Crafting Communities Workshop

art studio supplies on shelves

Prior to the world going to hell, I participated in a wonderful six days of professional development put on by Thinking Rock Community Arts and Jumblies Theatre. Titled "Crafting Communities" this workshop was based on Jumblies well-known Artfare Essentials training which is focused on skill building connected to community arts facilitation. "Crafting Communities" focused on … Continue reading Crafting Communities Workshop

Reclaiming Place Talks

This week I had the privilege of travelling to Thunder Bay to provide a public talk at the Thunder Bay Museum and speak with a Lakehead University archives class. Both talks focused on my work at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre and the decades of work by the Shingwauk Survivor community. Interested in learning more? … Continue reading Reclaiming Place Talks

OER and Exploring Pressbooks

I recently starting working with Pressbooks as a way to develop an Open Educational Resource (OER) about residential schools and the history of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. For folks not familiar will Pressbooks, it is a publishing platform that you easily create ebook and print-ready files for printing physical … Continue reading OER and Exploring Pressbooks

Art + Feminism in the Soo

Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit A Thon written in blue of yellow background. Poster.

Last week I helped organize an Art+Feminism edit-a-thon in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.  Art+Feminism is a "campaign improving coverage of cis and transgender women, feminism, and the arts on Wikipedia." This year marks the fifth year of the Art+Feminism initiative and since 2014 edit-a-thons have taken place around the world, improving over 11,000 articles in … Continue reading Art + Feminism in the Soo

Fridays by the Fire

Wood burning fireplace at the Old Stone House

Last week I was an invited speaker to the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site's Fridays by the Fire series.  This series runs January to April on Fridays and invites local folks to have lunch in the 'summer kitchen' room of the Ermatinger Old Stone House while listening to a speaker.  The name of the series comes … Continue reading Fridays by the Fire

S is for Signal-boost

Woman speaking into a megaphone

This post was partially inspired by Claire Kreuger's alphabet blog series on colonialism and reconciliation. I've been thinking a lot about signal-boosting as a form of activism recently.  This has in part come from conversations around what work settlers can engage in following the verdict which found Gerald Stanley not guilty in the shooting death … Continue reading S is for Signal-boost

Facilitation and Building Public History Discussion Spaces

A circle of coffee cups on a wood table.

Facilitating meaningful discussion can be hard.  Many of us have facilitation success and horror stories from the seminar room, a larger classroom setting, or a community outreach program.  Engaged conversations can be a powerful way to learn and provide a sense of shared learning, build on collective intelligence, and allow for diverse viewpoints. The Art … Continue reading Facilitation and Building Public History Discussion Spaces

Graphic Art, Comics, and History

coloured pencils on left hand side of a grey background.

Some days it is really obvious why I love my job.  This week as part of doing lecture and class prep I spent some time revisiting my favourite history themed web-comics, graphic novels, and graphic arts projects. My drawing skills are pretty much nil. But I love the idea of using graphic arts as a … Continue reading Graphic Art, Comics, and History

Canada Wide Wikipedia Edit-A-thon Reflection

Women yelling "[Edit] Cdnhist on green and purple background

It's been a bit over a week since the Canada wide Wikipedia edit-a-thon that was organized by Jessica Knapp and myself.  As the dust has settled I've thought a bit about how the event went and ways in which future events could be improved. Event Successes I was thrilled with the level of participation we … Continue reading Canada Wide Wikipedia Edit-A-thon Reflection

Design Skills: Posters and Outreach

Wooden bench in fall with leaves on the ground. Poster text reads "design skills for public historians"

One of the side projects I'm working on has had me thinking a lot about self-promotion and employment skills.  This thinking has been primarily around what emerging public history professionals should know when they go on the job market and how they can build the strongest resumes and cover letters possible.  Unsurprisingly this line of … Continue reading Design Skills: Posters and Outreach