KAC In Conversation
KAC in Conversation is a creative project by the Kingston Arts Council that aims to bring the arts and culture community together to learn new ideas, challenge the way we think, and provide a platform for diverse voices to be heard. Created in 2015 as a once-a-year event, the project has evolved into a regular series of talks that feature speakers from outside of our city in order to expand our knowledge and learn about our neighbouring communities through an arts lens. Each event is focused on a theme and also features a local artist who will be in conversation with the speaker. The events are followed by a social gathering, providing an opportunity to have a chat with your peers, community partners, fellow artists, and arts patrons, and celebrate our strong and active arts scene.
Past Events
2018
KAC in Conversation: Art and Feminism
Lindsay Nixon (left) and Carina Magazenni (right). Photo: Liz Cooper
About the speakers:
Lindsay Nixon is a Cree-Métis-Saulteaux curator, editor, award nominated writer and self-loathing art history grad student. They currently hold the position of Indigenous Editor at Large for Canadian Art, and are the editor of mâmawi-âcimowak, an independent art, art criticism and literature journal. Nixon’s writing has appeared in Malahat Review, Room, GUTS, Mice, esse, The Inuit Art Quarterly and other publications. Their forthcoming creative non-fiction collection, tentatively titled nîtisânak, is to be released in spring 2018 through Metonymy Press. Nixon currently resides in Tio’tia:ke/Mooniyaang, unceded Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe territories (Montreal, QC), where they co-founded the Black Indigenous Harm Reduction Alliance and Critical Sass Press.
Event recap: click here.
Sponsors and Partners
Thank you to our event sponsors: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre, Novel Idea, Kingston Accommodation Partners and CFRC 101.9 FM.
2017
KAC in Conversation: Creative Placemaking
The Role of Art in Cities
March 2017 workshop on Creative Placemaking. Photo: Liz Cooper
Collaborative, artistic and social-innovative answers are increasingly needed to address many of ourcities’ issues, whether it is searching for creative approaches to community engagement or developing new designs for underutilized spaces. On Saturday 4 March we welcomed Sarah Udow
and Jennie Suddick of Crazy Dames for a creative, fun and interactive workshop in the form of an artist studio, to explore how artists and other community members can contribute to improving city spaces in creative ways.
Thank you to our partners and sponsors: City of Kingston, Sustainable Kingston, Tett Centre, Kingston Accommodation Partners, Keystone Properties.
2016
KAC in Conversation: Creative Placemaking
In its second year, the program explored the theme of Creative Placemaking. You can watch the video of the first event in this program below. You can read a quick recap of it here. The second event featured Toronto creative duo Crazy Dames that led a workshop on the role of art in sustainable cities. We had the pleasure of talking to two community members about creative placemaking: Tracey Guptill and Sunita Gupta.
KAC in Conversation: Creative Placemaking was supported by the Ontario Arts Council Grant.
Partners: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, Sustainable Kingston
Sponsors: Kingston Accommodation Partners, Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
2015
KAC in Conversation: Activators
The first KAC in Conversation event explored the theme of activators: local artists and community organizers gathered to share insight into their practice. You can read a recap of the event here.