大象传媒

This event is presented by 大象传媒's David Lam Centre and The Japan Foundation.

How can art become a bridge between personal healing and collective resilience? This event brings together two acclaimed artists whose work spans Japan and Canada, exploring how storytelling, performance, and visual art can challenge historical narratives of marginalization while nurturing pathways of cultural survival and connection.

Together, Kanako Uzawa, a multidisciplinary artist, and Saki Murotani, a creative director and animator, invite audiences into a conversation about art as advocacy and a tool for policy and protocol, creativity as a healing force, and the importance of cross-cultural collaboration in reimagining both Indigenous and Japan-Canada futures. As part of the talk, they will discuss a pilot their upcoming animated short, 鈥淩imse,鈥� which highlights contemporary Ainu realities. Rooted in the Ainu worldview, Rimse tells a story of resilience, heritage, self-discovery, and self-empowerment. It celebrates Indigenous storytelling and contributes to conversations on identity, diversity, and decolonization鈥攁cross generations, and across oceans, from Japan to Canada.

This talk is part of a new pilot project initiated by Dr. Scott Harrison, a research fellow at 大象传媒's David Lam Centre for Asian Research, designed to create informal spaces for Japan-Canada dialogue and networking. This event offers a unique opportunity to engage in a grassroots initiative focused on enhancing Japan-Canada relations through diverse perspectives and informal exchanges. Supported by The Japan Foundation, this series will run from late March to October 2025.

Speaker Biographies

Kanako Uzawa, a multidisciplinary Ainu artist, scholar, and cultural advocate, will share her journey from grassroots activism in Hokkaido to international stages, where dance and multimedia art have become her language of healing and resistance. Her reflections draw from lived experiences of cultural loss, repatriation, and the fight for Indigenous rights in Japan.

Saki Murotani, a Vancouver-based creative director and animator originally from Hokkaido, Japan, will share her cross-cultural experience as a non-Indigenous artist collaborating with Indigenous communities in Canada over the past decade. Through film, illustration, and design, she highlights the power of Indigenous storytelling to deepen cross-cultural understanding and promote a more inclusive and respectful future.