To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive

In this episode, Anna Shah Hoque rounds off Season 3 with a chat with the fabulous guest producers of Season 3: Aedan Corey, Keegan Prempeh, Kole Peplinskie, Summer Harmony-Twenish and Matt Miwa.  

They dive into how they have cultivated their art practices in Odawa, the push and pull relationship between sustaining a creative practice in a neoliberal capitalist economy, and how and each of their respective communities. 

Thank you so much for joining us this season! Thank you to all the participants! What has been your favourite conversation? We hope you have a great summer! 

Participants: 

Aedan Corey  

Aedan Corey is a Two Spirit writer, visual artist, emerging curator and Inuit tattooist from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut — a town of approximately 1,800 people. Author and illustrator of the chapbook “Inuujunga” (Coven Editions, 2021) and short story “Unikkaannguaq” (Nipiit Magazine, 2020), they began creating art at a young age. Aedan’s work is heavily inspired by their lived experiences as a queer, neurodivergent Inuk. Their goal is always to inspire and advocate for those within their communities through their artistic practices, letting others know that they are not alone. Aedan currently resides on the unceded Algonquin territory known as Ottawa. Check out Aedan’s work on Instagram @uviluq_by_design 

Matt Miwa  

Matt Miwa (he/him) hails from Aurora, Ontario. He moved to Ottawa in 2000 to attend theatre school. Matt maintains a theatre creation and performance art practice.  Prior to the pandemic, Matt toured his theatre piece “The Tashme Project: The Living Archives” across Canada (with co-creator Julie Tamiko Manning). This play traces the oral histories of twenty Japanese Canadian elders. Matt and Julie hope to perform this play for the rest of their lives.  Matt's dedication to this play is indicative of his broader love and appreciation for the Japanese Canadian community with whom he frequently works.  Most recently, Matt produced the event “Tomoni/Go Together” with CUAG.  Tomoni unites Japanese cultural practitioners with local non-Japanese artists in unique and surprising artistic collaborations.  @miwa.light.house   

Kole Peplinskie  

Kole Peplinskie (they/them) is an Anishinabe beader and artist currently living on unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin territory, colonially known as Ottawa. They are a member of Kebaowek First Nation, but were raised in North Bay, ON until moving here over a decade ago.  Kole has been creating art in various capacities their whole life, but more professionally starting in 2018. They primarily create beadwork pieces through the brand Rustling Pine (@/rustlingpine on Insta), and have had their piece "Grassroots" shown at Carleton University Art Gallery in 2020 and another piece titled "Trancestors Embrace" at Take Home Gallery in Manitoba in 2021.   

Keegan Prempeh  

Keegan Prempeh is a Black, non-binary Sagittarius sun on a journey of self-discovery, radical transformation and healing. Xe practices xer art on Anishinaabe territory via music, dance and storytelling. Guided by womanism, collectivism and the pursuit of social justice, Keegan hopes to foster meaningful connections to build community.  IG @wefallforever 

Summer-Harmony Twenish  

Summer is an Algonquin person from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg who works from a queer and Indigenous feminist lens. With vibrant and playful colours, Summer's digital art and illustrations carry both Indigenous cultural traditions and self-determined visions of what's to come. Their creative expression is breathtakingly tender and fiercely anti-colonial, amplifying body positivity and Indigenous liberation. Their digital arts and illustrations are intended to be lovingly held up as mirrors for Indigiqueer femmes, reflecting back their beauty, brilliance and radical joy. Follow them on Instagram @nibinikwe.    

What is the importance of controlling, directing and creating spaces for the kinds of stories we want to hear, witness and learn from and about? In episode 10 of the TBC podcast, producer Anna Shah Hoque talks to Adrienne Row-Smith and Hingman Leung about filmmaking, photography and visual storytelling and production.  

Anna, Adrienne and Hingman think through developing visual archives directed by their respective lived experiences. They talk about racial bias in visual technologies and cultivating and practicing ethical artistic practices while working with people and creating spaces for stories that centre Black and racialized lives and communities. 

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan, with post-production audio work by Nicole Bedford. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.    

Participants: 

Adrienne Row-Smith 

Adrienne is a photographer and videographer working in both Ottawa and Toronto. Through the utilization of bold and dark imagery, Adrienne aims to bring marginalized voices to the forefront of media representation and inclusion via her media company Strast Media. Adrienne’s work has been featured in the magazines Splice Media Group & Monkey Goose Magazine and the exhibition To Be Continued: Troubling the Queer Archive at Carleton University Art Gallery (2020). Find her @adriennersphoto and @strastmedia. 

