Erik Mandawe (ᐱᔦᓯᐊᐧᐠ) served as London’s inaugural Artist in Residence. Erik represented the arts at a host of events in London and quickly gained a reputation as a thoughtful and charismatic host, speaker, storyteller, and artist.

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HIGHLIGHTS

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As Artist in Residence, Erik Mandawe participated in several large-scale London Arts Council events—including the Public Art Symposium (2017), where he was part of the Public Art and Changing Notions of Commemoration panel, and Culture Days on Dundas Street (2017).

 

For Culture Days, Erik curated Labyrinth, a large-scale installation, designed and built in collaboration with Indigenous artists Walter George Sands and Darr Sands. Seven Indigenous artists created onsite artwork in several disciplines throughout the event weekend. Each artist focused on an issue they felt needed to be shared with London’s non-Indigenous public. Mike Cywink, for example, painted Turtle Island and other Indigenous symbols to communicate the beauty of Indigenous worldviews. Darr Sands's painting addressed the need for action regarding murdered and missing Indigenous women.

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During both Culture Days and the Public Art Symposium, Erik participated in Poet Laureate Presents... Crossings, collaborating with visual and performance artist Megan Arnold on an interactive soundscape installation.