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Honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
February 12, 2021February 14 is a day to honour the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA (Two-spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual) people, and acknowledge the grassroots initiatives that continue to raise awareness and…
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NAC Indigenous Theatre seeking artists & memory holders for new storytelling project
February 2, 2021NAC Indigenous Theatre is seeking artists and memory holders to submit to participate in a new storytelling project. This project is based in three cities: Ottawa, Saskatoon, and Vancouver. Each region’s project will be artistically led by NAC Indigenous Theatre (Ottawa), Gordon Tootoosis…
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Inuit Myths Come Out of the Shadows
November 7, 2019Inuit founding myths are the inspiration for Unikkaaqtuat, a cross-cultural blending of circus arts, theatre, music, and video. The actors, musicians, and acrobats of Unikkaaqtuat perform in a world of shadows and video projections, transporting us to an ancient realm where life did not…
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A Meeting Place Between Nations
September 11, 2019The kick-off for the National Arts Centre’s new Indigenous Theatre is the high point of a years-long transformation of the NAC into a welcoming space for Indigenous peoples, particularly the Algonquin Anishnabeg on whose unceded territory the NAC is located. In 2016, the NAC reached out to…
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“Our Stories are Medicine”: Indigenous Theatre Takes Flight
September 11, 2019Indigenous Theatre is here. The highly anticipated inaugural season has taken flight with the Mòshkamo festival, a two-and-a-half week “takeover” of the National Arts Centre, showcasing some of the best Indigenous music, theatre and dance. “In a season focused on themes of…
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Q&A: Kevin Loring, Artistic Director, NAC Indigenous Theatre
September 11, 2019Q. You’re about to launch the first national Indigenous theatre of its kind in the world. How do you feel? A. I’m excited. I take my position as a sacred trust to the Indigenous storytellers across this land. Q. What do you hope to achieve? A. My hope is that NAC Indigenous Theatre will…
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Q&A: Lori Marchand, Managing Director, Indigenous Theatre
February 7, 2019Q. You became the first-ever Managing Director of the NAC Indigenous Theatre in April 2018. What has been your focus so far? A. I’ve been working closely with Artistic Director Kevin Loring and our growing Indigenous Theatre artistic team to choose the works to be presented as part of our…
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Director Corey Payette speaks about creating Children of God
June 16, 2017Shocked by the way Canada sweeps aspects of its history under the rug, creator Corey Payette wrote Children of God as a way of starting the conversation; acknowledging the hurt done, and acknowledging the strength of the survivors and their descendants. In Payette’s own words, “Children of…
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Kevin Loring announced as the first Artistic Director for Indigenous Theatre
June 15, 2017The National Arts Centre’s President and CEO, Peter Herrndorf announced today that Kevin Loring will be the first ever Artistic Director of Indigenous Theatre at the NAC, taking up his post on October 16, 2017. The first season of the Indigenous Theatre Department will coincide with the…
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Prestigious Arctic Inspiration Prize Goes to Qaggiq Project to Support Northern Performing...
January 27, 2016Qaggiq, a project dedicated to supporting northern performing artists, has won the very prestigious Arctic Inspiration Prize. Qaggiq is led by the Qaggiavuut Society, a Nunavut-based arts organization in partnership with organizations across the North and southern Canada -- including the…
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Art and Reconciliation Panel Discussion
January 18, 2016The recent landmark report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on the abuses at residential schools states that art has the extraordinary ability to heal. The National Arts Centre hosted a timely panel discussion on art in the context of reconciliation moderated by Dr.…
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Jack Charles’ story of resilience and reconnection
January 14, 2016Jack Charles' experience as a stolen child echoes the plight of Canada's own Indigenous people. This was made clear when he and director Rachael Maza were invited to speak at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health in Ottawa. "It's exactly the same story. It actually started so much earlier…
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Indigenous Storytelling at the NAC
January 4, 2016As the New Year begins, the National Arts Centre is getting ready to showcase Indigenous storytelling and reconciliation on all its stages. In the context of recent news events – from the recent publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report, to the…
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Realizing a fuller Canadian story through Indigenous Theatre Works and Performance Practice
July 6, 2015Since the fall of 2012, NAC English Theatre has been working with Indigenous artists and leaders towards the realization of The Study. Together students and professionals alike explored aspects of the Indigenous body of performance work created across this vast land. The Study culminated…
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The Summit: A vital conversation on Indigenous theatre
May 7, 2015In the spring of 2014, NAC English Theatre, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA), the Luminato Festival and the Banff Centre collaborated on an initiative called The Summit. We brought together leading Indigenous artists from across the country for a vital conversation that would…
