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"The Future Looks Rad from Where I Stand": A Review of Claiming Space: Voices of Urban Aboriginal Youth at the UBC Museum of Anthropology
In memory of Zacchem Jackson
On 1 June 2014 over seven hundred people crowded into the Great Hall of the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology (MOA) to celebrate the opening of Claiming Space: Voices of Urban Aboriginal Youth. The Great Hall, typically a quiet and contemplative space, which houses monumental totem poles, was animated by young Aboriginal poets, dancers, performers and musicians who energized the crowd in celebration of this exhibition. Spoken-word artist Zaccheus Jackson delivered a powerful series of pieces that spoke of his difficult experiences growing up, while remarking on the inspiration that he draws from the Aboriginal youth he mentored through his involvement with the Overly Creative Minds studio of the Urban Native Youth Association in Vancouver, British Columbia. Pop singer Inez performed several songs with messages of empowerment, particularly for young women, bringing the audience out of their chairs and onto the dance floor. A highlight of the opening events included a special performance by the Aboriginal audiovisual collective Skookum Sound System in the rotunda housing Bill Reid's permanently installed sculpture, Raven and the First Men;* this was the first media art performance given permission by MOA staff to take place in this rotunda. Projecting vibrant visuals onto Raven and the First Men and performing electronic and hip hop DJ sets, Skookum Sound System brought a distinctly urban Aboriginal sensibility to the space, reimagining the iconic Raven and the First Men through their own articulation of what indigeneity means to them as members of a younger generation of Aboriginal artists and cultural performers (See Figure 1).
As a visual anthropologist, I have conducted research with Vancouver's urban Aboriginal media community for over 12 years, analyzing how Aboriginal filmmakers use media technology to articulate visual sovereignty onand off-screen (Dowell 2013). I scheduled a research trip to Vancouver to attend the Claiming Space opening, and I am certainly thankful that I did, as the atmosphere was electric and palpable. In her blog review, Secwepmec artist and curator Tania Willard described this energy, noting that "this exhibition and project, Claiming Space, feels epic and full and alive!" (Willard...