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ACSN 2003 seminar: Art and Functionality: from Blackfoot to Robot

On the 28th of November, the Association for Canadian Studies in the Netherlands organized their annual seminar. This year it was titled 'Art and functionality: from Blackfoot to robot'. The thirty-five participants formed an enthusiastic and varied group of Canadianists, filmmakers, linguists, museologists, anthropologists and several experts in the areas of media and culture. Among our special guests were the Canadian ambassador to the Netherlands, Mr. Serge April.

Four speakers filled the afternoon, each addressing varied topics relating to Canadian art and the practical applications thereof. Our first speaker was Graham Smith, a Canadian robot inventor who believes that art and science are actually one. He showed wonderful slides of his works of art and some results of the photography techniques he invented himself with the aid of technology and robotics.

Dutch visual artist Els de Meijer talked about her art as well. She has extensively travelled, worked and lived in the arctic and these experiences have kindled a passion for the language of the Inuit in her. Ms. De Meijer showed wonderful photographs of sculptures in which we can see leaf-gold symbols of the Inuit language.

Our third speaker was Esther Sloof, currently working on her M.A. thesis in museology. Esther addressed the issues of the power of museums. She also addressed the issues related to exhibiting minority groups in museums. An abstract of her presentation can be found here. The last speaker of the day was Lea Zuyderhoudt. Lea is currently working on her PhD at University of Leiden on the topic of storytelling in the Blackfoot culture. She was also closely involved with the putting together of the Blackfoot exhibit that is currently held in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. The last item on the programme was a guided tour of the Blackfoot exhibit. The very successful day was ended with a joint dinner.

To view the ACSN website section on the seminar, click here.