BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Vancouver X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Vancouver BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1-14224@events.ufv.ca DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20191022T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20191022T200000 DTSTAMP:20230913T232324Z URL:https://events.ufv.ca/events/exploring-diversity-a-dialogue-on-culture -ethnicity-and-identity-through-the-arts/ SUMMARY:Exploring Diversity: A dialogue on culture\, ethnicity\, and identi ty through the arts DESCRIPTION:\n\nThe field of Arts opens spaces for the exploration of diver sity with different perspectives claiming inclusion as an intrinsic value. Sharing ideas that bring to light both professional and personal experien ces five artists give examples of leadership/best practices and future wor k that needs to be undertaken in the field.\nJoin us on October 22nd\, 201 9 at The Reach Gallery Museum as our five panelists navigate through a con versation of Arts as an all encompassing field of work that can shed light on experiences of diversity through the work\, experiences and lives of e ach panelist.\nEvent schedule\n5:30pm: Registration &\; refreshments\n6 :00pm: Panel discussion &\; Q&\;A\n7:15pm: Networking &\; refresh ments\nRegistration information\nThis event is free and open to the public .\n\nThe public is welcome to register at the door. UFV alumni\, students\ , staff\, and faculty – RSVP Here.\nGuest panelists:\nAlyssa Amarshi\nHa ving parents from Tanzania\, and of Indo-Ismaili heritage\, Alyssa has alw ays been interested in diverse types of cultural expression\, especially t hrough the lens of art and dance. As a preteen\, her passion for performin g and expressing grew while she was working with Bollywood dance companies . In high school\, her friends from the West Indies exposed her to Danceha ll and STEP (a form of percussive dance). By the time she entered universi ty\, she was completely enamored with both the movement and culture behind these dance forms. Despite a rigorous post-secondary schedule\, Alyssa wo uld find every way to incorporate artistic expression into her life throug h training\, performing\, choreographing\, and creative directing. After m oving to Vancouver\, she trained with SOULdiers Dance Company and Ketch Di Vybz where she further fortified her understanding in street dance and lo ve of Dancehall. With mentors who fostered her immense passion\, she went on to dance on stage with award-winning A Tribe Called Red\, perform for t he acclaimed TED Talk celebration Party\, move audiences at Bass-coast and Shambala\, win regionals at the prestigious Ismaili Diamond Jubilee Art S howcase\, win Vancouver’s first Dancehall Battle\, and be featured in me dia from art galleries to MTV to the silver screen. Alyssa was also invite d to be on a panel for the City of Vancouver: Joy + Resilience in Communit y-Engaged Practice. Since its inception\, she codirected the trailblazing collective “Immigrant Lessons” with founder Kevin Fraser. Her vision a s a second generation immigrant\, and highly sensitive woman of colour\, t hrough her collective “Her Tribal Roots” is to create more work and di scussion around the issues of community\, race\, gender and mental health. \nSuvi Bains\nSuvi Bains is a photographer and expressive art therapist\, and currently works as a Curatorial Assistant at Surrey Art Gallery. She c redits being born and raised in Abbotsford\, BC within a South Asian Punja bi family for her passion to interrogate multiple identities\, material hi story and transnational belonging as a diasporic family. Her upbringing re sonated with heated debate\, cultural travels\, heritage exposure\, social service and multi-linguistic appreciations. She is currently completing h er MA at European Graduate School in Switzerland and holds a BFA from Univ ersity of the Fraser Valley and majored in Photography at University of So uth Wales. Bains has exhibited at the Reach Gallery\, KESH where she explo red the outer boundaries of a Sikh’s private and personal article of fai th – kesh\, or Sikh men’s un-shorn hair. The Sikh Heritage Museum\, (M is)representation): Exhibition looked at Sikhism from a feminist perspecti ve. Bains follows her passion as a photographer\, and as an Expressive Art Therapist with a keen interest in exploring personal narratives that refl ect on the impact of stereotypes and ensuing stigmas in the Sikh community with which she has great affinity. Her work provokes empathy\, cultural a ppreciation and understanding and cross-cultural reconciliations. As an Ex pressive Art Therapist\, she has worked with adults\, children\, and refug ees. She also uses her photography skills as a modality for healing and pe rsonal exploration. She also works with marginalized communities who are c aught between multiple identity paradigms that (try to) inform\, (ask to) conform\, (look to) reform and (hope to) transform everyday lives.