Hingman Leung 

Hingman is an Ottawa-based filmmaker with a passion for telling stories that bridge different ways of seeing the world and specializing in telling stories through the lens of culture and food. Her first short documentary, on food waste in China (2015), received the Public Ethnography Award. Since then, she’s produced several documentaries and narrative films as director and editor, reaching audiences nationally through CBC and locally in film festivals such as Inside Out Toronto, Ottawa Canadian Film Festival and Digi60. She teaches beginner videography through the Digital Arts Resource Centre and currently volunteers on the Board of Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival. 

In this episode, we begin at a local flower shop: Scrim's Florist on Elgin. Guest producer Matt Miwa and his invited guests Sumayya Mayet and Nesta Charles have all worked there and have each incorporated floral design into their art and creative practice. 

Flower shops are unusual retail spaces; they invite artistic engagement and collaboration more than most other retail realms. Scrim's was also the first employment opportunity for both Sumayya and Nesta upon arriving in Ottawa from Johannesburg and St. Lucia (via Toronto), respectively.  

This episode traces a day in the life at the flower shop and expands outward as the guests contemplate their queer identities, where they came from and how they navigate Ottawa and Canada's larger queer communities.   

Refreshingly, we learn how Sumayya and Nesta walk with an energized sense of hope through the streets of Ottawa.  

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan, with post-production audio work by Nicole Bedford. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.   

Participants: 

Matt Miwa 

Matt Miwa (he/him) hails from Aurora, Ontario. He moved to Ottawa in 2000 to attend theatre school. Matt maintains a theatre creation and performance art practice.  Prior to the pandemic, Matt toured his theatre piece “The Tashme Project: The Living Archives” across Canada (with co-creator Julie Tamiko Manning). This play traces the oral histories of twenty Japanese Canadian elders. Matt and Julie hope to perform this play for the rest of their lives.  Matt's dedication to this play is indicative of his broader love and appreciation for the Japanese Canadian community with whom he frequently works.  Most recently, Matt produced the event “Tomoni/Go Together” with CUAG.  Tomoni unites Japanese cultural practitioners with local non-Japanese artists in unique and surprising artistic collaborations.  @miwa.light.house    

Nesta Charles 

Nesta Charles (he/him) was born in Brampton, Ontario. He spent his childhood and adolescence in St. Lucia. As a young adult, Nesta moved back to Toronto, where he pursued studies in interior design, while balancing jobs in construction and landscaping.  

Landscaping led to work in flower shops, where Nesta's creativity sparked. Moving to Ottawa, Nesta joined the Scrim's Florist team and worked for years in the floral industry, running his own shop, Fine's Flowers.  Nesta now works professionally as a wine consultant and actively cultivates an extensive plant care practice.  He is currently pursuing his yoga teacher training and looks forward to contributing to and reaching out to the BIPOC community through his yoga teaching. @adio_charles 

Sumayya Mayet 

Sumayya Mayet (she/they) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.  A painter by training, Sumayya likes to paint "the natural world."  She uses bright and vibrant colours and moves between landscape and intricate still life.  Her practice also encompasses ink drawing, watercolour and needlepoint. 

In 2020, Sumayya decided to move to Canada to accompany her partner, who is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy.  Living first in Hull, Symayya moved to downtown Ottawa and has become an integral member of the Scrim's Florist team, where she works in administration and floral design.  @rhag.art 

In this episode, guest producer Aedan Corey chats with Jennifer Brunet-Rentechem about longing, nostalgia and memories.  

This discussion between friends articulates the complexities of being urban Indigenous peoples as they discuss how longing for community and culture is expressed through art and the dynamics between dispersion, queerness and connection and disconnection.  

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan, with post-production audio work by Nicole Bedford. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.   

