November 2-5, 2023 | Firehall Arts Centre| 280 E. Cordova Street
Event Dates & Times:
November 2 at 7:30pm (conversation circle 1)
November 3 at 7:30pm (conversation circle 2)
November 4 at 3:00pm (conversation circle 3)
November 4 at 7:30pm (conversation circle 4)
November 5 at 11:00am (discussion/workshop session facilitated by Rosemary Georgeson & Lara Aysal)
Tickets: $15 at firehallartscentre.ca | 604.689.0926
(Vancouver, B.C.) – The Firehall is pleased to present The Only Animal’s Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing: Ways of Being and Seeing from Thursday, November 2 to Sunday, November 5 in partnership with Vancouver Moving Theatre as part of the 20th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival.
Knowledge is story. But what happens when the stories are lost? Where do we turn to understand what we value? What leads the way? And how do we find the words in a language we do not speak?
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing is a gathering of stories that can lead us on our climate journey, offering guidance from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers to anyone who wishes to understand their role in the complexity of the Anthropocene.
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing: Ways of Being and Seeing is a concept created by a leading environmental voice in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) – Mi’kmaq Elder Advisor Albert Marshall. He describes Etuaptmumk as “learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledge and ways of knowing… and learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all.”
Guided by principles of Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing, artist, writer and storyteller Rosemary Georgeson (Sahtu Dene/Coast Salish) and activist, performance artist and community facilitator Lara Aysal (Anatolia/Turkey) embark on a journey to bring Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge into a dialogue on the climate crisis.
Over the course of three days, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers will lead four circles of conversation with Elders, activists and academics, bearing witness to the impact of the human environmental destruction of Mother Earth, through stories of water, air, fire, and earth. On Sunday, the public will be invited to join a reflection on what was shared in the circles, through embodied, creative activities guided by Rosemary Georgeson and Lara Aysal.
In a time when the climate crisis has paralyzed so many of us, Etuaptmumk reminds us that we do have a compass for this journey and that we can imagine a different reality together. As Elder Albert Marshall says, “The fundamental basis of any relationship is an exchange of stories.”
In the next stage of the development of Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing, Rosemary and Lara will use a guided theatre creation process to transform the dialogue from these circles into stories that remember and reimagine how we can make sense of our lives, as we walk towards climate justice and remember the wisdom that we will carry forward to future generations.
2H4T2TP photo of two eyes taken in macro mode, of different persons and same color and simulating collision
Credits for Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing: Ways of Being and Seeing
Facilitators: Rosemary Georgeson and Lara Aysal
Host: Kimi Haxton (Potowatomi)
Participants: Bob Baker (Squamish Ancestral name is S7aplek, Hawaiian name is Lanakila), Harold Joe (Xulputstun), sχɬemtəna:t St’agid Jaad Audrey Siegl, Les Nelson (Tsts-Tsip, “Big Bird”), and Heather Lamoureux
Supported by: Vancouver Foundation, City of Vancouver, Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council, Real Estate Foundation BC, UBC Partnership Recognition and Exploration Fund
For more information on The Firehall, please visit the following platforms:
- Website: www.firehallartscentre.ca
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/firehallarts
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/firehall.arts/
- Twitter: twitter.com/firehallarts
About The Only Animal:
The Only Animal creates immersive work that arises from a deep engagement with place. The natural world is our touchstone: water, sand, snow and ice and trees. Our work seeks to re/connect our human nature with Nature. Here we forge new ways of understanding of how to be on earth. The Only Animal is only Human, we strive to make art in a way that is sustainable, joyful and treads lightly on the earth. We work inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in our organization, with our artists, and our audiences. We act on huge stages: the forests, the ocean, human possibility. There we find enormous challenges of the times, including the climate challenges that threaten our existence as a species. We seek creative ways forward and solutionary actions. We have broad shoulders and the ability to undertake ambitious projects. We love the impossible. We create art to thrill the blood, stir the soul and revitalize the planet.
About Vancouver Moving Theatre:
Vancouver Moving Theatre (VMT) is an award-winning professional multi-arts company co-founded in Chinatown, Downtown Eastside (1983) by Terry Hunter, C.M. (Executive Director) and Savannah Walling, C.M. (Artistic Director). VMT is recognized locally, provincially, nationally and internationally for its innovative and ground-breaking community-engaged interdisciplinary arts activity created in partnership and collaboration with residents and organizations of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) and beyond.
VMT also produces the annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, a high-impact bridge-building force and flagship event that gives voice to the culturally rich, complex DTES, its low-income residents, cultural communities and neighbourhoods.
About Firehall Arts Centre:
With over forty years’ history of weaving diverse storytelling into the fabric of Greater Vancouver, Firehall Arts Centre is where stories come alive. Through theatre, dance, music, inter-disciplinary work and the visual arts, The Firehall has embraced its mission to enrich lives and expand minds through the arts. One of the most unique cultural institutions in British Columbia, The Firehall – in more predictable times – hosts over two hundred performances per year. Located in the city-owned heritage fire station built in 1906, The Firehall’s intimate black box studio theatre along with its outdoor courtyard performance area and its rehearsal studio has served to support innovative, eclectic, and often politically-charged theatre productions as well as exquisite, cutting-edge dance and music performances. The Firehall is proud to support emerging and established performing artists and companies, and strives to program work that is inclusive, culturally rich, and reflective of the many voices and perspectives in Canada.