We’ve invited artists, activists, and academics to expand on the themes of the symposium with short video provocations.
Debbie Chachra lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is a Professor of Engineering at Olin College of Engineering, where she was among the earliest faculty. She is presently writing a book, supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and slated for publication in 2022 by Riverhead Books, that examines the complex relationship between infrastructural systems and society, including issues around equity and climate change. Prior to joining Olin, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in materials science and engineering, and she earned her PhD and a master’s degree, together with an undergraduate degree in engineering physics, from the University of Toronto. Her other research interests include engineering education and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and recognition and support for this work has included an NSF CAREER Award. She has written for outlets including The Atlantic, the journal Nature, and the comic book Bitch Planet.
Rob Ray (he/him) is a Los Angeles artist and designer examining technology in public/outdoor spaces through immersive installations, interactive electronics, experimental videos and sound compositions. Rob is a senior technical experience designer at Electronic Arts/Industrial Toys and was previously a human-centered designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he led the design practice for ProtoSpace, the lab’s flagship augmented reality (AR) platform. Rob also co-hosts the Opposable Thumbs podcast with Taylor Hokanson. They chat with guests from all backgrounds and passions/professions about their creative process.
Community organizer and MiningWatch Canada cofounder, Joan Kuyek, is the author of ‘Unearthing Justice: How To Protect Your Community From the Mining Industry.’ “Whether it is to stop a mine before it starts, to get an abandoned mine cleaned up, to change laws and policy, or to mount a campaign to influence investors, Unearthing Justice is an essential handbook for anyone trying to protect the places and people they love.” – Between the Lines Editor
nicole marie burton is an Illinois-born, Ontario based activist and illustrator. Since founding the Ad Astra Comix publishing collective in 2015, she has worked to build the public profile of comics as a medium for communicating complex and important ideas.
Her most recent work includes ‘WONDER DRUG: LSD in the Land of Living Skies’ (Between the Lines Press, 2021) with Hugh Goldring (writer) and based on the research of Dr. Erika K Dyck about Canada’s unique medical history with LSD; and ‘Enemy Alien: A True Story of Life Behind Barbed Wire‘ (Between the Lines Press, 2020) a graphic memoir of a Ukrainian internee in Canada’s First World War internment camps.
nicolemariecomix.wordpress.com
@nicolemcomix on twitter
@adastracomix on instagram
Tasha Beeds is an Indigenous scholar of nêhiyaw, Metis, and mixed Bajan ancestry from the Treaty 6 territories of Saskatchewan. She is also a kôhkom, an Aunty, a creative artist, a poet, a community engaged Water/Land activist, a Water Walker, and a Mide-kwe from Minweyweywigaan Lodge out of Roseau River First Nations and Wiikwemkoong, Manitoulin Island.
Myra J. Hird, D.Phil., QNS, FRSC is a Professor in the School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Canada. Hird is Director of Waste Flow and a prolific author.