Convergences

CONVERGENCES is a speculative provocation that arose out of a series of intercultural, Indigenous, intersectional, and interdisciplinary conversations—what the Convergences team has termed  “pluri-vocal.” The challenge was to design a model for solving energy transition challenges, including the climate crisis, using social innovation, rather than relying solely on tech innovations that mark financial stability and economic ‘success’. The installation at the University of Alberta’s Fine Arts Building (FAB) Gallery included audio, zine, and installation components that asked audiences to engage with the team’s research questions, including “what does it mean when robin no longer returns?” Convergences was presented at the Prototypes for Possible Worlds exhibition, which was held at FAB from 10 December 2019 to 11 January 2020.

If your survival kit is a set of knowledges, what are you putting in yours?

Convergences Team Members

Print design by Sergio Serrano and audio treatments by Scott Steneker. Additional oral stories by Knowledge Keepers Clarence Whitstone, Diana Steinhauer, and Kurtis McAdam; additional textile work by Sharmistha Kar and Barbara Mahon; and additional image print work by Luis Miguel Villarreal Farias and Minh Triet Pham.

Janice Makokis

Indigenous Relations/Policy Advisor; Faculty Instructor, Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta B.A. (with Distinction), M.A. (IGov), L.L.B.

Kurtis McAdam

Knowledge Keeper; Activist

Ruth Beer

Professor and Assistant Dean of Research in the Faculty of Art, Emily Carr University of Art and Design

Patrick Mahon

Artist, Writer and Curator; Professor, Visual Arts, Western University (London, ON)

Sheena Wilson

Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta