MAKING SPACE: INSTAGRAM TAKEOVERS

MAKING SPACE (2020/2021) is a series of online events, including: two creative workshops, three instagram takeovers from Windsor/Detroit creatives, and a panel discussion WHEN WE SAY IT – HOW TO TALK ABOUT ANTI-BLACK RACISM.

FOR MORE DETAILS: HERE

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• KIKI SYMONÉ

  TAKEOVER: JANUARY 23 – 27 2021
  KIKI SYMONÉ – Toronto based artist, Kiki Symoné, has been honing her skills as a digital artist for the past several years. Originally a chalk pastel portraitist specializing in urban expressionism, Kiki blended her love of art, technology, and social change to bring about the perfect marriage of her passions. An alumna of the University of Windsor with degrees in Education and French, Kiki is self-taught in digital art and embraces a pedagogy of online teaching that is shared by a growing community of Millennial-era artists. Her medium includes both digital work and photographic prints which she encourages her audience to share in windows, neighborhoods, on placards, and in the hands of friends and family in a movement to “lift up” the voices of her beloved community.

  Kiki’s digital art depicts the everyday life of Black communities. Visually capturing cultural themes of family, history, education, as well as racism and social inequality, Kiki’s art has a global audience with recent exhibits in New York City, a feature on HGTV’s Urban Oasis and commissions in France, Spain, Australia as well as the United States and Canada. Her illustration of subjects navigating everyday environments allows Kiki to expand the boundaries of traditional depictions of Black people in art and the open faces of her subjects are a signature feature of her work that allows viewers to step into the portrait and realize their right to expression.  Kiki creates her art to emphasize the beauty and strength in the relationships and actions that make up everyday life for the Black community.

• NOLA COOKS

  TAKEOVER: FEBRUARY 13 – 17 2021
  NOLA COOKS –  started doing stand up comedy at the age of 19 in Calgary, AB. Which made her audition for the Humber Comedy Program in Toronto, because Alberta is terrible. There she received the 2011 Eugene Levy Writing Award, and she continued to perform around Toronto and New York. She’s appeared at Yuk Yuks Toronto, Broadway Comedy Club, Gotham comedy club, and The Laughing Devil. Nola has also hosted a number of comedy nights and produced her own stand-up shows From Fat Katz to “This is what good comedy looks like” Show. After relocating to Toronto, Nola exposed systemic racism within the University of Windsor’s film program with her article “Confessions of a Deservedly Angry Black Woman”. Currently, she’s establishing a non-profit in support of Black, Indigeonous, People of Color filmmakers who work with analog photography and film to provide them with DIY resources to tackle misrepresentation in the media.

• XAVIER VANCE

  TAKEOVER: MARCH 6 – 10 2021
  XAVIER VANCE – is a Detroit filmmaker. Growing up in Detroit and Metro-Detroit, witnessing the highs and lows of Black people and the nuances of Black life, ignited a desire within Xavier to create stories where Black people can see themselves in authentic ways. Xavier has received a dual Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Journalism/Mass Communication from Olivet College, and a MFA in Film and Media Arts from the University of Windsor. Filmmakers that inspire Xavier include: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Spike Lee, and Ava DuVernay.

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ACWR would like to thank the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Community Foundations of Canada for their support of the MAKING SPACE initiative. 

L’ACWR souhaite remercier le Fonds d’urgence pour l’appui communautaire du gouvernement du Canada et Fondations communautaires du Canada pour le initiative FAIRE DE L’ESPACE. We extend a big thank-you to our sponsors:

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January 1, 2021 - March 31, 2021

Cost: FREE

ONLINE

Canada