Copper Circle is an interactive media art project facilitated by artists of Deer Crossing the Art Farm and the shíshálh Nation with the support of many artists and community members of all ages.
Emerging out of three years of collaborative engagement with shíshálh Knowledge Carriers, Indigenous and settler artists, and youth, Copper Circle aims to use copper art, interactive media and tactile learning to centre the stories and language of the shíshálh peoples. We explore ways of sharing and celebrating cultural knowledge and experiences, while acknowledging the impact of colonialism and the need to re-imagine the de-colonial present/future. We are fueled by and hold much gratitude for the opportunity to do this work in a creative and positive way.
Dates: 2022 – 2025
Partnered with:
shíshálh Nation
Ecos of the Swiya
Copper Circle created Ecos of the Swiya: a mobile interactive copper art installation to share the language of the shíshálh people. Through Ecos of the Swiya, Copper Circle shares the she shíshálhlem words for plants and animals, and the traditional stewards of the swiya (the shíshálh word for universe).
Copper Circle continues to include members of the shíshálh Nation and the local Sunshine Coast community through workshops and educational opportunities.
This project lead by Joah Lui, began with the work of artists Manuela Salinas, Aliya Craigan and Meera Shah – who designed and prototyped the first iteration of this project. Together they created an interactive copper installation that featured the artwork and language of the shíshálh people.
We brought this installation to public events, to summer camps, and held our own workshops for children and youth to explore the mediums of copper and I-STEAM technology featured in this project.
As this project grew and gained interest, it became clear that there was a desire for this piece to be shared more widely, and to find a permanent home within the shíshálh Nation. Our team then converted the original working model into two more sturdy interactive installations and shared these amazing new interactive sculptures with the wider community through demonstrations and interactive engagements in the community. Through this process we learned a lot about copper, soldering, wiring, and soundboards and were very glad to have the opportunity to work with more artists and knowledge carriers for the designs and language recordings featured in the two latest installations.
Mobile and interactive by design, Ecos of the Swiya acts as a tool for teaching, exploring, and sharing Indigenous language, ways of being, and creative technologies.
Thank you to our project funders:
