What began as a social media initiative to amplify Indigenous voices across social media, #ReconcileThis seeks Indigenous artists to create digital performances creating a movement to spark conversations as a response to the hashtag.
Now in its second year, #ReconclieThis is looking for Indigenous artists to collaborate with Indigenous youth and young artists as the next phase in this project.
With funding from social media company Meta, the National Arts Centre (NAC) has been supporting this project as it’s moved through its initial stage.
“It was a direct response to the graves,” says Associate Producer of #ReconclieThis Josh Languedoc on the buried remains found at the Kamloops Residential School three years ago.
He says that Meta provided some funding to the NAC so Indigenous artists could create in the digital space.
“[#ReconcileThis] empowers Indigenous artists to share their experience connected to things like reconciliation, and specifically the response to the graves and the conversations that are happening,” he says.
Indigenous artists are encouraged to submit their interest in working to facilitate a creative process and will help select young Indigenous artists to help complete the #ReconcileThis project goals. The main theme for this project surrounds the question, “What does reconciliation mean to me?”
Josh Languedoc. Photo by Mat Simpson
Indigenous artists from all artistic disciplines–theatre, visual art, music, dance, spoken word, or interdisciplinary work–are encouraged to apply. Both contracted and youth Indigenous artists will receive honorariums for their work.
As an educator based in Edmonton, Alberta, Languedoc says that much of the guidance he provides on this project comes from his experiences with Indigenous youth through several school boards and educational programming.
Languedoc says that the importance of representation, and seeing Indigenous stories and Indigenous bodies on stage, continues to drive him throughout this project and beyond. He says that the education aspect of #ReconcileThis was a cornerstone he kept returning to.
“I was really interested in giving Indigenous youth a voice in this project,” he says. “Indigenous to Indigenous mentorship matters a lot to me because I didn’t have that growing up aside from my parents. I never really had an Indigenous mentor to look up to until maybe five years ago.”
Languedoc will be contracting well-established Indigenous artists who can collaborate with Indigenous artists who might still be in school or early-career artists.
“The whole idea of mentorship and cross-generational collaboration for me has become a cornerstone, and that’s come directly out of my passion for education,” he says.
The language surrounding this project has been all about fire—artists contracted last year were called “fire starters,” and this year, they’re called “fire carriers.” Languedoc encourages those with something burning inside them–a story, message, and community to collaborate with–to consider #ReconcileThis.
“This is a great project to let that fire come out without having to cater to anyone’s agenda,” he says. “This is just a space to unpack your fire, let your fire speak and be what it needs to be.”
If you or someone you know are an Indigenous artist in the community who could provide mentorship to youth Indigenous artists, send a copy of your CV, a letter of interest, examples of your work, and a story about yourself as an artist to josh.languedoc@nac-cna.ca by June 14. For more information about #ReconcileThis, visit the NAC’s website.