Participants: 

Aedan Corey 

Aedan Corey is a Two Spirit writer, visual artist, emerging curator and Inuit tattooist from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut — a town of approximately 1,800 people. Author and illustrator of the chapbook “Inuujunga” (Coven Editions, 2021) and short story “Unikkaannguaq” (Nipiit Magazine, 2020), they began creating art at a young age. Aedan’s work is heavily inspired by their lived experiences as a queer, neurodivergent Inuk. Their goal is always to inspire and advocate for those within their communities through their artistic practices, letting others know that they are not alone. Aedan currently resides on the unceded Algonquin territory known as Ottawa. Check out Aedan’s work on Instagram @uviluq_by_design 

Jennifer Brunet-Rentechem  

Jennifer (she/they) is a 23-year-old decolonial feminist queer artist based in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. She is Indigenous and of mixed ancestry, Kanien’kéhà:ka, Algonquin and French settler on her maternal side and Brazilian Tupi-Guarani and Ukrainian on her paternal side. Jennifer’s art pulls from the Woodland style of painting, Latin American folk art and magical realism. Storytelling, culture, spirituality, politics and morality are all themes Jennifer frequently explores in her artworks. Check out Jennifer’s work on instagram @mythological.being. 

How can we honour ourselves through art and story? In episode 7, Hasina Kamanzi, Jade Sullivan and Anna Shah Hoque discuss storytelling in its various iterations, and explore its relationship to art, decoloniality, archives and Black and Brown joy.  

They share laughs and stories of how their relationship to art grounds them in their histories, memories and communities. 

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan, with post-production audio work by Nicole Bedford. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.   

Participants: 

Hasina Kamanzi 

Hasina Kamanzi (she/her) is a multidisciplinary, self-taught visual artist and community organizer. Before the pandemic, you could have found her live painting at your favorite events or tabling at an art market. Nowadays, you can catch her sharing memes on her Instagram stories or giving art workshops via Zoom when she is not painting away her wildest afro-futurist dreams. 
 
Her personal artwork focuses on an optimistic reimaging of the future through exploring her own self and the past, both personal and collective. She was most recently reimagining love for the Ottawa Art Gallery’s “How I Love You” exhibition and the feeling of belonging to a community through the “All Are Welcomed" public art project. 

Jade Sullivan

Jade Sullivan (she/her) is a feminist geographer and intersectional activist currently learning, loving and living on unceded and unsurrendered Kanien'kéha Nation, also known as Montreal (Tiohtià:ke). Jade focuses her advocacy on creating safe and sustainable spaces for systemically marginalized people, using an anti-oppressive, decolonial, gender-transformative feminist lens. She is a storyteller on her podcast My Intersectional Opinion, a Director and Advocacy Lead at Feminitt Caribbean, and board member of Planned Parenthood Ottawa. On her time off she is usually painting, (trying to) bake gluten-free treats, reading or taking cute pictures of her cat, Princess. 

You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @ohmyjadie.  Her podcast My Intersectional Opinion is on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcast and on Instagram at @myintersectionalopinion. You can email her at [email protected] 

Anna Shah Hoque  

Anna Shah Hoque (she/they) is a South Asian-Persian bi-queer femme curator, producer, visual storyteller, educator and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Feminist & Gender Studies, University of Ottawa. Her dissertation examines the relationship between decoloniality, visual arts and archive-making among Indigenous and South Asian artists and curators in “Canada.” She is the producer and host of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive, a podcast series that shares stories, memories, and practices of Ottawa-based artists, community organizers and activists. 

Episode 6 is guest produced by Summer-Harmony Twenish. It features a dive into queer Algonquin relationality with our homelands, histories and kin from the perspective of three young Anishinabe artists from Kitigan Zibi. 

This episode emphasizes joy, hope and the importance of daydreaming about what our artistic practices could look like beyond settler-colonial and capitalist influences! 

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan, with post-production audio work by Nicole Bedford. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.   

Hunter Dewache 

Hunter Dewache (he / him) is a 2-Spirit Anishinabe (Algonquin) multimedia artist and communications consultant from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. His practice consists of creating interventions between what is viewed as traditional and what is modern. He has worked within and outside of his community to increase the visual presence of the Algonquin / 2-Spirit identity in varied spaces. When creating digital illustrations, logos, videos and other forms of media, he aims to strengthen relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. You can view some of his work on Instagram @continual_interventions. You can also give him a follow at @hunter_dewa for other content related to his work. 

Miskomin Twenish 

Miskomin Twenish is a self-taught Algonquin artist from Kitigan Zibi, currently residing in Ottawa. Her artistic journey started in 2015 and she has been in love with creating ever since, working primarily with acrylic paint on stretched canvas and digital illustration. Her artwork is heavily influenced by traditional Woodlands style.  

As an artist, colour is an important element for Miskomin; she likes to aim for bright colours in hopes that the viewer who looks at her art feels a significant uplift in their spirit. Miskomin also hopes to inspire other Indigenous artists in the same way she was and that they get the uplift they need to create. Follow her on Instagram @Miskotheartist_.   

Summer-Harmony Twenish 

Summer is an Algonquin person from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg who works from a queer and Indigenous feminist lens. With vibrant and playful colours, Summer's digital art and illustrations carry both Indigenous cultural traditions and self-determined visions of what's to come. Their creative expression is breathtakingly tender and fiercely anti-colonial, amplifying body positivity and Indigenous liberation. Their digital arts and illustrations are intended to be lovingly held up as mirrors for Indigiqueer femmes, reflecting back their beauty, brilliance and radical joy. Follow them on Instagram @nibinikwe.   

How does art make it possible to talk about the stories we inherit, the stories we contribute to and the stories we want to belong to?  

Episode 5 features fin-xuan, Pree Rehal, Namitha Rathinappillai and Anna Shah Hoque joining for a compelling discussion about the importance of art and stories in their respective practices.  

This conversation centres on friendships, developing a craft, lateral crossings and connections through creative practices and connecting intentionally to think about relationality, community and art-based storytelling.   

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by fin-xuan. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.  

Participants:  

Pree Rehal 

Pree (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and illustrator based in Toronto, of Panjabi descent. They teach zine and art making workshops. Their art style is inspired by their community, snacks and storybook illustrations. Book them for workshops and check out their work at prehal.com. Their shop has been featured in CBC, Xtra magazine and BlogTo. Their art has been featured in Luminato Arts Festival, Design TO festival and the Art Gallery of Ontario.  

Twitter: @preezilla  

Instagram: @stickymangos @preezilla  

Facebook: Facebook.com/StickyMangos  

Website: prehal.com 

fin-xuan 

fin-xuan is an interdisciplinary artist living on unceded Algonquin territory. As a second-generation settler, they are drawn to questioning and exploring ideas of embodiment, history, power and, ultimately, access to resources and life chances. They love collaboration, community organizing and learning through art and relationships. Currently, they act as a Studio facilitator and Artistic Program planner at BEING Studio, where they also work with podcasting through the series SPEAK. fin loves to paint, draw, sculpt and explore through materials, experiences and sharing. 

Instagram: @xuansshine 

Website: fxuanlee.com 

Namitha Rathinappillai 

Namitha Rathinappillai (she/they) is a disabled, queer, Tamil-Canadian spoken word poet who entered the poetry community in 2017. Now based in Toronto, she was the first female and youngest director of Ottawa’s Urban Legends Poetry Collective (ULPC).   They are a two-time Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW) team member with ULPC and published their first chapbook, titled Dirty Laundry, with Battleaxe Press in 2018. They won the RBC Youth Ottawa Spirit of the Capital Award for Arts and Culture in 2019. You can find more at namitharathinappillai.com. 

Anna Shah Hoque  

Anna Shah Hoque (she/they) is a South Asian-Persian bi-queer femme curator, producer, visual storyteller, educator and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Feminist & Gender Studies, University of Ottawa. Her dissertation examines the relationship between decoloniality, visual arts and archive-making among Indigenous and South Asian artists and curators in “Canada.” She is the producer and host of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive, a podcast series that shares stories, memories, and practices of Ottawa-based artists, community organizers and activists.  

Episode 4 features guest producer Keegan Prempeh with guests Jayel Lamont and Feza Lugoma in a conversation exploring their relationships with Blackness, artistic expression and belonging.  

The discussion is gratefully guided by the words of authors James Baldwin and Sobonfu Somé. Listen in as they trace the intricacies of creativity, diaspora identity and connection to community. 

Credits: Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by Fin-xuan. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.  

Participants:  

Keegan Prempeh is a Black, non-binary Sagittarius sun on a journey of self-discovery, radical transformation and healing. Xe practices xer art on Anishinaabe territory via music, dance and storytelling. Guided by womanism, collectivism and the pursuit of social justice, Keegan hopes to foster meaningful connections to build community. 

IG @wefallforever 

Feza Lugoma is a visual artist born in Kinshasa, DR Congo, and raised in Edmonton. The work includes photography, film and sound. Whether through art or community organizing, Feza’s work is a meditation on the daily experiences of Africans within the Canadian context, exploring experiences of migration, memory and Kinship. She draws inspiration from her Congolese heritage, incorporating archival material such as photographs, video and audio sources. You can check out their work at molimostudio.com.  

