Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, posters, videos and performances by revolutionary singer Tito Medina were presented at the conference.

World Refugee Day, June 20, 2008: Posters and videos from the Voices of Refuges Installation were presented on World Refugee Day 2008 at Ottawa City Hall. Video was presented on the University of Oxford England web site and posters were distributed to relief organizations in Islamabad, San Francisco, Dublin, Tokyo, Melbourne, New York, Washington, London, Brussels, Cairo and Johannesburg.

Canadian Centre for International Justice, June 26, 2008: Posters from the Voices of Refuges Installation were shown at the formal launch of the Canadian Centre for International Justice at Library and Archives Canada. The featured speakers were Maher Arar, Lloyd Axworthy and Ellen Gabriel.

Library and Archives Canada Overview

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is a federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving and making Canada’s documentary heritage accessible. The Dominion Archives was founded in 1872 as a division within the Department of Agriculture and was transformed into the autonomous Public Archives of Canada in 1912 and renamed the National Archives of Canada in 1987. The National Library of Canada was founded in 1953. Freda Farrell Waldon contributed to the writing of the brief which led to the founding of the National Library of Canada.[11] In 2004, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) combined the functions of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada. It was established by the Library and Archives of Canada Act (Bill C-8), proclaimed on April 22, 2004. A subsequent Order in Council dated May 21, 2004 united the collections, services and personnel of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada. Since inception LAC has reported to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Federal Minister Jason Kenney launches the Voices of Refugees Installation at the Parliament of Canada in 2009.

The Voices of Refugees Installation was exhibited at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa Ontario June 16, 2009. The multimedia event featured 8 portraits of refugees from Central America, Central Asia and Africa, with segments of their life stories displayed on four large screen video monitors and was introduced by Federal Minister Jason Kenney.

The Voices of Refugees Project at the Canadian Parliament

The event involved 4 large video displays, 10 short films, 8 portraits and the music of Tito Medina, revolutionary singer from Guatemala in celebration of World Refugee Week. The project was reviewed by Radio Canada International’s Link Program, Tony Martins of Guerrilla Magazine of Ottawa and Alan Neal on CBC’s Ottawa Morning.

The event included the following speakers: The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Abraham ABRAHAM the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in Canada. The projects partners included United Nations, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Coalition of New Canadians for Art and Culture. The project’s funders included the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council, City of Ottawa and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Tito Medina Backgrounder

Mayan musician and activist Tito Medina was just a kid when his songs got him into trouble in his home country Guatemala. After fleeing Guatemala he lived in several countries – Nicaragua and Mexico – before settling in Canada.

Tito Medina in front of his Portrait

Tito recounts, “I started to sing songs about what was happening in my country when I was twelve years old. I have two brothers that are still missing, disappeared. My mom was heavily tortured both by national forces and foreign international advisers and mining companies, that have small armies locally. They force the people out of their communities, you know, they just to strike gold or nickel or something. We need to learn to forgive but we don’t have to forget.”

Victor Fuentes Video Transcript

SINGING: What’s the use of having so much, What the use of having so much power, If when the day of my death comes, Nothing, absolutely nothing, I am going to take with me. What the use of having so many possessions? What is the use of all these wealth? When there are so many that have nothing? No even a bread on the table? SPEAKING: I was almost killed in my country, I was tortured, I was arrested on 2 occasions, I was a student at the National Salvadorian University. 1 week the first time, with no food, no sleeping, no water, being beaten up by 7 soldiers, although, I couldn’t see anybody. The first time I was put into a torture chamber, they put me on a chair and I was blindfolded. I was hand cuffed in the back. There was a minute of silence, complete silence, before they started to beat me up.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Press Release

Good morning, Earth exhibited at 2007 UN Climate Change Conference in Bali Indonesia through United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The short film Good morning, Earth, directed by Gerald Betita and edited by Graham Thompson, was exhibited at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali Indonesia through the auspices of the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office on December 3-14, 2007.