\nSherlo ck Chen\nSidi Chen (Sherlock Chen) is an international traveling queer art ist whose practice focuses on archiving the locational identities through the body and its surrounding environment to inquire about the constructs o f social structure and humanity. Inspired by his over-decade traveling exp erience and extensive study and research on various cultures around the gl obe\, Chen is interested in how the diversified resources and systems coul d innovate the developments of the community and relationships amongst dif ferent social groups. Chen graduated from the University of the Fraser Val ley in 2018 with the Bachelor of Fine Arts and the honor of distinctions a nd was the Board Director of Abbotsford Arts Council from 2017-2018 as wel l as the Education Program Developer and Facilitator at the Reach Gallery Museum. Currently residing in Vancouver\, Chen is a practicing artist and an arts administrator for community arts development.\nJunie Désil\nJunie Désil is a Haitian/Canadian poet who has performed at various literary e vents and festivals. Her work has appeared in Room Magazine and PRISM Inte rnational. Junie’s forthcoming debut poetry collection will be published in 2021 by Talon Books. Junie currently works on the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm\ , Sḵwx̱wú7mesh\, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Unceded &\; Ancestral Musq ueam\, Squamish &\; Tsleil-Waututh territories) and lives on Qayqayt Fi rst Nation (New Westminster)\, juggling writing and life.\nJonny Williams\ nJonny Williams is stó:lō from the Cheam First Nation. Jonny is a self-t aught artist\; he has always enjoyed drawing since he could hold a pencil and began carving 18 years ago. Jonny made his own knives and then picked up a piece of wood and began to cut. Today\, Jonny asks questions other ar tists to get ideas or other ways to carve. Art is a passion\, habit and a way of his life.\nModerator:\nLaura Schneider\nBorn and educated in Ontari o\, Laura Schneider has held curatorial and executive roles in Canadian ar ts organizations from coast to coast. Currently\, she is the Executive Dir ector of The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford\, BC. Laura has a strong r ecord of leadership and service in the cultural sector\, and has worked in a range of settings including academic and municipal museums and gallerie s\, and grassroots non-profits. She has held roles as the Director/Curator of the Cape Breton University Art Gallery\, co-founder and chair of the L umière arts festival in Sydney\, NS\, and as a member of Nova Scotia’s provincial arts council\, Arts Nova Scotia. Laura holds degrees in Art His tory from Queen’s University (Kingston\, ON) and Carleton University (Ot tawa\, ON)\, a Bachelor of Education degree (University of Ottawa\, ON)\, and professional certificates in museum leadership (Kellogg School of Busi ness\, Northwestern University\, IL) and collections management (Universit y of Victoria\, BC). CATEGORIES:*_UFV Events,Aboriginal Resource Centre,Alumni Relations,College of Arts,Community Engagement,English and Creative Writing,Fine Arts,Graphic and Digital Design,History,Indigenous Affairs,Indigenous Student Centre,Indigenous UFV,International,myUFV student news,Race and Antiracism Network,Research and Graduate Studies,Social Culture and Media Studies,Student Services,SUS (Student Union Society),The Cascade,Theatre,UFV Alumni Association LOCATION:The Reach Gallery Museum\, 32388 Veterans Way\, Abbotsford\, BC\, V2T 0B3\, Canada GEO:49.0527928;-122.32730100000003 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=32388 Veterans Way\, Abbots ford\, BC\, V2T 0B3\, Canada;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Reach Gallery Museum:geo:49.0527928,-122.32730100000003 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Vancouver BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20190310T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR