All Keynote Speaker sessions will be recorded with the exception of Tom Jackson. Keynote Speaker sessions will be posted for viewing starting Monday, February 20, 2023 until March 20, 2023 11:59 pm.
 

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Transformation:  The Witness Blanket stands as a national monument to recognize the atrocities of the Indian residential school era, honour the children and symbolize ongoing reconciliation. More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced into residential schools in Canada between 1870 and 1996.Inspired by a woven blanket, this large‐scale art installation is made from hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures across Canada.

The process of gathering these objects and their stories took artist Carey Newman and his team from coast to coast to coast. They travelled over 200,000 kilometres, visited 77 communities, met over 10,000 people, and welcomed over a thousand objects into their care.

Each object has a story to tell, each survivor has something to say. The 90‐minute feature documentary film Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket weaves those stories with Carey Newman’s personal journey, examining how art can open our hearts to the pain of truth and the beauty of resilience.

The makers of the documentary have made it freely available online to share the power of storytelling and testimony during a time of fear, uncertainty and social isolation. They invite you to bear witness.  https://vimeo.com/457804808