The 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place at the Bali International Conference Centre, Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia, between December 3 and December 15, 2007. Representatives from over 180 countries attended, together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. The conference encompassed meetings of several bodies, including the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 13), the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (MOP 3 or CMP 3), together with other subsidiary bodies and a meeting of ministers.

A Still Image from Good Morning, Earth

Negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol dominated the conference. A meeting of environment ministers and experts held in June called on the conference to agree on a road-map, timetable and ‘concrete steps for the negotiations’ with a view to reaching an agreement by 2009. It has been debated whether this global meeting on climate change has achieved anything significant at all.

Director Gerald Betita (right) in San Antonio Texas

Initial EU proposals called for global emissions to peak in 10 to 15 years and decline “well below half” of the 2000 level by 2050 for developing countries and for developed countries to achieve emissions levels 20-40% below 1990 levels by 2020. The United States strongly opposed these numbers, at times backed by Japan, Canada, Australia and Russia. The resulting compromise mandates “deep cuts in global emissions” with references to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report.

Aboriginal Human Rights Art Seminar 2006, in collaboration with Amnesty International, was conducted at the National Gallery of Canada.

During March 2006,  Graham Thompson in collaboration with Amnesty International, conducted an Aboriginal Human Rights Art Seminar at the National Gallery of Canada.

By illustrating the spiritual connection Aboriginal People have to the Earth, Thompson in conjunction with a speaker from Amnesty International, worked with students to create Aboriginal Human Rights themed paintings and drawings based on Medicine Wheel principles and archival images of Native American life prior to colonization.

Medicine Wheel Beliefs and Principles were discussed using an interactive video based presentation North-South-East-West. The presentation North-South-East-West (NSEW), with accompanying talk, has an introduction that illustrates Ontario’s past, its present day mass media culture, and its technological future.

The main section of NSEW begins in the east where the earth gives birth to a new day, to a new life and to the feeling of deep peace and belongingness. As well the east represents the first challenge in life – the test of survival. The animation celebrates the tiny frail flowers that live another day and open to greet the sun.

The eastern section is followed by illustrations of the earth’s southern personality. The south brings the heat of the summer, the bloom of adolescence and the quest for a vision. The south represents the time we are given to discover our meaning and the ability to hold the power of this vision as our secret.

The southern section is followed by meditations on the west. The west represents adulthood, autumn and the path of the vision discovered in our youth. In autumn the cool winds of the west signal the end of summer and a time of preparation – an adult time. In this direction or season of life, we learn that the path of our vision is not easy. The difficulties come like thunder clouds, yet they bring rains that “wash away yesterday” and allow us to renew ourselves and continue our work as in adulthood we realize that the sun will set before our path is complete.

The piece completes the cycle of directions, seasons and stages of life in the north. The north represents winter, old age and the wisdom of the path of the vision. It is at this stage that our view of life is simple and uncomplicated, like a landscape where blankets of snow hide the complexities of the terrain. This is the time to have courage to live and embrace the changes of the final stage of life.

The North South East West new media series can be summarized by mapping the geographic and climatic themes onto a matrix as shown below

North-South-East-West exhibited at 2006 Les Futurs de l’écrit Art Biennial at Abbey of Noirlac in Orléans France.

The North-South-East-West DVD was exhibited at the 2006 Les Futurs de l’écrit Art Biennial at the Abbey of Noirlac in Orléans France.  The Future of Writing ( Les Futurs de l’écrit) is a biennial event that exhibits literature, theater, music, sound, image, visual arts and dance within a beautifully restored Cistercian abbey.

Abbey of Noirlac in Orléans France

The construction of the Abbey of Noirlac was started in 1150 by a small group of monks who came from Clairvaux. The abbey expressed the monastic asceticism of the Cistercian order founded by Saint Robert and Saint Bernard.

From the XVth century to the French Revolution, the few monks in residence dedicated their time to the management of the community estate as well as to the spiritual life. Visit the Abbey de Norlac with 360 degree views.

North-South-East-West Overview

The North-South-East-West was inspired by the  ancient Medicine Wheel belief system of the Annishinabe Peoples of North America. The presentation has an introduction that illustrates Ontario’s past, its present day mass media culture, and its technological future.

