Through The Venue, we aim to “acknowledge, learn about and amplify” Indigenous voices while addressing the following Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action: 

 

53. iv: “Promote public dialogue, public/private partnerships, and public initiatives for reconciliation”.  Once in our building, the HRPAF plans to be a place for critical, thought provoking, art that will advance the public’s appreciation of the arts.   As events present themselves, initiatives that promote dialogue about our shared colonial past and present colonial systems and structures will be encouraged in the spirit of reconciliation.

 

63. iii: “building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect”.  Through accessibility, inclusion and respect, it is the hope of the HRPAF that youth projects undertaken in our space will aim to build intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect. 

 

83. “... a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process”. One of the goals of the HRPAF is to provide opportunities for collaboration. 

 

92.i:  “Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with….. Projects”.  The HRPAF believes strongly that the role of a predominately settler community is to acknowledge, learn and amplify.  Meaningful intercultural relationships can only be obtained through respectful consultation and involvement with the Indigenous communities in and around High River.