Orion guest artist Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie

by | Feb 25, 2026 | Art History & Visual Studies, Events, Faculty, Graduate, indigenous, Orion Series in Fine Arts, Research, Visual Arts

All are welcome to hear visiting Orion Series visiting artist Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, a professor at the University of California, speak on “The Concreteness of Imagination”: 6:30pm Thursday, March 12 in room A162 of the Visual Arts Building. Free & open to all. This talk is presented by our Art History & Visual Studies department.

She’ll also be leading the 2-day workshop Printing Resistance on March 10 & 11 (10am–5pm) at the Taqsiqtuut Indigenous Research-Creation Lab (room A134) in our Visual Arts building.

For the workshop, you’ll get to design an image for printing based on social issues based on protest, activism & Indigenous resistance + learn a grassroots technique used in protest movements. You’ll keep their printing press after the workshop. Register here. 

Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie is a Professor in the Native American Studies Department, and Faculty Director of the Gorman Museum of Native American Art at University of California Davis, known for photography, social commentary and video. Her presentation will include recent photo projects and portraits.

Tsinhnahjinnie’s work is held in several collections including National Museum of the American Indian (New York and Washington DC), Museum of Modern Art (New York), Eiteljorg Museum (Indianapolis), Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (Norman), Museum Volkenkunde (Leiden, Netherlands), International Centre of Bethlehem, Dar Annadwa Addawliya (Bethlehem, Palestine) and the National Museums of Scotland (Edinburgh).

Tsinhnahjinnie was born into the Bear clan of the Taskigi Nation, born for Tsi’naajinii of the Dine’ Nation, adopted into the Eagle House of Metlakatla, adopted into the Killer Whale Fin House of Klukwan.Hunka to Muriel Antoine of Mission South Dakota. For the past 22 years, Tsinhnahjinnie has been living and working on Wintun land, located in Northern California.

Makareta & Moana: mentor & mentee,
Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (2026), Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie photo

Orion Guest: poet Kaie Kellough  

by | Feb 25, 2026 | Events, Orion Series in Fine Arts, Research, Theatre, Undergraduate, Visual Arts, Writing

All are welcome to hear visiting Orion Series poet, sound artist and writer Kaie Kellough when he speaks on “Self Inside Sound”: 7pm, Wednesday March 4, in the New Student Lounge, main floor of The Mearns Centre – McPherson Library. Free & open to all. 

Kaie Kellough is a poet, sound performer and fiction writer whose work crosses genres and disciplines. He is concerned with language, migration, inequality and the intersections of social engagement and form. Kaie’s long poem, Magnetic Equator (McClelland & Stewart, 2019) was awarded the 2020 Griffin Poetry prize. His collection of short stories, Dominoes at the Crossroads (Véhicule, 2020), was nominated for multiple national awards, and won the AM Klein prize for fiction. His latest long poem, Interposition, will be published in 2026 with McClelland & Stewart.

Since 2011, Kaie has collaborated on audio compositions with saxophonist and synthesist Jason Sharp. Their performances have been broadcast by jazz festivals across Europe and Canada. Their first group album, FYEAR, featured a 9-piece ensemble and was released in 2024 on Constellation Records. Kaie is currently pursuing graduate work at Queen’s University. He studies post-colonial literatures, with a focus on Caribbean and Black British writing. Kaie continues to craft new passages.

Presented by the Department of Writing, the University of Victoria Libraries & Art Collections and the Orion Series in Fine Arts.

Visiting professor Mike Ananny reckons with Generative AI

by | Feb 25, 2026 | Art History & Visual Studies, Events, Orion Series in Fine Arts, Research, School of Music, Theatre, Undergraduate, Visual Arts, Writing

Faster than many predicted (or wanted), Generative Artificial Intelligence is upon us. It brings a mix of emotions, a shared sense of uncertainty and a persistent question of what we can and should do — individually and collectively — about technological change that feels powerful, inevitable and beyond our control. Visiting guest professor Mike Ananny will offer ways to define and reckon with Generative AI that might help navigate controversies, intervene with integrity at different scales, and debate the perils and promises of “good enough” technologies.
Presented by the Orion Series in Fine Arts, during his six weeks on campus Ananny will speak to students in various classes as well as host a pair of small, focused workshops on March 11 & 25 and a March 26 public talk, the latter of which is being presented in partnership with UVic’s Kula: Library Futures Academy. 
 
 
 
 
 

About Mike Ananny

Mike Ananny is an Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism (and, by courtesy, Cinematic Arts) at the University of Southern California (USC). He studies how people build digital infrastructures, algorithmic systems and artificial intelligence that create public life — and he tries to intervene to make cultures of production, regulatory initiatives and system designs better serve public interests.

