The Indigenous Routes Collective is an ad hoc group formed in August 2011 by Amanda Strong, Archer Pechawis and Ben Donoghue to carry out a community collaborative project producing an interactive documentary with six native youth.
Through the development phase of this project discussions have begun regarding the formalization of Indigenous Routes as a non-profit organization to meet the growing need for new media training for indigenous artists.
At Indigenous Routes we believe the next generation is our greatest resource, that's why we strive to create projects that level up our youngest artists.
When traditional Indigenous artists look to change or adapt their medium we are there to help. Our board is ready to give advice and knowledge to any Indigenous artist wanting to try interactive and new media.
Indigenous Routes wants to share the rich and limitless possibilities of Indigenous interactive and new media works with Canada and the world. This is why we advocate for these voices to be heard.
We're looking for new Indigenous artists and creatives who want to build up the next generation of Indigenous digital art!
Performance artist, new media artist, filmmaker, writer, curator and educator Archer Pechawis was born in Alert Bay, BC in 1963. He has been a practicing artist since 1984 with particular interest in the intersection of Plains Cree culture and digital technology, merging "traditional" objects such as hand drums with digital video and audio sampling.
Anishinaabe, Couchiching First Nation, Susan is an interdisciplinary artist working with public art, site-specific intervention, photography, film and social practice. Her solo and collaborative work engages questions of personal and cultural identity and its relationship to space. She is the Delaney Chair in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University.
Meagan Byrne is âpihtawikosisân (Métis) digital media artist and game designer born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. She uses her work to explore questions of cultural belonging, the indigenization of media and the future of indigenous language and culture while exploring questions of cultural belonging.
Ben Donoghue is a settler background filmmaker, and arts administrator based in Toronto. His practice explores the relationships between the biopolitical subject, landscape, macro-economic phenomena, and the built environment. He has exhibited at galleries, festivals, and underground spaces internationally.