Rita Wong talks about how rivers and their guardians can teach us so much about how to be humbly human in this precarious moment. From illegitimate pipelines on unceded Coast Salish land, to fertile valleys and destructive hydro dams in Dane Zaa territories, water is one of the best teachers we could hope to learn from. This presentation was part of a panel discussion titled "Refuse, Relate, Return: Decolonial practices in process" which took place online on December 3, 2021. The panel was a part of the Conducting Creative Research series, a collaboration between Emily Carr University of Art and Design (ECU) and OCAD University (OCAD U). The series explores themes around responsible conduct in art and design research. The Conducting Creative Research events were made possible with a SRCR Education and Training Support (SETS) Grant from the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research through the Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) and the Panel on Responsible Conduct (PRCR) of Research on behalf of the three federal research granting agencies: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Responding to Climate Change Through Art and Design includes work that envisions an eco-utopia, expresses concern about the environment or documents climate change through creative practice. Drawings, prints, paintings, sculptures, multimedia works and installations by members of the ECU community including students, alumni, staff and faculty, explore the impact of climate change and highlight the urgent need for action. The effects of climate change are already being felt locally and around the world, with wildfire smoke, flooding, loss of biodiversity and the displacement of human and non-human populations. Through this exhibition, we showcase a variety of ways artists and designers are responding to the climate crisis. We hope to amplify direct action and movements that address climate change, from hosting community events, engaging with non-human life, protesting, mapping, using sustainable materials, and more. The exhibition was curated by Ana Diab, Michael Pollard, Kristy Waller and Hillary Webb, and includes work by Amory Abbott, Maru Aponte, Emilia Belliveu-Thompson, Andrea Bollen, Giulia Borba, Gwenyth Chao, Ella Emsheimer, Lori Goldberg, Danya Gorodetsky, Erick Jantzen, Vjeko Sager, Jade Sawotin, Emma Somers and Bobbi Kozinuk, Ayako Takagi, and Rita Wong. Ultimately, we hope that this exhibition will inspire visitors to take action to address climate change, and to join the growing movement for a more sustainable and equitable future.
