Winter Solstice Celebration on December 20th


We’re hosting a Winter Solstice Celebration at Big Medicine Studio on December 20th from 5 – 8 pm. Join us for an evening of songs, stories, and celebration as we explore and share our multi-disciplinary arts project All My R(el)ations.

All My R(el)ations is a multi-year, inter-generational community-engaged arts project that explores and investigates historic Anishinaabe stories from this region through various forums and artistic disciplines. Focusing on themes of hunger, feasting, sharing, celebration, culture, healing, and transformation, these stories range from the imagined to the personal, often including the lived experiences of the participants and artists.

Art pieces and stories developed during our fall community-engaged workshop series will be presented and refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

For more information, please contact Sid or Penny at (705) 474-2227 or aanmitaagzi@gmail.com. You can also check out our event page on Facebook.

Fall Workshops are Back!

Aanmitaagzi is back with another series of community-engaged workshops for Fall 2024. The workshops are part of our current project, ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, which explores and examines the themes of relationality and resource capacity/scarcity. Through them we will be gathering, creating, and developing stories, installation materials, and performance pieces that will feed into the larger project and future presentations.

The workshops are free to attend, and no experience is necessary. All ages are welcome.

2024 FALL WORKSHOP SERIES

Movement Class with Penny Couchie
Mondays & Wednesdays from 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Contemporary dance and movement explorations to unleash our power and creativity. For movers of all ages and abilities.

Written & Visual Explorations with Aanmitaagzi
Mondays & Wednesdays from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Join Aanmitaagzi’s artists in exploring the stories and themes of All My R(el)ations through semi-guided written and visual activities such as poetry, spoken word, storytelling, drawing, painting, body-mapping, embroidery, textile work, and crafts. Materials will be provided, but you can also bring your own too!

All Ages Multi-Arts with Sherry Guppy & Sid Bobb
Tuesdays from 3:30 – 5:30 pm
A multi-arts drop-in class for artists of all ages. Activities will include drawing, painting, storytelling, crafts, dance, textile work, and more! Materials will be provided.

Community Dinner
Thursdays from 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm
A time to gather and share a meal with our artists, workshop participants, and community members each week.

Pow Wow Making & Jam Night with Sid Bobb & invited guest artists
Thursdays from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Weekly drop-in making & jam sessions for all things pow wow. Bring your regalia, beadwork, or other unfinished projects to work on or bring your voice and/or an instrument for singing, drumming, and dancing! Sid Bobb and other invited guest artists will be on hand to help out and join in the fun.

For more information, please contact Sid Bobb or Penny Couchie at aanmitaagzi@gmail.com or (705) 474-2227.

ASAP presenting at ON THE EDGE Fringe 2024

The poster for the ALL MY R(el)ATIONS presentation for the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival's 2024 Duality Program.

ALL MY R(EL)ATIONS
Presented by ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival
August 13th @ 8 pm
181 Oak St. W

Aanmitaagzi is extremely excited to be invited by the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival to once again participate in their 2024 Duality program.

For this year’s program, we will be presenting a live multi-arts performance from our current multi-year project ALL MY R(el)ATIONS. The presentation will include dancing, storytelling/spoken word, singing, drumming, and art installations, and will take place on the green space beside the Dionne Quints Museum (181 Oak St. W). The performance is about 40 minutes long and will begin around 8 pm. There is no admission fee and all are welcome. This is an outdoor performance so be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and to bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

Artist Statement

The artists and participants of this year’s Summer Arts Program have been working hard over the last six weeks to prepare for this presentation. The collaboratively created and performed work is an investigation and expression of indigenous dance and our myths. We have spent weeks singing, dancing, regalia making, story-telling, and travelling to pow wows. This performance has grown out of these activities and what lies in our hearts and minds.

The Aanmitaagzi Summer Arts Program (ASAP) is an 8-week intensive in indigenous performing and visual arts. Now in its seventeenth year, the program faculty is led by award winning and renowned professional indigenous artists and educators. Participants learn, share, express and create alongside our professional multi-arts team.

ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, our latest work-in-progress, explores our historic abundance in opposition to systemic oppression and poverty. How much of what we have now, is a ration; a small shadow of what we once had? What are we entitled to? What dances, stories, songs and language is our birthright?

ALL MY R(el)ATIONS explores historically rooted ways in which we make a return to abundance by connecting to ourselves and all of Creation.

This work is co-created and performed by:

Albany Benson, Sid Bobb, Penny Couchie, Ouske Couchie-Bobb, Niganii Dokis, Sherry Guppy, Autumn Hookimaw, Skyler Hookimaw, Mya Katt, Waseskwan Linklater, Malia Mathias-Mizzi, William McGrath, Darren Nakogee, Finn Rice, and Shania Splane.

With Special Guests:

Blair Beaucage, Katie Couchie, Brennan Govender, Olivia Shortt, Cody Sutherland, Ronnie Turner, and more!


Aanmitaagzi wishes to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Canada’s Canada Summer Jobs Program, Mushkegowuk Employment & Training Services, the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre’s Apatisiwin Program, and the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival for generously supporting this project and the 2024 Summer Arts Program.

Winter Solstice Celebration 2023

Poster for the 2023 Winter Solstice celebration.

To celebrate the season and our All My R(el)ations project, Aanmitaagzi will be hosting a Winter Solstice Celebration at Big Medicine Studio on December 15th from 5 – 8 pm. The evening’s festivities will include a community dinner, art making stations, a display of works developed through our Fall & Winter Workshops, as well as presentations of songs, stories, poetry, and comedic improv. There will also be an opportunity for you to share through the open mic portion of the evening. This event is free to attend, and all are welcome.

For more information, please contact Penny or Sid at (705) 474-2227 or email aanmitaagzi@gmail.com.

2023 Fall & Winter Workshop Series

The poster for the 2023 fall and winter workshop series.

Aanmitaagzi is back with another series of community-engaged workshops for the 2023 Fall & Winter season! The workshops are part of our current project, ALL MY R(el)ATIONS, which explores and examines the themes of relationality and resource capacity/scarcity. Through them we will be gathering, creating, and developing stories, installation materials, and performance pieces that will feed into the larger project and future presentations.

The workshops are free to attend and no experience is necessary. All ages are welcome except where noted.

Click here to download a printable 2023 Fall workshop calendar.

2023 Fall & Winter Workshop Series

All Ages Making with Sherry Guppy – Tuesdays, 3:30 – 5:15 pm
A multi-arts drop-in class for artists of all ages. Materials will be provided.

Dance with Penny Couchie – Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Contemporary dance and movement explorations to unleash our power and creativity.

Nishinaabemwin with Blair Beaucage – Wednesdays, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Fun and easy Nishinaabemwin language classes for learners of all ages and abilities.

NOTE: The Nishinaabemwin workshops will take place at Big Medicine Studio on November 7, November 22, and December 6, and at the Garden Village Community Hall on November 15, November 29, and December 13.

Elders’ Storytelling Luncheons – Thursdays, 12:00 – 2:30 pm
Have some lunch and an extra helping of stories and conversations with local Elders and knowledge keepers every Thursday afternoon at Big Medicine Studio.

Comedic Improv with Sid Bobb & Michaela Washburn – Thursdays, 4:00 – 6:00 pm Comedic improv is a great way to release your inner storyteller and have some fun! It teaches you how to think on your feet and work collaboratively while honing your listening skills and group awareness. In this workshop, participants will engage in improv ice breakers, exercises, and games while exploring principles of play, spontaneity, and listening. This workshop is for Ages 12 and up.

Yoga & Dance with Animikiikwe Couchie-Waukey – Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
The focus of these classes will be to build on our strengths and knowledge of our bodies, and gain freedom of motion, so that we can play and have fun. No yoga or dance experience necessary.

For more information, please contact Sid or Penny at aanmitaagzi@gmail.com or (705) 474-2227.