Moderator: Tom Wayman

Panelists: Marnie Temple, Hildur Jónasson, Eimear Laffan, Maggie Shirley

Join the panel of artists as they share their varied experiences of how living rurally in the Kootenays has influenced their art practices and shaped their lives. ‘Situated knowledge’, an idea taken from Donna Haraway’s writing dives deep into the relational and subjective experience on how knowledge is gleaned; and how truth originates from an unique and personal standpoint that cannot be separated from its specific context in time, place, society, culture.

Marnie Temple is a multidisciplinary artist based on the traditional and unceded territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, a.k.a. Creston, BC. Her practice draws from lived experiences and engages the viewer in a process of self-exploration with otherness and attitudes around racism. Temple constantly look at ways to interrupt current thinking and investigate the interconnected ways we harm each other or leave each other behind. Temple received a BFA from the University of Calgary and is a recent MFA graduate of Emily Carr University. Her artistic practice is at times divided with her time as a Residency Director at the Empire of Dirt Residency.

Hildur María Hallgrímsdóttir Jónasson (she/her) was born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Hildur holds a Bachelor of Design from The Alberta University of the Arts and a Post Baccalaureate in Studio (Printmaking) from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. In her art practice, Hildur investigates her/our relationship to nature at the intersection of the climate crisis, natural phenomena, and her Icelandic culture. Jónasson self- describes as a “print centric”, multi-disciplinary artist. Her love of printmaking informs her art practice as she approaches her work with a printmaker’s eye. Jónasson’s work can range from small, jewel-like sculptures to large ephemeral print installations of ghost-like glaciers. Hildur has exhibited in Canada, Iceland, England, and the USA. Her work is held in private and public collections. Hildur has participated as artist in residence at The Banff Centre, The Arctic Circle Artist Residency, as well as SÍM (Iceland). Hildur resides on the traditional, unceded territory of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx Sinixt Arrow Lakes people, otherwise known as Nelson, BC.

Eimear Laffan is the author of [about]ness (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023) which was nominated for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. She has been a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers and the CBC Poetry Prize. She is currently completing her second collection with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Some of her work can be found in Funicular, Geist, The Ex-Puritan, Scrivener Creative Review, and in the League of Canadian Poets’ visual poetry anthology, Spectral Lines.

Maggie Shirley (she/they) is a poly-media artist and curator. Her art work is based on thematic research into the human body, environment and technology, primarily taking the form of installation and socially-engaging projects. Her work has been exhibited in Ireland, Canada, and Spain.
In 2007, Shirley was honoured to act as an Invigilator for the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from the Limerick School of Art and Design, Shirley returned to Canada and worked at the Banff New Media Institute (The Banff Centre). They graduated with an MFA from UBC Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (UBC) in 2013. Shirley worked as the Curator at the Kootenay Gallery of Art for seven years and continues to do independent curatorial and writing projects. Maggie Shirley is grateful to live in unceded sn̓ʕay̓čkstx (Sinixt) territory, (West Kootenays) where she currently works as ED for the Castlegar & District Heritage Society. Shirley’s art practice is both a sporadic and essential part of their life.

FREE EVENT— Langham Theatre

Panel Discussion: Situated Knowledge: Community Practice Rooted in Place