aunties | anti art exhibition
In many Indigenous families and communities, aunties are the ones that carry tradition. Aunties provide counsel, mentorship, and guidance, and are someone to turn to. Aunty is a term of endearment, one that recognizes a bond of kinship and relationship.
Being an aunty is an honour, and a responsibility.
The role of the aunty extends across cultures. In 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, we can think about the roles of chosen family providing support and mentorship, and passing on knowledge. In this way, “aunty” transcends gender and centers relationality and social bonds. In Latin America while societies have grown within the frame of patriarchy it is common knowledge that multigenerational families are ruled by women; the role of aunts is one of complicit support. Aunties are a “renewable resource”, and for some, a right: to be an auntie, and to be auntied.
Celebrating our aunties across cultures, this exhibit channels “big aunty energy”. Big aunty energy is a presence, a demand and statement that we are included in narratives and actions from which we – Indigenous women, racialized, queer –have historically been excluded, rewriting history from our perspectives. Big aunty energy is love, understanding, and a soft place to land. And, the aunty represents anti-colonialism. In this way, the exhibit explores the “anti” as well: centering aunties as an act of anti-colonialism, anti-racism, and anti-oppression.
Aunties | Anti summons celebration, power, protest, and strength.
The exhibit features works from Mount Royal University students Alaskan Manywounds and Avery Follett, and the Jellybean Collective (Jaime Waucaush-Warn, Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane, Gloria Pérez-Rivera, Celeste Pang). It is on view at Mount Royal University until December 2025. Read more and access exhibit audio at: https://auntiesantimru.com/
socioecologies & economies of migration | socioecologías y economías de la migración
Socioecologies & Economies of Migration is a collective of Latin American-born Canadian researchers, artists, and activists working together to examine Latin American migration to Canada. We seek to address South-North human mobility through an interdisciplinary research-action method guided by principles of social justice. Using art as a knowledge transfer method, we mobilize our convergent interests in indebtedness, displacement and environmental racism to co-design meaningful research identified by the communities we work with. Socioecologies & Economies of Migration was co-founded in 2020 by Columba González-Duarte and Gloria C. Pérez-Rivera.
Socioecologías y economías de la migración es un colectivo de investigadores, artistas y activistas canadienses nacidos en América Latina que trabajan juntos para examinar la migración de América Latina a Canadá. Buscamos abordar la movilidad humana Sur-Norte a través de un método interdisciplinario de investigación-acción guiado por principios de justicia social. Utilizando el arte como método de transferencia de conocimiento, movilizamos nuestros intereses convergentes en el endeudamiento, el desplazamiento y el racismo ambiental para codiseñar investigaciones significativas identificadas por las comunidades con las que trabajamos.
Winter Workshop 2024
In 2024 our arts & dialogue workshop was hosted by Mount Royal University faculty, and explored decolonial approaches to understanding migration and migration experiences. Students participated in four online sessions featuring special guest presenters and social arts, and co-create a collective digital mural.
Session 1: The Decolonizing Power of Collective Art Across Border, Melanie Schambach
Session 2: LGBTQ+ Migrations, Dr. Celeste Pang, Mount Royal University
Session 3: Stranded in Arrival: Remediations of Refugee Displacement in Austerity Greece, Dr. George Mantzios, Program Co-Director, Pelion Summer Lab for Cultural Theory and Experimental Humanities
Session 4: Workers Needed: The Rise of Mexican Migration to Canada, Gloria C. Pérez-Rivera, Mount Royal University
How can we strengthen our connections with both people and the environment, deepen our understanding of one another, collaborate effectively as a global community, and envision a more hopeful future despite the current uncertainties and challenges?
Summer Course 2021
Art piece created by 2021 course participants. Facilitated and edited by Melanie Schambach.
In August 2021, we hosted our first summer course for undergraduate and masters’ students, activists, scholars, and artists interested in Latin American migrations to Canada. This 4-day course was a space for sharing knowledge, developing research-action projects, and building networks across disciplines and communities. It was a multi-model, conversational, art-based learning approach facilitated by scholars, migrant justice organizers, and artists. This Summer Course was funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Mount Saint Vincent University.
contact | contacto: gperezrivera@mtroyal.ca
© Copyright 2026 Gloria C. Pérez-Rivera
Gloria C. Pérez-Rivera, MD PhD 