RESIDENCIES
POD ARTIST RESIDENCY
The James Black Gallery hosts pod residencies with the intent to strengthen creative relationships within our communities. We offer one month residencies when funding permits it.
Our first seven pod residencies (2021-2022) were developed in reaction to the pandemic. Originally conceptualized with the intent was around reconnection and creation exploration. For 2023, we invited artists to to generate art that delves into the problems, conflicts, sources of collective joy and inspiration that touch our communities. Take this chance to explore collaboration between varied artistic disciplines and embolden experimentation.
Claire Shannon-Akiwenzie, Dakota Anderberg, Jay Sky-Blue Groening, and Kiesha Janvier
April 2024
This pod is dedicating their residency to honouring their realities and looking forward to a brighter future, with art serving as a powerful conduit to healing. Embracing “truth to the future”, they aim to envision a brighter future, guided by the rich tapestry of their ancestral legacies and the infinite possibilities of tomorrow.
@zaagiidiwin_ Claire Shannon-Akiwenzie (Anishinaabe/Irish) is a proud member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation in Neyaashiinigmiing, Ontario. She currently resides in the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil Waututh and Squamish peoples in Vancouver, BC. Claire is a digital artist, beader, drummer and Indigenous educator and facilitator. Both art and education are catalysts for capacity building, promoting well-being and facilitating relationship and kinnection.
@dakota.piyesis Dakota Anderberg is from the Bird family of Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation and a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation on her mother’s side and mixed European on her father’s side. She currently lives on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish people in Vancouver, BC. Dakota’s current style emerged while she was in high school being led by family and kin alike. As a painter, beader, drummer, and linguist, Dakota’s art is a medium of reflection, questioning, and healing.
@blueskyjwgb James Groening, aka Blue Sky, is a Burnaby-based Cree artist from Kahkewistahaw Band on Turtle Island. His artwork documents his journey of healing and growth, as he attempts to revitalize his cultural identity through art making. James Blue Sky Groening, was raised by white grandparents during the 60s Scoop in a farm community in Plains Cree Territory. After meeting his maternal mother, he was inspired to reclaim his Indigeneity. Thanks to the shared knowledge of artists such as Ojibway artist Mark Anthony Jacobson or Anishinaabe artist Saul Williams, James Blue Sky has had a cultural identity revival through the arts with mediums such as vibrant painting and drum making. His work has gained recognition thanks to exhibitions, grants, and workshops.
@keeshasaurus Kiesha Janvier is a self taught artist originally from Ontario, based in Vancouver, BC. Her work is inspired by her late father who was an artist and is currently reconnecting with her indigenous culture, with the intention to apply her new knowledge to future projects to keep the culture alive and thriving; Primarily using acrylic, mixed media and digital softwear. She has had her work displayed at small pop up galleries and music festivals. Kiesha continues to push the boundaries of contemporary, eclectic art, inviting the viewers in an imaginative visual experience.
