PROJECT PARTNERS
The Fearless Sisters Rising Mural was dreamed and created by many hands.
The lead artists of this project were Nicole Neidhardt (Diné) and Brianna Bear (Songhees) in collaboration with Kinship Rising, Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium, Fearless Collective and community members who contributed to the creation and painting of this mural.
We want to especially thank these folks who were integral to the planning and success of this project and helped paint the mural! Thank you Sandrina de Finney, Chantal Adams, Shantelle Moreno, Anna Chadwick, Gina Mowatt, Morgan Mowatt, and Mandeep Kaur Mucina.
More information about the partners of this project can be found below.
Brianna Bear – Lead Artist
ŦEȺLIE (ta-a-th-le-ut) / Brianna Bear is from the Songhees/ lək̓ʷəŋən Nation in Victoria through her father’s side with roots to the Namgis Kwakwaka’wakw people in Alert Bay through her mother’s side. She is the oldest of eight siblings from four parents whose backgrounds are lək̓ʷəŋən, Kwakwaka’wakw, Mowachaht/ Muchalaht & Nuu-chah-nulth. ŦEȺLIE was brought up around her father’s territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, learning many of the teachings from her grandfather Skip Dick and family members. Within the past six years she has taken on the role of Welcoming people to the territory and opening for events in the ways that her grandfather Skip Dick and her Uncle Bradley Dick have taught her. ŦEȺLIE is a community knowledge keeper and an artist who has worked on murals, logo designs, and more.
Find her on instagram at: @briannabearart
or her website: www.ko-fi.com/briannabearart
Nicole Neidhardt – Lead Artist
Nicole Neidhardt is Diné (Navajo) of Kiiyaa’áanii clan on her mother’s side, and a blend of European ancestry on her father’s side. Her Diné family is from Round Rock, Arizona she grew up in Santa Fe, NM on Tewa territory. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Business minor from the University of Victoria on lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, and is currently working on her Master of Fine Arts at OCAD University in Toronto, ON. Her background is in visual arts, specifically painting and 2D installation. Nicole’s Diné identity is the heart of her artistic practice which encompasses mylar stencilling, installation, mural painting and design, illustration, beadwork, stick and poke tattooing, facilitating community-engaged art, and book layout and design.
She is the co-founder of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium, alongside Gina Mowatt. She is also a co-founder of Groundswell Climate Collective, a group that is fighting the climate crisis through resiliency and artwork.
Find her on instagram at : @navabear12
or her website: www.nicoleneidhardt.com
Kinship Rising
Kinship Rising is an Indigenous-led project based in British Columbia. Kinship Rising works with communities and organizations to conduct art- and land-based workshops with Indigenous girls, young women, and youth of all genders, including 2spirit and LGBTTQQ youth, using a intergenerational framework.
To learn more about Kinship Rising, please visit their website here: kinshiprising.uvic.ca
Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium
The Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium (IYILS) is a biennial gathering of young Indigenous leaders. The vision for IYILS is to create a strong network of motivated, self-determining young leaders who are grounded in their communities and use that knowledge to envision Indigenous futures. IYILS’s project directors are Gina Mowatt, Morgan Mowatt, and Nicole Neidhardt, all of whom contributed to the Fearless Sisters Rising Mural.
To learn more about IYILS please visit their website here: www.iyils.ca
Fearless Collective
Fearless is a South Asia based public arts project that creates space to move from fear to love using participative public art. In 2012, Bangalore-based visual artist Shilo Shiv Suleman started Fearless in response to to the powerful protests that shook the country in response to the “Nirbhaya” tragedy in Delhi, India.
The Fearless Methodology created by Shilo Shiv Suleman was integral to the Fearless Sisters Rising Mural project.
To learn more about the Fearless Collective, please visit their website here: www.fearlesscollective.org
PROJECT FUNDERS
Kinship Rising and land/body/art are funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight grant (435-2020-1191) and the Canet Foundation.
The Fearless Sisters Rising Mural was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canet Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – Knowledge Dissemination Grant and the Faculty of Human and Social Development.
