Category: IBPOC

ECH partner's with the Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Program at Western University

5/15/2021

Matthew Dawkins

Mary Helen McMurran

The Embassy Cultural House welcomes two new contributors to our community: Matthew Dawkins and Mary Helen McMurran.

Matthew Dawkins is an undergraduate studying English and Writing, with a double major in the interdisciplinary School for the Advanced Studies in the Arts & Humanities (SASAH) program at Western University. He is also the recipient of Western's Undergraduate Summer Research Internship (USRI). He has joined the ECH as a contributing editor.

Mary Helen McMurran is the faculty supervisor for the internship and Associate Professor in Western's Department of English and Writing Studies. Their collaboration with ECH highlights the public humanities and its aim of connecting the university with the city of London as well as a national and international audiences.

As part of the internship, Matthew is creating new projects on anti-Black racism for Embassy Cultural House. His George Floyd Project features local Black communities and artists in a commemoration of one-year since Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police. The occasion prompts reflection on the dramatic and far-reaching impact of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The ECH is grateful for Western University's continued support. Established in 1983, the ECH was a community-driven gallery and hosted interdisciplinary programs. It closed its physical doors in 1990. In 2020, the ECH was re-envisioned as a virtual artist-run space and community website.

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ECH welcomes Ira Kazi as a Contributing Editor

5/7/2021

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Iraboty (Ira) Kazi

We are pleased to welcome Ira Kazi as our newest contributing editor to the Embassy Cultural House.

Iraboty (Ira) Kazi (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Ontario, studying Art History and Visual Culture. She is the current editor of Western’s Visual Arts Department’s graduate students' journal, tba: Journal of Art, Media, & Visual Culture. Ira divides her time between London and Hamilton and works part-time at the Hamilton Public Library

Ira is currently leading a project to celebrate and feature Asian Canadian artists in our community.

Ira joins the ECH's growing team of contributing editors including; Andreas Buchwaldt, Matthew Dawkins, Charlotte Egan, Shelley Kopp, Olivia Mossuto, Niloufar Salimi, Mackenzie Smith, Michelle Wilson, and Jade Williamson.

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ECH welcomes Mary Lou and Dan Smoke to the Advisory Circle

4/14/2021

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Dan and Mary Lou Smoke in front of the London Music Hall for the 2019 Forest City London Music Awards. Photo credit: Karen Nordin

The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is pleased to announce that award-winning Indigenous journalists and activists, Mary Lou and Dan Smoke have joined the ECH Advisory Circle. They recently received the Atlohsa Peace Award for their work on truth and reconciliation. You can listen to their interview with Chris dela Torre on the CBC here.

Mary Lou is also well-known for her performances and was recognized by the London Music Hall receiving an award in 2019 for her traditional and contemporary singing. She is a member of the Ojibway Nation, from Batchawana, on Lake Superior, and Dan is Seneca Nation from the Six Nations Grand River Territory. They met in 1972/3 and were married in the Onondaga Longhouse in a traditional Indigenous Haudenosaunee Wedding Ceremony in 1977. They have been happily married for 43years.

Working together they have hosted "The Smoke Signals Aboriginal Radio Program," since 1990 and continue with this Western University campus-based radio program offering interviews with Indigenous cultural workers and advocates from across Turtle Island. They have collected an extensive archive and books over the years related to their decades of working as journalists and advocates. From 1999-2019 they worked with the London CTV Station.

ECH co-founders Ron Benner and Jamelie Hassan said, “Dan and Mary Lou Smoke have dedicated their lives to building bridges between the peoples of Turtle Island. We are honoured to have Dan and Mary Lou’s friendship over the years and look forward to collaborating with them on future ECH projects.”

Dan and Mary Lou Smoke said, “Ron and Jamelie have stood in solidarity with Indigenous communities through their art work and activism for decades, and we are pleased to join the ECH Advisory Circle and contribute to this innovative digital arts and cultural project.”

You can visit their page on the ECH website here.

Other members of the ECH Advisory Circle include: Samer Abdelnour, Wyn Geleynse, Fern Helfand, S F Ho, Lorraine Klaasen, Judith Rodger, Ruth Skinner and Lucas Stenning.

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Award winning musician Lorraine Klaasen joins ECH Advisory Circle

3/6/2021

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Lorraine Klaasen joins ECH Advisory Circle

The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is pleased to announce that Lorraine Klaasen is joining our Advisory Circle. Lorraine is an internationally renown performer, a JUNO award-winner, and received in 2020 the Forest City London Music Award (FCLMA) in the category of World Music. Originally from South Africa and formerly living in Montreal, Lorraine now lives in London, Ontario.

Lorraine has dedicated her career to uniting people of all races through music and art. Since immigrating to Canada about four decades ago, Lorraine has recorded and performed around the world. She has given memorable performances at the Montreal Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall. Her 2013 ‘Tribute to Miriam Makeba’ CD (Justin Time Records) earned her a JUNO Award. She participated in a documentary called the ‘Legends of Madiba’ that pays tribute to prominent South African female singers.

On February 13, 2021, the ECH hosted an online celebration in recognition of Lorraine's FCLMA World Music Award to a sold out crowd, and we are very excited to have Lorraine join our team bringing her energy and ideas to our ECH community.

Other members of the ECH Advisory Circle include: Samer Abdelnour, Wyn Geleynse, Fern Helfand, S F Ho, Judith Rodger, Ruth Skinner and Lucas Stenning.

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Lorraine Klaasen Receives the 2020 Forest City London World Music Award

11/7/2020

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Lorraine Klaasen

The Embassy Cultural House community is thrilled for Lorraine Klaasen for winning the annual 2020 award for world music at the Forest City London Music Awards in September 2020. Now living in London, Lorraine is a 2013 Canadian JUNO Award winner. She has been performing and recording music in Canada for over 30 years and she’s also conducted music workshops in schools all over Canada, the Caribbean and the United States. Her outreach program focuses on South African music, arts and culture with an emphasis on how immigrant cultures have enriched Canada. See Lorraine's virtual living room performance here. Lorraine is a recent addition to the ECH community connecting with co-founder Jamelie Hassan via their children who work together in Global Affairs Canada.

Lorraine said on her recent Forest City London Music Award : "It is wonderful to be receiving this award and thank you to FCLMA for their continued support of arts and culture. Music plays a vital role in the face of racism and oppression and I just want to make people happy with my gift of music."

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ECH partner's with the Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Program at Western University

ECH welcomes Ira Kazi as a Contributing Editor

ECH welcomes Mary Lou and Dan Smoke to the Advisory Circle

Award winning musician Lorraine Klaasen joins ECH Advisory Circle

Lorraine Klaasen Receives the 2020 Forest City London World Music Award

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