At USC he co-directs the interdisciplinary collective Media as SocioTechnical Systems (MASTS) and the AI for Media & Storytelling (AIMS) initiative of the Center on Generative AI and Society, and is an Affiliated Faculty of Science, Technology, and Public Life.

He is the author of Networked Press Freedom (MIT Press), co-editor (with Laura Forlano and Molly Wright Steenson) of Bauhaus Futures (MIT Press), and publishes in various interdisciplinary academic communities including Journalism Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and Critical Internet Studies. He was a postdoctoral scholar at Microsoft Research, holds a PhD from Stanford University (Communication) and a Masters from the MIT Media Laboratory (Media Arts & Sciences), and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki, a Berggruen Foundation Fellow at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, and an expert advisor to the Minister of Canadian Heritage on the future of CBC/Radio-Canada. He has written for popular press outlets including The Atlantic, WIRED, Harvard’s Nieman Lab, the Columbia Journalism Review, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
 
Read Mike’s recent Globe and Mail story about the Stephen Colbert censoring by the US government, and how that impacts Canadian viewing — and values — as well.
 

About the workshops

Workshop 1: “Journalism & Generative AI: Exploring histories, power & synthetic futures of news language”
2:30-4:30pm Wed, March 11 • Fine Arts room 108 • Free
 
In this small workshop, students will explore a domain (journalism) and see how GenAI works (or doesn’t work) for that domain. Open to all, but may be of most interest to people studying and practising journalism or writing longform nonfiction.
 
Workshop 2: “Crafting your Own Perspective on Generative AI: Drafting first-person statements of synthetic media principles & practices”
2:30-4:30pm Wed, March 25 • Fine Arts room 108 • Free
 
In this small workshop, students will learn how to create first-person statements of practice by understanding, using/refusing Generative AI in your practice, and how to describe yourself and your work in relation to synthetic media. Open to all, but it may be of most interest to creative practitioners and artists of all backgrounds, methods and media (not only writers).
 

About the public talk 

“Reckoning with Generative Artificial Intelligence”

5 – 6pm Thursday, March 26 in the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, School of Music (MacLaurin A-wing) 

Free & open to all • Find out more here

T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss speaks at Activism & the Arts lecture series

by | Feb 13, 2026 | donor, Events, indigenous, Research, School of Music, Visual Arts

Save the date for our annual donor-funded Lehan Family Activism & the Arts Lecture Series: this year, we present ethnobotanist, artist and community-based educator T’uy’t’tanat- Cease Wyss speaking on the topic of “Diaspora of Ancient Technologies and the Future Herstory of IndigiFuturisms”.

Technology has been part of humanity since the earth was formed, yet many people have lost their connectivity to “temexw” or “earth” and have attempted to find their way through digital technologies. But the connections have always been there on both ends of the technological spectrum: how we play and create today reflects this, and how we interact is our connection to the beginning.

All are welcome to join us for this free public talk in UVic’s gorgeous new Indigenous Law Wing: 5pm Wednesday Feb 25, in room B142 of the Fraser Building.

T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh/Sto:Lo/Hawaiian/Swiss) is an Indigenous matriarch and interdisciplinary artist who works with digital media, writing, performance and land-based remediations in her multi-disciplinary arts practice. A community-engaged public artist, Indigi-Futurisms developer and ethnobotanist/permaculture designer, for more than 30 years her works have focussed on sustainability, permaculture techniques and Coast Salish cultural elements, including themes of ethnobotany, Indigenous language revival, Salish weaving and digital media technology. She currently holds the MST Fieldhouse artistic residency in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.

Wyss is currently working on bridging the healing sounds of plants and fungi with Indigenous languages, and creating conversations between them all using biosonification with modular synthesizers. During her time on campus, she will also be visiting various classes and engaging with our students.

Wyss and her IM4 Media Lab — which cultivates Indigenous innovation at the intersection of tradition and technology — will also be holding a ReciprociTea & VR Workshop from 1-4pm Tuesday, Feb 24, in UVic’s Taqsiqtuut Indigenous Research-Creation Lab in the Visual Arts building. Come experience her storytelling told through a ceremony of tea and seen through an oculus lens.

Previous guests in our Activism & the Arts series include Charles Campbell, Gord Hill and d’bi.young anitafrika, and you can watch their public talks here.

