A Conversation on Indigenous Performance and Production

Creating, performing, producing, and distributing works of art are fundamental processes for many artist. The choices artists make, the paths they choose, the roadblocks they face shape what is possible and what audiences can encounter. This event attempts to understand how Indigenous artists make these choices, how they practice their creative processes, and how they navigate the networks, institutions, and organizations that shape their disciplines. In a conversation moderated by Department of American Culture Assistant Professor Bethany Hughes (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), representatives from an Indigenous film festival in Virginia and an Indigenous theatre company in Michigan will discuss practice, performance, and production through an Indigenous creative lens. Joining the conversation will be Brad Brown (Pamunkey), director of Pocahontas Reframed: Native American Storytellers Film Festival, and Colleen Medicine (Ojibwe Sault Ste. Marie), Executive Director of Anishinaabe Theater Exchange, and Tomantha Sylvester (Ojibwe Sault Ste. Marie), artistic director of Anishinaabe Theater Exchange.