3 – 4 p.m. | Online check in and meet & greet (GatherTown)

4 – 6 p.m. | Opening Guest Speakers Panel Event – EDI in Academia. Register now.

7 – 9 p.m. | Welcome Event at The Provincial Archives, Exhibit Room. Free refreshments and a cash bar on site. All conference participants can pick up their swag bags, view some artwork, and meet the organizing team! Masks are required when not eating or drinking. Email engagearts@unb.ca to RSVP.

8:30 a.m. | Morning social chat/artwork viewing in GatherTown

9 – 10 a.m. | Panel 1

Break

10:10 – 11:10 a.m. | Panel 2

Break

11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. | Panel 3

12:20 – 1 p.m. | Lunch Break (Artwork viewing & online social in GatherTown)

1 – 3 p.m. | Arts Matters Workshop – Through our eyes: Creating cellphilms for activism toward antiracism with Alicia Noreiga-Mundaroy. Register now.

3:15 – 4:15 p.m. | Panel 4

6 p.m. | Presentation of Prizes and Closing Remarks

Note: GatherTown platform will be available throughout the conference for online socializing and viewing submitted artwork.

Ron Tremblay is his colonial birth name but is known as “spasaqsit possesom” (spuz-akw-zid buz-za-zum) - morningstar burning. He is a citizen of Wolastokuk (Wa-lus-da-gook). Being the youngest of 10 children of the late Doris Sappier and Raymond Tremblay, spasaqsit possesom grew-up surrounded by Wolastoqey (Wa-lus-do-kway) Language spoken fluently. spasaqsit possesom credits his mother Doris and grandparents Madeline LePorte and Louise Sappier for his genuine love of Wolastoqey Language and he also acknowledges that they provided him the true teachings of life.

After moving to Fredericton in 1991 he befriended several Elders from local area. The two main Elders Ulsonuwit Sqot (Harry LaPorte) and Sagatay (Gwen Bear) guided him deeper into his Wolastoqey Traditional Ways. After years of involvement in various ceremonies with his teachers spasaqsit possesom gained wisdom and knowledge of “Wolastoqey way of life”. Still today, Ron practices the traditional ways of Wolastoqewiyik.

In November of 2016, Ron was installed as Traditional Wolastoqewi-Grand Chief. The mandate of Wolastoqey Grand Council is to protect and preserve Wolastokuk, their non-ceded traditional homeland, waterways, ceremonies and language.

Sofia Mehlitz is a queer and non-binary trans student studying psychology at UNB Fredericton. Sofia is involved in many queer and trans community groups both on and off campus and is active in advocacy for gender and sexual diversity. They are passionate about improving access to queer and trans healthcare, expanding research on queer and trans youth and educating folks outside the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Sofia was named a recipient of the Sir Howard Douglas award for 2021-2022 and looks forward to continuing education in a mental health helping profession following their undergraduate degree.

Angela Tozer is Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick. She is of Tamil-Canadian heritage, and lives on the unceded and unsurrendured lands of the Welastekwewiyik, protected by the Peace and Friendship Treaties.

Her current book manuscript Universal Nation: The Canadian Public Debt and the Making of the Settler State, 1820-1880 (forthcoming, University of British Columbia Press) examines the history of the Canadian public debt and its relationship to settler colonialism.

Ufuoma Akalusi is a third year student currently working towards a Joint-Honours in Philosophy and Law In Society. She hopes to attend the Schulich School of Law next fall with a focus in Criminal and International Law and Advocacy. As a woman of African descent, her studies have been mainly focused on the intersectionality of race and gender within the legal system and she is really excited to learn more about this topic in law school and from events like these.

Jeremy MacDonald is 34 years old and was born and raised in Charlottetown. He holds a B.A. (Honours) and an M.A. from Saint Mary's University, and a J.D. from UNB. Jeremy is a passionate community disability advocate, and currently serves as the President of the PEI Cerebral Palsy Association, as well as on the boards of ResourceAbilities, Camp Gencheff, and Parasport and Recreation PEI.

He is also heavily involved in sport and exercise, having played wheelchair basketball for two decades and wheelchair rugby for several seasons as well. He currently coaches a kids' wheelchair basketball team, and is working to establish local wheelchair rugby and boccia programs. He also loves CrossFit and gets to the gym about five days a week.

Since 2019, Katelyn Copage has been the Indigenous Experiential Learning Coordinator for the Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre and the Office of Experiential Education at the University of New Brunswick. A Mi’kmaw woman from Sipekne’katik, Kate is committed to facilitating culturally safe experiential learning opportunities for Indigenous students, and she is in the early stages of a new program of research focused on the place and purpose of Indigenous experiential education in academic institutions. Kate completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (with a Theology and Religious Studies minor) at Saint Mary’s University and spent several summers planting trees and banding ducks before entering the MEd program at UNB in 2016.

After completing her Master’s degree, she undertook a 32-week Regenerative Farming Internship at Hayes Farm, working as part of team of interns to grow enough vegetables to support a 30-person CSA and a vendor stand at the Fredericton Night Market. Today, Kate is a member of the Hayes Farm Advisory Board, and she sits on the Board of Directors for the Fredericton Public Library, where she advocates for programming that connects children and families with Wabanaki books and writers. She is deeply committed to reproductive justice and is certifying to become a full spectrum doula.

Joanne Wright serves as Dean of Arts for the UNB Fredericton campus. Dr. Wright, a professor of political science, has previously served as acting associate dean of arts, associate dean of arts, and acting dean of arts at UNB. Working collaboratively with students, faculty and staff, she believes in the value of the humanities and social sciences and is committed to raising their profile on campus and in the wider community.

She has a long history with UNB as a graduate student, residence don, professor, and administrator. Her teaching and research interests include early modern political thought, feminist political theory, politics of the body, and North American cultural politics. She has a PhD in political science from York University, an MA in political science from UNB, and a BSc in chemistry from Mount Allison University.