Join us for student wellness day Feb 9

by | Feb 5, 2026 | Art History & Visual Studies, Events, indigenous, School of Music, Theatre, Undergraduate, Visual Arts, Writing

Feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Need a break between classes? Don’t miss Fine Arts Student Wellness Day, running 8:30am-4:30pm Mon, Feb 9. Everything’s free! Activities and events will be happening around the Fine Arts complex, so drop in for whatever best works for your schedule.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going on:

Drop-in activities (all day)

  • Wellness Info Fair (Fine Arts lobby)
  • Adult colouring pages (Fine Arts 108)
  • Comedy on loop (Fine Arts 106)
  • DIY puzzles (Fine Arts 115)

Timed activities (various locations)

  • Morning bird walk: 8:30 – 9:30am (Finnerty Gardens)
  • Dog café/pet therapy: 11:15am – 12:30pm (Fine 
Arts 104) with Pacific Animal Therapy Society
  • Nature journaling: 12:30 – 1:30pm (Finnerty Gardens, meet at Multifaith Centre) with Angela Wood
  • Somatic Sanctuary: 1:00 – 1:20pm (Fine Arts 108) 
Qi Gong movement with Catherine Harding
  • Dance/movement session: 1:00 -3pm (Theatre 136) 
with DJ Codex (Christine Walde, Fine Arts Librarian)
  • Art meditation: 1:30 – 4:30pm (Visual Arts 146)
  • Yoga For Meditation: 3:30 – 4:20pm (Multifaith Centre)

Wellness Info Fair (Fine Arts lobby)

  • Healthy snacks table
  • DIY gratitude messages
  • Wellness messages & reminders
  • Office of Student Life info & campus resources

 

Sounding Grounds festival debuts

by | Jan 22, 2026 | Alumni, Events, Faculty, Graduate, School of Music, Visual Arts

Sounding Grounds is a gathering of new music, experimental sound and interdisciplinary art. Running Jan 30-Feb 1 at UVic’s School of Music, this multi-day festival is a meeting place for UVic’s most adventurous creators. Featuring student and faculty composers, improvisers, builders, thinkers, and listeners, Sounding Grounds invites you to explore the curious and ever-evolving terrain of contemporary sound.

Schedule of events:

Fridaymusic: New works by student composers

A concert of bold new works by UVic student composers that spans acoustic, electronic and hybrid forms. Expect unexpected sounds!

12:30 – 1:20pm Friday, Jan. 30 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • Admission by donation • More info

 

UVic Orchestra: Nobles, Smetana, Schumann

Conductor Yariv Aloni leads the UVic Symphony Orchestra in a dynamic program that journeys through vivid musical landscapes, from operatic drama to symphonic grandeur. Featuring Jordan Nobles’ Apollo—an evocative, contemporary work exploring light and motion.

8pm Friday, Jan. 30 • Farquhar Auditorium, Jamie Cassels Centre • Tickets $15-$28, free for UVic students • More info

 

Sonic Improvisation Workshop

Bring your instrument, voice, or just your curiosity. A low-pressure, high-reward space for spontaneous sonic exploration. No experience necessary.

1:30-3pm Sat, Jan. 31 • room B037, MacLaurin Building • Free • More info

 

Faculty Concert Series: Local Currents

UVic faculty and staff share original works that highlight the depth, range, and individuality of our community’s artistic voices. The program features Anthony Tan’s bound/woven for electronics; a collaborative laptop and video performance by Megan Harton & Isaiah Doyle; Taylor Brook’s Hypha for electric guitar with electronics and video projections; Sarah Belle Reid’s Brittle Stars for voice and electronics; Lauren McCall’s work for flute and electronics; Ajtony Csaba’s Wind Drumming for piano and live electronics; and Kristy Farkas’s In this light for piano.

7:30pm Sat, Jan. 31 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • By donation • More info

 

VR Experience: The Witness Blanket

Explore Carey Newman’s powerful national monument through virtual reality. Inspired by a woven blanket, the Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art. It contains hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada. This is a space for listening, remembering, and honouring truth and reconciliation.

2-5pm Sunday, Feb. 1 • CReaTeLab, room B004, MacLaurin Building • More info • Free, but reservations recommended: book a time here

 

Shapes for Sounds Vol. 04 Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Part gallery, part playground, this annual variety throwdown transforms space through sculpture, sound art, noise, and performance. A tribute to the Merz art movement, the evening brings together action painting, voice, video, power electronics, and embodied performance—exploring the relationships between sound, the body, materials, and architecture. Featuring the Puppets Forsaken troupe: Hermit, Agnes, Alex Taylor-McCallum, Edith Skeard, Kegan McFadden, Ciel Boehme, John Boehme, Paul Walde, Grace Salez, Evan Locke, Mitch Renaud, Derk Wolmuth, and Lesley Marshall.

2-5pm Sunday, Feb. 1 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • By donation • More info