Bill Reid Gallery hosts a panel discussion on Blackness and Indigeneity for The Sum of All, September 1
Artists Amai Campbell-Kamangirira, Willie Lewis, and Marion Jacobs will expand on their works in the exhibition with curator Damara Jacobs-Petersen
Artists featured in The Sum of All. Photo by Georgie Lawson
Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art presents The Sum of All panel discussion on September 1 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm
JUST BEFORE THE START of summer, The Sum of All launched at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art with a unique premise: that black may exist in duality as both a mixture of all colours, and a complete absence of light.
Blackness and Indigeneity are thus explored through this perspective in a variety of mediums at the exhibition, from performing arts like dance and film to visual arts spanning poetry and jewellery. It’s all guest-curated by Damara Jacobs-Petersen, who works with the UBC Museum of Anthropology as curator of Indigenous programming and director of the Native Youth Program.
Five other artists are featured in The Sum of All, including Willie Lewis, a Squamish and African American cultural performer who is a member of Spakwus Slolem (the Eagle Song Dancers); jewellery maker Modeste “Monday” Zankpe, who is of Secwépemc, Es’ket + Ewe, and Togo ancestry and part of Indigenous-burlesque troupe Virago Nation; along with Marion Jacobs, an actor, director, and writer of Squamish, Snuneymuxw, and Bahamian ancestry.
Orene Askew’s Status and Clarity, 2022.
Yet another creative on board is Orene Askew, also known as DJ O Show, a two-spirit Squamish and African American DJ with an R&B and hip-hop focus who has spun tracks everywhere from BC Lions games to this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival as an artist in residence. Among Askew’s works on display at the gallery is a yellow-and-black beaded medallion necklace called Status and Clarity, made from glass beads, rhinestones, thread, leather, and metal. It bears the text “DJ O Show”, a proud marker of the artist’s multifaceted talents.
Wrapping up the cohort is Musqueam and Zimbabwean artist Amai Campbell-Kamangirira, who participated in the 2021 Native Youth Program directed by Jacobs-Petersen, which engages high-school students in employment initiatives and conversations around identity.
To hone in on the concepts of Indigeneity and Blackness through group dialogue, Lewis, Jacobs, and Campbell-Kamangirira will take part in a special panel discussion on September 1 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm at the Bill Reid Gallery. Jacobs-Petersen will moderate the conversation, which will examine intersectionality through the dynamic perspectives of the artists’ lived experiences.
The Sum of All will remain on display at the Bill Reid Gallery until September 8. Regular opening hours are from 10 am to 5 pm daily. 
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