From July 23 to August 24, 2019, Onishka Productions is partnering with the interdisciplinary arts collective O’Kaadenigan Wiingashk Collective, co-founded by Patti Shaughnessy, to present the 5th edition of Indigenous Contemporary Scene (ICS) in Scotland: a month-long program of live arts and performative conversations featuring Kanata’s Aboriginal artists in theater, dance, visual arts, music and literature. SCA uses the term Kanata in place of Canada to impress a reflection on the Aboriginal origins of the country’s name and the process of colonization that led to its formation.
The idea behind SCA-Scotland is to create an international platform for Aboriginal artists from Kanata at the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The theme of this edition is the shared history of oppression and colonization that connects Aboriginal communities with Scotland. Scotland’s history is marked by the British Empire’s policy of linguistic and cultural eradication and territorial appropriation. But the communities that left Scotland to settle in Kanata were then instrumental in the colonization of Aboriginal peoples.
SCA-Scotland begins with Creators Exchange on the Land, which brings artists from Kanata and Scotland to the Isle of Arran from July 23-28, 2019. A dialogue is woven to build bridges and interconnections between the realities and experiences of the participants. This is the second time that Indigenous Contemporary Scenehas organized meetings of creators.
From August 1 to 24, 2019, SCA offers the public and the living arts community a program of performances and activities. At the Edinburgh International Festival, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Evalyn Parry’s Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools explores Canada’s Aboriginal history, colonial legacy, feminism and the unfortunate consequences of climate change.
As part of SCA’s partnership with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Summerhall offers a retrospective of choreographer Lara Kramer’s work through the presentation of Native Girl Syndrome, This Time Will Be Different – a performative installation co-created with Émilie Monnet – and the work-in-progress Miijin Ki.
