Carving Decolonization in Concordia

This fall Concordia University’s sculpture program aligned four of its courses with the institution’s colonial program. Teachers see this as an opportunity to expand their own horizons, as well as by teaching their students new styles and techniques.

A way of extracting classical fine arts and Handicrafts Domestic.

Until recently, purely Eurocentric sculpture programs were taught not only at Concordia but also at most universities.Mary Tsui, a professor of sculpture and other art disciplines for many years, explains in an interview with Yee Wong.

Originally from Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, Mary Tsui Yee Wong studied at Concordia University in the early 2000s. He explains that the plan hasn’t really changed since then.

There is no representation in art education from outside Europe. The decolonization of the courses allows for the restoration of balance, where the art produced can be shown, by the indigenous people, without hierarchy.she says.

Canada’s indigenous arts are recognized for their variety, from sculpture to beadwork and other decorative forms.

For teachers, the neocolonial approach was to remove students’ minds from European influence and anchor them in their geographical and social contexts. The goal is not to imitate indigenous art, but to learn what they do and draw inspiration from it.

For a while now, I’ve been pushing students to think about the provenance of the wood, clay, and other media they use. The only thing is for the styles that inspire them, they will learn about different cultures, they will enter into relationships with all these elements, and hopefully this learning will become part of their creative process.says Juan Ortiz Abuy, a professor in the sculpture program at Concordia.

A decolonized approach, the indigenization of projects, according to him, is an incredible opportunity to take this concept further.

Native arts generally reflect their cultures, which are anchored in the territory. Today, we share these territories in Montreal and across Canada.

Each week, Mary Sui Yee Wong asks one or two of her students to prepare and read in front of everyone a regional recognition that testifies to their vision of Indigenous presence in Canada.

This is an exercise that most students enjoy. This allows them to think about the environment in which they operate on a daily basis.she insists.

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By revising the curriculum, teachers also took the opportunity to learn many styles from around the world in addition to local arts. The goal is to restore balance, not to obscure Western art.

Being a person of color myself, I am glad to have had the opportunity to break away from Western canons and explore multiple perspectives and extract “subtleties”. In this world.

Global restructuring

As of 2019, Concordia University has released its Action Plan on Tribal Leadership. It was one of the most ambitious programs for decolonization and indigenization adopted by a Canadian university.

Ultimately, all courses will be targeted and their syllabi must meet the guidelines established by Donna Kaherakwas Goodleaf, Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Decolonization of the Indigenous Board of Directors.

Once the indigenous guidelines program was launched, several professors became interested in the sculpture program.

Meetings with Donna were very enjoyable. It was easy to see the benefits of this new approach to our projectJuan Ortiz Apuy in brief.

This fall marks the beginning of teaching decolonization courses. Many other courses will also be offered for the first time after this winter reform.

“Obviously, we need to adjust some things, but we’re in touch with Donna and other departments at the university to see what’s working and what needs to be changed,” he explains. We want to build more partnerships with Aboriginal arts organizations and deepen our understanding of their approaches. These are very inspiring perspectives, which students appreciate.