Indigenous musical artists performing at Toronto art exhibit this week

By Sam Laskaris

TORONTO – Indigenous musicians from both North and South America will be performing free concerts later this week at an art exhibit currently running in Toronto.

Musical entertainment will be provided at the Locating Self Care in Urban Centres exhibit, which opened in September and continues until the end of the year, at the Collision Gallery.

AM//PM Productions, a company that prioritizes Indigenous, people of colour, non-binary, and female artists and musicians, is curating this week’s musical efforts at the exhibit.

Adam Moffatt, a director with AM//PM Productions, and Emily Granville, a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, are the co-curators of the concert series.

“What was great for this series is a lot of the artists haven’t had much of a chance to play in Toronto recently,” Moffatt said, adding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has, for the most part, prevented live shows from happening in the city. “So, all the artists were ready to jump in and play a show.”

For starters, Evan Redsky and Quique Escamilla will be performing on Friday, Nov. 26, from 5-7 p.m.

And then on Saturday, Nov. 27, from 2-5 p.m., there will be performances from New Tradition, Lacey Hill and Cody Berry-Ottertail.

Redsky, a singer/songwriter from Blind River, was a member of Single Mothers, a Juno-nominated rock group, for five years. He has since left the band to return to his Indigenous storytelling roots.

Escamilla was born in Mexico but he now lives in Toronto. He plays various instruments and is also a singer/songwriter and producer.

Hill, who is from Six Nations, has Oneida and Mohawk ancestry. She is a singer/songwriter and speaker who launched her debut album titled 528 in 2013. Her third album is expected to be released later this year.

Meanwhile, New Tradition is the stage name that Ruben (Beny) Esguerra goes by. He came to Toronto via Bogota, Colombia with his parents as political refugees. He is now a JUNO-nominated musician who plays several instruments, producer, spoken-word poet, arts educator and community worker.

Saturday’s entertainment will also include a dance performance from Berry-Ottertail.

“We’re just trying to get some more eyes on this amazing exhibit which Emma curated,” Moffatt said of this week’s concert series.

Emma Steen, a non-status Anishinaabe living in Toronto, is the curator of the Locating Self Care in Urban Centres exhibit.

It focuses on Indigenous and Black perspectives on care as methods of resistance and sovereignty.

The exhibit highlights the works of a pair of Indigenous artists, Susan Blight and Laura Grier. Blight is a Couchiching First Nation member while Grier is from Deline First Nation as she was born in Yellowknife. Both Blight and Grier now live in Toronto.

Moffatt, who is not Indigenous, said he brought in Granville, who is in her first-year Music studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, to serve as a co-curator of this week’s musical entertainment.

Granville previously worked with Moffatt at the Weengushk International Film Festival on Manitoulin Island. Moffatt is the festival director.

Granville said she’s thrilled to be part of the exhibit as it assists with Indigenous harm reduction. And having a role with this week’s entertainment is also a plus.

“It gives more exposure for Indigenous artists as well,” she said.

The Collision Gallery is at 18 Wellingston St. W. in downtown Toronto.

The Locating Self Care in Urban Centres exhibit is part of Toronto’s year-long public arts celebration, which began in the fall, and is titled ArtworxTO.