About
Please join us for the inaugural Artist Residency at the Hart House Farm with artist Don Russell. Past-Present-Future is an interactive participatory project that calls on people to come together to produce land-based artwork over four days. The farm sits on the escarpment's edge and boasts mature forests, meadows and limestone cliffs. The time there will be augmented by visits from Indigenous elders, professional artists, and plant knowledge people. The theme is based on Indigenous teachings about time concepts and how we utilize that understanding to keep our lives in balance.
We will gather and spend time on the land, collecting stones, listening to stories, and learning about the land while discovering the surrounding area that is Hart House Farm.
Hart House invites Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and members of the U of T community to join in this experience at the Hart House Farm. You can join us for a portion of the time or the full four days.
Please note that registration is now closed. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Day Milman.
Program
DAY ONE - Thursday, October 12
Morning
Project initiation with Sacred Fire, meet the artist and other participants, and learn about the project
Afternoon
Edible and Medicinal Plants Identification and Uses Workshop by Julia Hitchcock
Evening
Gathering near Sacred Fire
DAY TWO - Friday, October 13*
All day
Communal art project creation
Afternoon
Forest Notes Workshop with Lisa Hirmer
Evening
Gathering near Sacred Fire
*Please note that Don Russell won't be on site from 4 to 9 pm on day two.
DAY THREE - Saturday, October 14
All day
Communal art project creation
Morning
Teachings with Elder Peter Schuler
Afternoon
Talk with Lois Thomas
Evening
Gathering near Sacred Fire
DAY FOUR - Sunday, October 15
Morning
Communal art project creation
Midday
Communal feast
Afternoon
Project completion
Transportation
BY CAR
Visitors are welcome to organize their own transportation on all days. Parking is available for free at the farm.
BY BUS
Shuttle buses are available on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15. Departure from Hart House at 9:30 am. Departure from the farm at 6 pm. You must register to secure a seat on the shuttle bus, please reach out to Day Milman.
Staying at the Farm
Accommodation at the farm is rustic, simple, communal, and no-frills. Tent camping is welcome. Project participants can reserve a bunkie that sleeps two people or bunk beds in Ignatieff House. Please bring your sleeping bags and pillows.
Ignatieff Home also includes:
- Barrier-free entry on the east side (two powered doors along with a 17:1 sloped ramp)
- Universal washroom on main floor
- Accessible furniture
- Fully equipped kitchen
Much of our time together will be spent outside. Please dress appropriately for the weather. Wear warm layers, and bring rain gear, toques, and gloves. Wear comfortable shoes or boots that can handle variable terrain, including unpaved pathways, grass, forested areas, and mud.
Please note that the farm does not include any showering or bathing facilities.
All accommodation at the Hart Houe Farm is free of charge for project participants.
Food at the Farm
Light snacks, lunch, and dinner will be available at the farm on all days. Project participants are welcome to bring their own food. A communal lunch will be served on Sunday, October 15.
All visitors are welcome to use the communal kitchen in Ignatieff Home and several restaurants are available in the area.
All food at the Hart House Farm is free of charge for project participants.
During the event, the space is a sacred ceremony area. To honor its sanctity, individuals are asked to refrain from using substances such as drugs or alcohol. Your respect for this policy is essential in preserving this space's sanctity, safety, and reverence at the Hart House Farm.
Artist in Residence
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Don Russell
Artist
Don Russell is a multidisciplinary artist of Acadian and Mi’kmaq heritage. Russell was born in Stephenville, Newfoundland in 1970 and currently resides in Cambridge, Ontario. Russell’s artistic practice encompasses painting, printmaking and land art where he utilizes key elements of stone and earth to create monumental installations.
Website
His work is represented in private, public and corporate collections across Canada, notably among them is the Governor Generals’ Residence Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the University of Toronto Law School, and the University of Guelph.
Participants
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Lisa Hirmer
Artist
Lisa Hirmer is an interdisciplinary artist working in visual media, especially photography; social practice/community collaboration; performance; and occasionally writing. Her work is focussed on collective relationships—that which exists between things rather than simply within them— both within human communities and in human relationships with the more-than-human world. Much of her recent work wrestles with what it means to be living inside the climate emergency, on the edge of planetary collapse.
Website -
Julia Hitchcock
Farmer and Herbalist
Julia Hitchcock is a settler of British and Latvian descent. She has been an organic veggie farmer and herbalist for 20 years in the Head of the Lake (Hamilton) area. She enjoys learning and teaching about the earth, especially about plants. She sees decolonization as everyone's responsibility and wonders how to live that.
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Elder Peter Schuler
Community Elder
Elder Peter Schuler is a grandfather and Elder of the Mississaugas of the Credit and a member of the Minweyweygaan Midewin Lodge in Manitoba. A writer and artist, Peter tries to pass on traditional Ojibwe teachings through storytelling, art and craft making. Since his retirement from construction work he has taken these stories to elementary and high schools and works to educate the public in an effort to fight racism and to promote understanding of First Nations history and culture. He also currently co-teaches a course entitled First Nations and the Environment with Professor Dan McCarthy at the University of Waterloo.
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Lois Thomas
Lois Thomas is a mother , grandmother, sister, wife, daughter and auntie. Her lifetime of collective experiences as a first generation “off reservation”child to a traditional Onondaga and Oneida parents brings her to where she is today. She describes her experience as “the best of two worlds.