Panelists

Donna Garcia
donnagarcia.com
IG: @donnagarcia23

Donna has an MFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design and her work has been exhibited internationally. She is a 2019 nominee of reGENERATION 4: The Challenges of Photography and the Museum of Tomorrow. Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland. Emerging Artists to Watch, Fine Art Photography, Nomination.

Will Wilson
willwilson.photoshelter.com
IG: @willwilson

Will Wilson studied photography, sculpture, and art history at the University of New and Oberlin College. In 2007, Wilson won the Native American Fine Art Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum, in 2010 the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Sculpture, and in 2016 the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for Photography. Wilson has held visiting professorships at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Oberlin College, and the University of Arizona. His work is exhibited and collected nationally and internationally. Wilson is Program Head of Photography, Santa Fe Community College.

Shelley Niro
shelleyniro.ca

Shelley Niro is a member of the Six Nations Reserve, Bay of Quinte Mohawk, Turtle Clan. Shelley Niro is a multi-media artist. Her work involves photography, painting, beadwork and film. Shelley graduated from the Ontario College of Art, Honours and received her Master of Fine Art from the University of Western Ontario. In 2017 Niro received the Governor General’s Award For The Arts from the Canada Council. Niro was honored with an honorary doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and

Design University in 2019. In March of 2020 Niro received The Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award from the Ontario Arts Foundation

Pat Kane
patkanephoto.com
IG: @patkanephoto

Pat is a photographer in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He covers people, life and environment in northern Canada. Pat identifies as mixed Indigenous/settler and is a proud Algonquin Anishinaabe member of the Timiskaming First Nation (Quebec). Pat values the importance of mentorship for people in Northern communities. He is the co-founder and president of the Far North Photo Festival — a platform to help elevate the work of photographers in underrepresented parts of northern Canada. Pat is also part of the photo collectives Natives Photograph and Boreal Collective, and is a 2020 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass Participant.

About the exhibition: Spirit is an initiative designed to educate the public, through lens-based art, regarding the true history of indigenous people and recruit advocates for indigenous issues everywhere, but with a specific focus on the US and Canada, where native lands and people аre still coming under attack everyday.

ACTIONS

• Recognize Indigenous People’s day in a meaningful way.
  + Click here for ideas

• Become an ambassador for the Campaign for Equal Dignity and invite 10 friends to join the Campaign today.Some sample text to share includes:

  • We all deserve #EqualDignity: access to health security, quality education, voting rights, economic stability, & justice for all. These are our civil & human rights. Check out & sign the pledge at www.equaldignity.org.

  • One person, organization, or family cannot define what #EqualDignity is for us all. We believe it is access to health security, quality education, voting rights, economic stability, & justice for all. Join & sign the pledge for Equal Dignity at www.equaldignity.org.

  • Join our effort to reaffirm our belief of #EqualDignity & add your own beliefs too. A nation built by the people should have rights #ForThePeople. Learn more & sign the pledge at www.equaldignity.org