Friday October 29, 2021 – 4pm to 5pm MT
Creatives Empowered and Sweet Potato Productions presents
“I have a difficult relationship with Alberta.”
Althea Cunningham said this in one of our previous events, and it resonated with everyone present.
How does that statement make you feel?
Living in Alberta as a racialized person, can be challenging at the best of times. We’re now in the fourth wave of a COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a year and a half since Black Lives Matter protests erupted worldwide. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Representation are now in the consciousness of Alberta’s arts + culture sector. And the heavy work of “moving the needle” has begun. So how are we all faring today?
It was clear we needed an event to explore this statement, and CE approached Althea Cunningham to curate and host it – since she was the inspiration.
We invite artists + creatives who self identify as Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) to join us. This is a safe and open space to discuss our difficult relationships with Alberta.
Soni Dasmohapatra | Cultural Administrator & Educator
Soni has been involved in the Alberta cultural sector since she was a child. She is a trained classical Indian Kathak dancer. Soni is a choreographer of folk dances from India as well as Bhangra and Bollywood. She also has been a cultural administrator in the areas of Canadian Heritage and Arts both in Alberta and Ontario. She has collaborated with Skirts Afire to be a story teller in the documentary “Covid Collections” which is being featured during the month of October 2021 in the Edmonton International Film Festival. As part of her community work in Edmonton she is a board member of two cultural organizations, Azimuth Theatre and Litfest. She participates in theater as a member of Thirdspace Playback Company. Soni is a passionate educator and practitioner who uses yoga and somatics as pathways of self discovery, healing and artistic creation.
Christine Sokaymoh Frederick | Executive Director, Dreamspeakers Festival Society
Christine is an urban Aboriginal Cree-Métis residing in Edmonton, Alberta. She is co-founder and the artistic director of Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts and produces the annual Rubaboo Festival, and the Executive Director of the Dreamspeakers Film Festival. She is the first Indigenous Associate Artist of the Citadel Theatre, and the first indigenous board member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. She is former chair of the Edmonton Arts Council and former Vice Chair of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Christine served on the steering, working and selection committee for the ÎNÎW River Lot 11, one of the first Indigenous Public Art Parks in the world. She is the recipient of the 2007 Esquao Award in Arts, and the 2016 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Artistic Leadership. She also sits on the Advisory Committees for the City of Edmonton Indigenous Artist in Residence, and the Creation Fund of the National Arts Centre.
Melanee Murray-Hunt | Writer, Actor & Filmmaker
Melanee has written, directed and performed for stage and screen. She has co-produced a pilot script for Time Warner and is currently in development with a series with Mosaic Entertainment. Her most recent work, a web series on domestic violence, will be launched at the end of August 2021. Melanee has won awards for her short films Race Anonymous, The Trial of Miss Mudimbe, and for her solo stage show, The ‘Hoodwink. Her plays, The Venus of Basin Street, (aka Nothing Like The Sun) The ‘Hoodwink have both premiered to critical acclaim in Calgary and New York City. Her other films include Do The Math, and her film, currently in post-production, The Invincible Jayson Garvey, the screenplay of which garnered a twenty thousand funding award from Calgary Arts Development as well as being selected for the Women In The Director’s Chair Career Accelerator Program and shortlisted by WIDC for Telefilm’s Talent To Watch Program. As an actor Melanee can be seen in various television, film and independent productions, including the award winning Jasmine Road, the APTN series Tribal, the indie film Black and Blue, the Nickelodeon Show 100 Deeds For Eddie McDowd (as a series regular), the feature film K-PAX, the series Judging Amy, Law and Order and others.
Titilope Sonuga | Poet, Playwright & Performer
Titlope is a Nigerian writer, poet, playwright and performer whose work grasps for moments of tenderness and persistent joy at the intersection of blackness and womanhood. She is the author of three award-winning collections of poetry, Down to Earth (2011), Abscess (2014), and This Is How We Disappear (2019) and has composed and released two spoken word albums, Mother Tongue (2011) and Swim (2019). Titilope has written three plays, The Six; an intergenerational exploration of womanhood, Naked; a one-woman play and Ada The Country, a musical. She has scripted global advertising campaigns for brands including; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Intel Corporation, Guaranty Trust Bank and The MacArthur Foundation. She was an actor on the hit television series Gidi Up, which aired across Africa. Her writing has been translated into Italian, German and Slovak. She is the 9th Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton.
Althea Cunningham | Curator & Moderator
Althea is an award winning musician with On The Verge her debut soul music EP. Produced in (2009) it has had local, national and international featured artist spots and airplay. She is interarts: actor, writer and producer. As an actor she has worked for several theatres across Canada. A few of them are: Western Canada Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, National Ice Theatre of Canada, Francis Winspear Centre For Music and Citadel Theatre. In television and film she has played roles for Farewell Productions, Coast Mountain Productions (The L Word 2007- 2009), Tooth Fairy Productions and Pyramid/AlphaMel Productions on The Invincible Jayson Garvey (2020). As a writer she centres around intersections of trauma, healing and social justice. Her first commissioned play was 2 Metres (2020). She has written four short plays and two (full-length) pieces. Shorts were produced with three companies: Sunkiss; Snapshots 10 minute play festival (Chicago 2017); Brown Suga and Color Blind by Workshop West Playwrights Theatre. Readings of work: DaPopo Script Series (2017), Black Arts Matter(2018), Script Salon (2017) and RBC Emerging writer program (2017). Monologues from Sweet An Nice (full- length) and The System (spoken-word and hip hop) were produced by Sarasvati Productions (2017- 2018). As a producer On The Verge soul music EP (2010) and live music events across Western Canada; Althea Cunningam Duo, Trio and Quartet (2007- 2017). She will be a co-producer for the world premiere production of Sunkiss To Death on February 7- 13, 2022..