Spotlight Canada: The UNcommon Wealth at Edinburgh Fringe

June 28 – July 5 & July 5 – 6, 2022

Indigenous reclamation of voice is rooted and embodied within creation. Creation is a political act, centered in intergenerational knowledge, imbedded in connections to place, people, land, values, experiences, and worldviews.

Our blood lines are tributaries, connecting our stories and ways of being, flowing through streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. As we reflect and understand the power of our connections, we recognize how our knowledge systems are integral to centering Indigenous worldviews and practices. In these waters, we navigate and resist the continual colonial extraction and performative commodification within the nation-to-nation relations. We speak of the deconstruction of the ‘colonial project’ and imagine what could have been. We embrace the power of our natural and inherent gifts of common wealth, and speak of meaningful relationships, responsibility and accountability, and the centering of Indigeneity through self-determination.

A three-part programme with respected thinkers, word-warriors, changemakers and creators from Canada, Australia and Aotearoa.  Beginning with The Call (Provocation) followed by two conversations, The Response.  Each part of the programme is set in motion by spoken work performances. The thematic statement above will directly instigate and inform the Provocation and the two scheduled Conversations. The Conversations are not prescribed by a specific topic or moderated by one specific host. Consider this as a gathering of friends exchanging ideas, questions, and experiences that encompass the curatorial overview, the provocation and the spoken work presentations. Audience participants are asked to consider this as one programmed experience spread over a number of days.

The UNcommon Wealth Part One – The CALL
June 28 – July 5, 2022

The UNcommon Wealth Part Two – The RESPONSE
July 5 – 4:00-5:00pm ET / 9:00-10:00pm CET
July 6 – 4:00-5:00pm ET / 9:00-10:00pm CET

Part One of the programme is a pre-recorded spoken word performance by ShoShona Kish. Her Provocation is The CALL to those participating in The Response (CONVERSATIONS), two live events taking place across two days, and is to provoke deeper thinking of the viewers. The pre-recording will be available to watch at your leisure between the 28th of June and the 5th of July, when the live conversations take place.

ShoShona is an Anishinaabekwe community organiser, producer, activist, songwriter and JUNO award-winning touring artists. ShoShona defies colonial definitions, constantly subverting any attempts to put her in a box. She is guided by both curiosity and purpose, openly exploring topical, inspirational and often uncomfortable issues, treating music as a call to action.

This presentation is available in English and French.

WARNING: First Nations and Indigenous viewers are warned that the following program may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

The UNcommon Wealth is curated by Denise Bolduc with co-curation by Jacob Boehme (Australia) and Dolina Wehipeihana (Aotearoa). The sessions are presented by CAPACOA and the  Edinburgh Festival Fringe  with the support of the Canadian Heritage  and The High Commission of Canada in The UK

The work is presented under the umbrella of Spotlight Canada, a cultural initiative led by The High Commission of Canada in The UK, Canada Council For The Arts and Canadian Heritage.