Image
Image Caption
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
Putting on a show involves plenty of logistics, and it’s even more challenging without funding. When representatives from the Northern Indigenous Artist Alliance (NIAA) received $12,000 from the Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Projects grant, they knew it was possible.
They could host Zikwaadan // Spit on It!, an online event featuring Indigenous clowns from across Northern Ontario. Even better, they could pay the artists.
The show will be live on YouTube on Jan. 26, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The show features Cree and Anishinaabe artists showcasing their talents and exploring the intersection of traditional clowning and drag performance.
Rihkee Strapp, who is Métis and the lead co-ordinator of the NIAA, said that the decision to apply for an OAC grant was because Tejhler LB, assistant co-ordinator of the show, wanted to learn how to run events. The collective’s role is to support emerging artists with administrative skills.
“I said that the NIAA helps people learn admin skills so I suggested we do the project together,” said Strapp, a practitioner with the Inner Arts Collective practitioner who also produces the Mad facts podcast.
Clowns are part of many Indigenous cultures and Strapp said the intersection of clowning and drag stems from the creative potential and blurred boundaries within both art forms as they learn more about the role of clowns in their clan and other Indigenous people.
“When I was younger, I was very punk rock, and didn't really like to go to a lot of community events, so I thought traditional culture wouldn't accept a little scoundrel like me,” they said. “But that was the great thing about learning about contrarians and clowns, as we do accept the little scoundrel like me.”
The drag scene, with its blurring of gender, made more sense to Strapp for their clowning. “Clown drag came out of the phenomenon of needing a space to do clowning outside of traditional venues like children’s birthday parties,” they said. “That’s never been my aspiration.”
Since they’ve become Miskwa the MAD clown prophet, they’ve learned more about the roles of clowns from friends across Canada.
“I've had friends from the East Coast who say, ‘I was just reading this book, and it's from a problematic anthropologist,’” they said. “Usually these books are, but it's still interesting, because it's talking about how we'd have our lodge keepers, but there would be clown lodge keepers where they're from, and so, you would go to either one and you would get the same result, but their methods might be different.”
The decision to have the show on YouTube versus an in-person event is to meet people where they’re at and give them the opportunity to see the show if they can’t make it to a live event.
As for the name Spit on It!, Strapp says it was suggested by Tejhler LB.
“As soon as Tejhler said it, I thought this was perfect, because there's been so much anti- LGBTQ+ action specifically targeting drag shows,” Strapp said.
One of Strapp’s friends told them the story of doing a ceremony on this mountain in Michigan, trying to protect it from development.
“There had been bad medicine put out, trying to get them to go away, and the Elder who was with them told them all to spit on it, because it was the most powerful medicine,” Strapp said. “And I thought, ‘That's so perfect for the time that we're in and what we're going through.’”
Miskwa the MAD clown prophet draws inspiration from King Khan, a Canadian musician/producer/artist/writer.
As host of Zikwaadan // Spit on It!, the plan is to blend humour and chaos with prophetic energy.
Another performer during the event will be Olive Boogits, a mustachioed drag performer who blends old-school glamour with vaudeville humor. She is known for her signature headscarf and a name that cheekily translates to ‘fart’ in Ojibwe.
Also performing during the event will be Jet E. Psychedelia, Mx. Honey-Jack and Clair Voyant.
Jet E. Psychedelia’s focus is on accessible creativity, described as “thriving within the limits of what can be shared online.”
Mx. Honey-Jack began performing in Ottawa’s drag scene after connecting with local trans communities. Their work showcases Indigenous and Latin American heritage and they have performed on stages in Kingston and Montreal.
Clair Voyant is inspired by Kate Bush and Austin Powers, and their aesthetic is described as rooted in cosmic flair and humour, blending absurdity with performance.