The main section of NSEW begins in the east where the earth gives birth to a new day, to a new life and to the feeling of deep peace and belongingness. As well the east represents the first challenge in life – the test of survival. The animation celebrates the tiny frail flowers that live another day and open to greet the sun.

The eastern section is followed by illustrations of the earth’s southern personality. The south brings the heat of the summer, the bloom of adolescence and the quest for a vision. The south represents the time we are given to discover our meaning and the ability to hold the power of this vision as our secret.

The southern section is followed by meditations on the west. The west represents adulthood, autumn and the path of the vision discovered in our youth. In autumn the cool winds of the west signal the end of summer and a time of preparation – an adult time. In this direction or season of life, we learn that the path of our vision is not easy. The difficulties come like thunder clouds, yet they bring rains that “wash away yesterday” and allow us to renew ourselves and continue our work as in adulthood we realize that the sun will set before our path is complete.

The piece completes the cycle of directions, seasons and stages of life in the north. The north represents winter, old age and the wisdom of the path of the vision. It is at this stage that our view of life is simple and uncomplicated, like a landscape where blankets of snow hide the complexities of the terrain. This is the time to have courage to live and embrace the changes of the final stage of life.

The North South East West new media series can be summarized by mapping the geographic and climatic themes onto a matrix as shown below

North-South-East-West at Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Culture Park, Ping Dong 2005.

The North-South-East-West Video Installation with Metis storyteller Graham Thompson was exhibited at the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Culture Park in Ping Dong Taiwan in March 2005.

The Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan

The indigenous peoples in Taiwan refer to the inhabitants who had been living on the islands before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Culturally and linguistically, they belong to the Austronesian group. The Austronesian peoples, covering the most inclusive peoples in the world with the majority in Southeast Asia, originates from Taiwan in the north, extends to Easter Islands in South America in the east, and reaches Madagascar in the eastern coast of Africa in the west. The common characteristics to the Austronesian peoples are building houses on stilts to protect against damp, insects, and snakes; adopting slash-and-burn farming style; keen on chewing betel nuts, good at bamboo and rattan weaving; relying on hunting and fishing; and among others.

Taiwan is located in the very north point of the distribution of the Austronesian people and has been maintaining close contacts with the Austronesian peoples in the nearby South Pacific Islands for the last hundred thousand years. The various archaeological evidences suggest that Taiwan should be the origin of the distribution of the Austronesian peoples thousands years ago and should have played a critical geographical location as the origin of Ancient Austronesian peoples and in the process of migration to the South Pacific Islands.

The Origins of the Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan

It is currently said that there are two approaches to explain the origin of the Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan. One advocates that the origin of the indigenous peoples is located outside of Taiwan; the other one discerns that Taiwan is the ancient origin of the Austronesian peoples. The former theory is commonly popular and scholars testify in terms of languages, archaeology, literature review, folklore legends to conclude that the origin of the indigenous peoples should be the southeast coast of China. Scholars even predict the plausible era when the indigenous peoples migrated to Taiwan. For example, Saisiyat and Atayal must have immigrated to Taiwan around 3000 B.C. during the Paleolithic Age. Paiwan and Puyuma must have immigrated to Taiwan during the prime time of Southeast Asia Rock Age. The latter approach indicating that Taiwan is the origin of Austronesian peoples is a newer theory, a research result of many linguists.

North-South-East-West at Nat’l Donghua University, Hualien Taiwan, 2005.

The North-South-East-West Video Installation with Metis storyteller Graham Thompson was presented at the National Donghua University in Hualien Taiwan in March 2005.

National Dong Hwa University

The National Dong Hwa University a comprehensive public institution of higher learning in Hualien County, Taiwan. The school serves over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The name Dong Hwa signifies NDHU’s East Asia location while inviting a poetic allusion to the image of flowers. The school colours are green and yellow. The mascot is a native pheasant. The present university results from the 2008 merger of two public institutions: the National Dong Hwa University founded in 1994 (today’s Shoufeng campus in Shoufeng Township), and the National Hualien University of Education founded in 1947 (today’s Meilun campus in Hualien City)