Summary: In this final episode of season 1, Ashar speaks with interdisciplinary artist Lisa Hirmer. They discuss her contributions to the edited collection Ecologies in Practice, and Lisa also elaborates on her exploration of the atmosphere as a central theme in her work, with related projects such as We Are Atmosphere.

Bio: Lisa Hirmer is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the collective nature of being, particularly in human relationships with the more-than-human world. Much of her recent work wrestles with what it means to be living within the reality of climate change and how to make sense of this planet-scaled emergency.

She has shown her work across Canada and internationally including at Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Gallery of Guelph, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Tom Thomson Gallery, Art Windsor-Essex, Doris McCarthy Gallery, Peninsula Arts, CAFKA, Queens Museum, and Flux Factory, among others. She has done artist residencies with Arts House Melbourne, the Santa Fe Art Institute, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World, KIAC and Camargo Foundation, and was the 2022 Waterfront Toronto Artist in Residence. She has received grants from Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, musagetes and the Culture and Animal Foundation, and has a Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo.

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Links:

Instagram: @lisa.hirmer

Website: www.lisahirmer.ca

Summary: In this episode, host Ashar interviews Dr. Kiyoko Gotanda, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Brock University, whose research focuses on the intersection of ecology, evolution, and behavior. Kiyoko shares her unique journey; from a ballet dancer to a researcher, emphasizing the importance of creativity in scientific inquiry. The conversation explores contemporary evolution, including the impact of human activities and colonialism on species adaptation, and more.

Kiyoko Gotanda Bio:

I am a former professional ballet dancer who is now a researcher in the fields of evolution, behaviour, and ecology. After dancing with ballet companies such as the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, I hung up my pointe shoes and went to McGill University for my BSc. I received my PhD from McGill University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge and Université de Sherbrooke. I am currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Brock University. My third passion after science and dance is photography, which bridges the gap between my interests in art and science.

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Links:

https://www.kiyokogotanda.com

https://www.pidgephotography.com

Summary: In this final series of the first season of the Ecologies in Practice Podcast, we are exploring the Atmosphere- the invisible world all around us. In the first episode on atmosphere, Ashar speaks with artist Christina Battle, who discusses her work and focus on the climate crisis, the intersection of art and science, and more.

Bio: Christina Battle is an artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan, (also known as Edmonton, Alberta), within the Aspen Parkland: the transition zone where prairie and forest meet. Her practice focuses on thinking deeply about the concept of disaster: its complexity, and the intricacies that are entwined within it.

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Links:

insta @c_l_battle

bluesky: @cbattle.bsky.social‬

Sites:

Summary: In this final episode of our series on the topic ‘Earth’, Ashar speaks with artist Genevieve Robertson, about materiality, walking, and interdisciplinary collaboration in understanding and addressing environmental issues. The conversation delves into her specific projects, including Slope and Rainbow Jordan, highlighting the significance of slowness, and the role of artists in environmental advocacy.

Bio: Genevieve Robertson is a visual artist with an enduring interest in environmental studies. Her practice is grounded in drawing/painting, and extends to video, installation, and various forms of collaboration. Through the study and use of gathered materials (charcoal, paper, water, silt, ash, bitumen, plant and fungi dye, graphite etc.), her work explores anthropogenic impacts on ecology and the climate, and the intelligence and interconnection of the life systems of which we are part. Robertson holds a BFA from NSCAD University, an MFA from Emily Carr University, and has been supported through exhibitions, conferences and residencies internationally, and awards and grants nationally. Her work is featured in Outdoor School (Douglas and McIntyre), Art and Climate Change (Thames and Hudson), and Ecologies in Practice: Environmentally Engaged Arts in Canada (Wilfrid-Laurier University Press). She is of mixed European settler ancestry and currently lives and works in the West Kootenays on the unceded territory of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx Sinixt Confederacy Arrow Lakes and Yaqan Nukiy Lower Kootenay Band peoples.

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Links:

IG: @genevieve__robertson

www.genevieverobertson.com

Summary: Renee Lemoyne is a graduate from the Indigenous Relations Program at Western, and joins Ashar on the podcast to share her research on the benefits of learning the Anishinaabemowin language in an immersive course. The conversation explores Renee’s observations on the positive impacts of a land-based language course on participants’ health, and in relation to Indigenous language revitalization efforts.

Renee’s Bio: Kwey Kwey, Bimijiwan ndow, je suis Renée Lemoyne, Migizy ndodem, Kebaowek ndonjibaa. I’m a first-year medical student at NOSM University in Thunder Bay, ON. I have a master’s in Indigenous Relations and a BSc. in Biomedical Biology, with a minor in Indigenous Studies. I’m a Francophone Algonquin Kwe from Kebaowek First Nation in Kipawa QC. I have been part of the Anishinaabemowin learning community in N’Swakamok for years. Through my time I was a witness to beautiful things which led me to pursue my master’s and conduct research to show others the benefits of learning this language in a wholistic and immersive way!

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Links: https://www.timminspress.com/news/local-news/indigenous-land-based-course-offers-life-changing-experience

IG: @lemoyne28

Summary: In this second episode for the theme ‘Earth’, host Ashar speaks with Dr. Geneviève Metson, who discusses her current work and research. Dr. Metson leads the Sustainable Resource Management Lab at Western University, and is establishing a living lab on campus to monitor nutrient cycling and climate change impacts. In this discussion, Dr. Metson emphasizes the importance of understanding nutrient cycling in urban agriculture, the need for data collection and monitoring, and highlights the value of interdisciplinary collaborations, including artistic engagement, to communicate scientific findings and engage the public.

BIO: Dr. Metson is an Associate Professor at Western University in London Ontario in the Department of Geography and Environment. She uses both social and natural science methods to investigate how we can better manage phosphorus, and other resources, more sustainably across scales. Her research uses a systems perspective and views nutrients as a useful lens to examine how societies engage with the provision of food, clean water, and waste treatment. This broad lens has afforded her the privilege to work in the USA, Australia, Sweden, South Africa, Malawi, and Vietnam. She received her PhD from McGill University in Canada and qualified as a docent at Linköping University in Sweden.

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Links:

@genemetson

https://www.srmlab.ca

https://liu.se/en/research/urbanagriculture

https://liu.se/en/article/digging-into-nutrients-via-urban-agriculture

Summary: In this conversation, we speak with multidisciplinary artist Dana Prieto who discusses the significance of working with materials such as soil and clay, and the role of art in environmental conversations. We focus on a recent project of Dana’s, Footnotes for an Arsenal, which examined the complex histories and entanglements of a munitions factory turned art space.

Bio: Dana Prieto is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher, born in Buenos Aires and based in Tkaronto. Dana’s site-responsive work examines social, political, and chemical ties that connect us to the land.

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Learn more about Dana’s work by visiting these links:

https://www.instagram.com/dana___prieto

https://danaprieto.com