Protecting Indigenous Art: Legal Essential for Indigenous Creatives
Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 Time: 12PM to 2PM ET / 9AM-11AM PT / 10AM-12PM MT / 11AM-1PM CT Virtual via ZOOM
FREE | Register here
Indigenous Curatorial Collective, OCAD University Indigenous Student Centre, ALAS, and CARFAC Ontario invite you to an essential conversation exploring protecting cultural and artistic intellectual property, data sovereignty, navigating and negotiating contracts, and artist rights including fair pay.
This virtual session is intended to provide a relaxed space for Indigenous creatives to learn from each other and from our expert facilitators—Claire Johnston (visual artist and relational-maker), Sage Paul (artist and designer), Ariadni Athanassiadis (intellectual property lawyer) and Erika Voaklander (Indigenous lawyer with a focus on Aboriginal law). Designed as a community-led forum, participants are encouraged to bring and share their questions, experiences, struggles, and successes with their peers and facilitators.
Topics include:
* Intellectual Property Rights specific to Indigenous cultural contexts
* Negotiating fair contracts that respect both your work and cultural heritage
* Understanding and advocating for appropriate compensation
* Protecting your creative legacy while honouring traditional knowledge
* Practical strategies for addressing common challenges
This session welcomes Indigenous creatives from all disciplines.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts de l’Ontario et le gouvernement de l’Ontario, et la Ville de Toronto par l’intermédiaire du Conseil des arts de Toronto de leur soutien financier.
ASL interpretation and auto-captioning will be provided.
Claire Johnston(she/they) is a Métis beadworker based in her Homeland of Winnipeg, MB. Claire’s family has scrip in St.Andrews and St. Clements, Manitoba and some of her family names include Johnston, Richards, Moore/Moar, Truthwaite, Brown and Thomas.
Claire has worked with her hands since she was a child, learning leather working, woodworking and other skills from her father Roy Johnston. She is currently advancing her bead working skills under the mentorship of Jennine Krauchi as part of the Mentoring Artists for Women’s Arts 2022/2023 Foundation Mentorship Program. Her work has been exhibited at both the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art in Vancouver, BC and Tangled Arts in Toronto, ON.
Claire’s beadwork practice is informed by the strengthening of relationships — with herself, her kin and the natural world. As an Autistic beadworker, her love of bright colours and attention to detail allow for vibrant and intricate pieces. Claire believes strongly in “cripping” the arts and expanding eccessibility for Disabled and low-income Indigenous artists to thrive. She is a steering committee member for the Critical Autism Summit that will take place in Manitoba in 2024, where she will host beading circles to facilitate discussions on decolonizing understandings of Autism and neurodiversity.
Claire is a novice hide tanner and enjoys learning traditional skills alongside her kin in Red River Echoes, a Métis collective based in Manitoba. Claire is a member of the MMF Two-Spirit Michif Local and volunteers with Agoojin Volleyball Club.
Sage Paul is an urban Denesuliné tskwe based in Toronto and a member of English River First Nation. Sage is an award-winning artist & designer and a recognized leader of Indigenous fashion, craft and textiles. Her work centres family, sovereignty and resistance for balance. Sage is also founding collective member and Artistic Director ofIndigenous Fashion Week Toronto.
Her art and design practice is conceptual, creating narrative-driven garments, crafts and costumes for artistic presentation, fashion, film, TV and theatre. Sage Paul is a sought after and artistically diverse designer; She is creatively curious and informed, with excellent and resourceful craftsmanship. Sage has a strong, broad understanding for how she and her audiences interact with and feel fashion.
Some of Sage’s art and design has shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s First Thursday, Harbourfront Centre, The Centre for Craft, Creativity and Design (North Carolina, USA), and a curated program at Western Canada Fashion Week by Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. She has designed costumes for Kent Monkman, Darlene Naponse, Danis Goulet and more. Sage speaks about Indigenous fashion including engagements at Canada House (London, UK), The Walrus Magazine, Ryerson University, Toronto Women’s Fashion Week and South Africa Fashion Week. Most recently, Sage presented her collection “Giving Life” at Festival de Mode & Design (Montreal) and Ohtaapiahki Fashion Week (Calgary).
Sage received the Design Exchange RBC Emerging Designer Award (2017) and was recognized as a Woman of Influence (2018), a Change Maker by the Toronto Star (2018), top 100 talented & driven Canadian women by Flare Magazine (2017), a Toronto “cool girl” by Vogue (2018), and was honoured by the Ontario Minister of the Status of Women as a trailblazing woman who is transforming Ontario (2017). In 2019, Sage was nominated for the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design and the Indigenous Arts Award, both at the Ontario Arts Council.
Sage sits on the Ryerson School of Fashion Advisory Board, sits on the Board of Directors for Red Pepper Spectacle Arts and is developing an Indigenous Fashion elective course for George Brown College.
Ariadni Athanassiadis is the founder, lead IP attorney, and patent agent of Kyma Professional Corporation. She applies relationship and learning centered approaches to client service and counselling to help you make decisions, be resourceful and maintain the integrity of your creative enterprise. You can connect with Ariadni at Kyma Professional Corporation or through LinkedIn
Erika Voaklander (she/her) is an Associate at the Toronto JFK office. She is Métis and her family hails from Red River. Erika grew up in Alberta and is a citizen of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. She holds a Juris Doctor and a Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies from the University of Toronto. Erika also holds a Certificate in Negotiation from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Prior to being called to the Ontario bar, Erika summered and articled at a leading national Toronto law firm where she focused on a broad range of commercial litigation matters. Since then, Erika has exclusively worked in the area of Aboriginal law representing Indigenous communities, both at a nationally recognized Aboriginal law boutique firm and a full-service law firm in Toronto, prior to joining JFK.