IG: @_fe.za_ 

Jayel Lamont: MusicbyJayel is a DJ and producer in the process of making a mark on the music scene near you with their many talents. Sharing their passion for music with others, MusicbyJayel loves to mix open format, touching on genres from around the world. With the use of long blends, edits from the globe, and a splash of your favourite songs, you’ll find the perfect mix of genres such as Amapiano, Hip Hop, EDM, Dancehall, UKG Dubs and more. Jayel just celebrated the release of their first edit pack, “Winter Solstice,” now available on Bandcamp, with more heat to come. 

IG: @musicbyjayel 

Episode 3 features Mailyne K. Briggs and Namitha Rathinappillai with host Anna Shah Hoque. They consider the work of spoken acts of memory and identity, connection to language and community in the diaspora.  

This conversation allows us to lean into stories of creative practices through linguistic projects to connect, claim, and attend to home, self and diaspora. 

Credits:

Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by Fin-xuan. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. 

Bios:

Mailyne K. Briggs (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, writer and owner of Kilam Media. She was born in the Visayas but was adopted at age four and raised in what is colonially known as Ottawa, Ontario. She co-founded two arts-based non-profits, A.R.T. In Action (2014) and In Our Tongues Poetry and Arts Series (2019). Mailyne is an environmental and human rights advocate and believes in the power of the arts as therapy. She loves nature, spending time with her child, traveling with her family and resists grind culture by napping a lot. Find her @iammailyne (art) and @mailynekbriggs (film/tv). 

Namitha Rathinappillai (she/they) is a disabled, queer, Tamil-Canadian spoken word poet who entered the poetry community in 2017. She is currently based in Toronto and was the first female and youngest director of Ottawa’s Urban Legends Poetry Collective (ULPC). They are a two-time Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW) team member with ULPC and published their first chapbook titled ‘Dirty Laundry’ with Battleaxe Press in 2018. In 2019, they won the RBC Youth Ottawa Spirit of the Capital Award for Arts and Culture. You can find more at namitharathinappillai.com. 

Episode 2 features guest producer Kole Peplinskie (they/them), Anishinabe artist and beadworker @rustlingpine, in conversation with Seán Carson Kinsella (they/he) (@seanythek), a nêhi(th/y)aw / optipemisiwak / Nakawé / Irish, Two-Spirit, crip poet and storyteller.  

The two Indigiqueer artists chat about the role and gift of storytelling and how powerful that gift can be when informed by their multi-faceted humanness. 

Credits: 

Season 3 graphic created by Hunter Dewache. Custom intro / outro sounds created by Bucko aka Chris Binkowski. Podcast editing is by Fin-xuan. This season of To Be Continued: Troubling the Archive is generously funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. 

Bios: 

Kole Peplinskie 

Kole Peplinskie (they/them) is an Anishinabe beader and artist currently living on the unceeded and unsurrendered Algonquin territory, colonially known as Ottawa. They are a member of Kebaowek First Nation, but were raised in North Bay, ON until moving here over a decade ago.  

Kole has been creating art in various capacities their whole life, but more professionally starting in 2018. They primarily create beadwork pieces through the brand Rustling Pine (@/rustlingpine on Insta), and have had their piece "Grassroots" shown at Carleton University Art Gallery in 2020 and another piece titled "Trancestors Embrace" at Take Home Gallery in Manitoba in 2021.  

Seán Kinsella 

Seán Carson Kinsella (nêhi(th/y)aw / optipemisiwak / Nakawé / Irish) is migizi dodem (Bald Eagle Clan) and Indigequeer/aayahkwêw/tastawiyiniw with ancestors and extended kin who were signatories of Treaties 4, 6 and 8.  

They were born in Toronto, on Treaty 13 lands and grew up in Williams Treaty territory and currently reside between the Deer Park area of Toronto and sagetewedgewam (Trent River) on Michi Saagig territory. They are a sought keynote speaker, storyteller, and poet and have recently been part of the Toronto International Festival of Authors and the Naked Heart Literary Festival. Currently, they are the inaugural Director, the Eighth Fire at Centennial College in Scarborough. 

Instagram @seanythek 

Twitter: @seeseantweet