Welcome to our circle, in the form of the inaugural issue of the Sitting in Circle zine. This downloadable zine was produced by students of INDG301-001: Contemporary Indigenous Art in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures at Queen’s University and generously supported by the Elizabeth Schmidt Fund, the Faculty of Arts and Science Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity Fund. INDG 301 course was taught by Sebastian De Line. Niawen:kowa (big thank you) to artist and curator, Louis Esmé (Mi’kmaw, Acadian, Irish) who facilitated lectures & workshops on zine making and artistic practice, and to artist and book designer, Iván Martínez (Pame, Mexican) for your independent book design and publishing lectures together with the design of this beautiful first issue.
The title and theme of the zine, Sitting in Circle, was proposed by Anishinaabe students Courtney Wynne, Taylor Tye, and Meaghan Fairfax as a reflection on the experience of creating online community within our classroom via Zoom as we gathered in sharing circles. One of the challenges of adapting to a digitization of university life during this unprecedented global Covid-19 pandemic has been in creating safer space where a sense of warmth and connectedness are felt throughout our weekly participation in online learning.
Vibrant Self by Sian Russell