Carmel A. Whittle
Welcome to my website
Carmel Whittle is an accomplished Irish, Mik’maq visual artist, musician and song writer, educator and Independent filmmaker hailing from Newfoundland – a province whose harsh beauty and strong people have moulded her into an artist with a deep understanding of the struggle that Indigenous people in this country are going through.
Her work as a cultural community artist and Indigenous liaison supports her striving and thriving in decolonized community arts, and she has animated discussion groups specific to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls To Action in the arts. She is founder of the Indigenous Artists Coalition and a member of the Thunderbird Sisters Collective and the Multicultural Artists Coalition. A recent community project includes the No Borders Art Festival, developed, directed and curated with the Indigenous and Multicultural Artists Coalitions in collaboration with community partners Saw Video, Art-engine, G101, the Thunderbird Sisters and the Eagle & Condor Collective.
Most recent Films: Please contact the artist for screening films at whittlecarm@gmail.com
2022 There is No Word: Director/producer/editor
2020 Bringing The Land To The City: Directer/ Producer/Editor
2020: 1 Contrary 5 Agokwe-nini
Created during a residency at SAW Video, Whittle’s Bringing the Land to the City honours the essential elements of the planet: air, water, earth and fire. It draws us across creeks, waterfalls and inland woods, through fire, to the wind and the ocean using slow motion and sound to create a hypnotic connection to each element. The land speaks for itself with the underlying sound of the creek – a soundscape making its way through the scenes and holding a space of continuity, of the journey towards the ocean and renewal. The whales keep history. Slow motion framing encourages viewers to discover their own relationships with the elements. This film is a tribute to the land, the air, the waters and the fire from Whittle’s Newfoundland and Labrador Mi’kmaq/Beothuk homeland to the Algonquin territory where Whittle has been a guest for half of her life.
1 Contrary 5 Agokwe-nini co-directed with Howard Adler a documentary talk show The film will be screened in Toronto Inside Out Festival 2019, we are honoured to share this important film more information about the film. We are grateful for the support of Gallery 101, Ottawa Public Library, Centretown Community Centre Ottawa.
About: 1 Contrary 5 Agokwe-nini
In Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language), the world is structured around the animacy of the universe – animate/inanimate, or in simpler terms living/dead – it is not structured around gender – masculine/feminine, him/her – such as many European languages. Thus in the Ojibwe worldview, it can be said that we’re less concerned with one’s gender and more focused on living a good life. In Anishinaabemowin, there are words that were traditionally used to describe people who chose to dress and live as a woman or a man, regardless of the gender they were born into. They took on the gender-roles they felt most comfortable in and this was normal and socially accepted in traditional Anishinaabeg communities. If someone was assigned female at birth, but later in life chose to take on the gender-roles of a man, they were called Agokwe-Nini, which literally translates as ‘wise-woman-man’. Another word is Ogichidaakwe (Warrior woman), which was also used to describe someone that was born female but chose to take on the gender-roles of a man. The film “1 Contrary 5 Agokwe-Nini” is a talk-show style documentary film hosted by the one and only ‘contrary’ Alik Beavers (aka Sharp Dopler), and features 5 Agokwe-nini guest speakers: Ashley Grenstone, Benny Michaud, Theo Paradise-Ottawa, Kole Peplinski and Carmel Whittle.
Meet the crew:
“Breaking Through To The Sun” 4 x 4 on oak panel board
I am so honoured that my painting was chosen by Carleton University Student Mental Health Advisory Committee 2016 Carleton University Friendship Bench.
Artist statement:
The upward motion of the whale pushing through the weight of gravity and reaching to the sky represents the struggles faced by those with mental health issues. The bright yellow sun breaking through symbolizes the power of light inside all of us. The whale represents the human spirit rising through a great weight and the sun breaking through symbolizes support and care.
Below the original: “Breaking Through To The Sun”
Singer/songwriter/recording artist Percussionist
Below:
Glow fair Festival art on the street, Title: Honouring their lives, (2SLGBT+ lives)
Carmel Whittle 