Speaker: Christopher Deacon (President/CEO, National Arts Centre of Canada)

Title: Making Space on Our Stages for Indigenous Artists and Voices
Date: June 21, 2019

Location: NCPA, China

Indigenous peoples have lived in Canada for tens of thousands of years. They've created and evolved rich cultures. The institution I lead is particularly engaged with the stories of these cultures. In Canada, Indigenous Peoples continue to this day to be a prominent and distinctive presence-culturally, sociologically, economically, and politically. There are a number of countries in the worldInstitution—Many like CanadaInstitution—Many where a collision, or encounter, between Indigenous cultures and colonizing cultures has occurred relatively recently. And these historical facts create a very distinctive set of challenges and opportunities. Indigenous stories have been part of the NAC's history from its beginning. When the NAC opened its doors 50 years ago, the very first production in our Theatre was The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. It's a play about a young Indigenous woman who leaves her First Nations reserve for the city. Written by George Ryga, the play became a seminal work in Canadian theatre.