First Wednesday 12 :: On Dialogue

Wednesday, November 1, from 6 to 8 PM
McLuhan House (11342 – 64 Street)*

Turn out. Tune up. Drop in!
Light refreshments provided. Please pay what you can.
Register at Eventbrite to R.S.V.P!

Questions? Contact Chelsea Boos at 780.474.0907 | cboos@artshab.com

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6 p.m. Understanding Animated Film, with McLuhan Literati
Join Marco Adria and Stuart MacKay for insights on the history, social environment, and meaning of animation. Our resident McLuhan scholars will illuminate the subject with their knowledge from Marshall’s published works, ancestry, and personal legend. The presentation also features an NFB screening of the 1952 stop-motion film, Neighbours by Norman McLaren. The evening will be a great opportunity to check out the TV Wall, a multimedia art installation revealing the zeitgeist of the McLuhan era at the height of his celebrity.

Building on the legacy of McLuhan’s indomitable curiosity about media, the McLuhan link is celebrated through ongoing partnerships with Stuart MacKay (retired librarian, McLuhan genealogist, historian, and Marshall’s cousin-once-removed) and Marco Adria (Author and Professor Emeritus from the Masters of Arts in Communications and Technology program at the University of Alberta). Dr Adria is also an advisor at the Centre for Public Involvement, and author of numerous books including Technology and Nationalism (2009), The lighted marketplace (2014) and Handbook of Research: Citizen Engagement and Public Participation in the Era of New Media (2017).

7 p.m. New Media Seminar 12 with guest Dr Jennifer Kelly
The West Indian Diary: A Play and a Process
Jennifer will share her experiences of researching and working with the playwright, Patricia Darbasie, to produce a play titled The West Indian Diary. The play was the culmination of a qualitative research project that used a play format to engage community members and disseminate knowledge generated through in-depth oral history interviews undertaken with peoples from the Caribbean who came to Alberta in 1960s to early 1970s.
Using a play process expands our understanding of the ways in which research data and arts-based activities can be used as the basis of knowledge generation when working with communities. In particular, I will explore the process of working with Pat Darbasie and community members to produce a play script. This dialogic process embedded in the research resulted in unearthing new knowledge, insights, and understandings within African Canadian communities in Alberta.

Biography: Dr Kelly is a professor in the department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta. She is the author of several books, chapters and articles on the experiences of African Canadians in Alberta. Over the years Jennifer has been active in a number of African Canadian community groups As well, she continues to support Alberta Labour History Institute (ALHI) a group made up of trade unionists, historians and community activists dedicated to recording the oral histories of workers in the province of Alberta. She has been recognized several times by Council of Canadians of African Caribbean Heritage for her contributions to their annual youth Afro Quiz. In 2012, the University of Alberta African Students Association recognized Jennifer for her contribution to Africa.

8 p.m. Dialogue session, with Black Girl Magic
McLuhan House Artists-in-residence will be kicking off their theatrical production with a discussion circle at this event! Join the collective of interdisciplinary artists, Shima Aisha Robinson, Nasra Adems, Ashanti Karimah, Mpoe Mogale, Medgine Mathurin, and Effy Adar as part of a workshop in preparation for their new play performance, A Seat at the Table.

About the Program
Join the social and cultural community of McLuhan House. Meet artists, researchers, and local residents who are continuing Marshall McLuhan’s legacy of probing new media in the global village! First Wednesday offers opportunities to engage on different topics of importance to our future at the intersection of social history, art, communications, and technology.

R.S.V.P. today to reserve your place!

About McLuhan House
In January 2016, McLuhan House opened as an interpretive space for Marshall McLuhan’s life and legacy. It was designated a municipal historic resource and restored by Arts Habitat, with support from the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Arts Council. McLuhan was a famous Canadian professor, media critic and author who lived in Edmonton at the historic 1912 McLuhan Residence until 1915.

Arts Habitat acknowledges that McLuhan House is situated on the traditional lands of the Nehiyawak, Nakoda Sioux, Ojibwa, Iroquois, and Dene First Nations, as well as a gathering place for Indigenous peoples including Inuit, and Métis. We honour the treaties, languages, and cultures of Indigenous peoples whose presence continues to enrich the community of Edmonton, an area also known in the Cree language as amiskwaciwâskahikan (Beaver Hills House) or pehonan (meeting place).

Participant Information
*Parking is available at the back for people with limited mobility. Nearest Bus Routes are 2, 8, 141, 142.
Please note, the historic house is not wheelchair accessible.

Seminar discussions are recorded for archival purposes. You may also find us on Periscope by visiting @madria40. Attendees and guardians of participants under 18 will be requested to sign an image and audio release form.

We honour everyone’s right to actively participate in the discussion and endeavour to create a place for wide representation across discipline, class, gender, race, sexual orientation, age and ability. Oppressive language or behaviour will not be tolerated.

We ask everyone who attends to:

• Contribute to a safer space
• Show care and consideration
• Keep an open mind to other perspectives
• Listen well and do not interrupt
• Validate one another’s feelings and experiences
• Encourage empathy
• Refrain from judgement
• Respect each other’s pronouns and identities
• Be accountable for your words and actions

Thank you for helping make McLuhan House an inclusive environment for all!

Seminars work the best if everyone is free to:
Play, Doodle, Draw, Have Fun!
Speak with their mind and heart;
Facilitate their self and others;
Link and connect ideas;
Contribute their thinking, and
Listen together for patterns, insights, and deeper connections.

Space is limited. Please reserve your seat at firstwednesday12.eventbrite.ca!