DREAM is a contemporary adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that explores questions of class, gender, authorship, and belonging through the perspective of Shakespeare’s Mechanicals, performed at the Village Theatre, Naramata BC (photo credit: Heiko Ryll www.heikoryll.com )

Theatre has the power to bring people together, spark conversation, and connect communities to their history.

With support with the UBC Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) funding, Denise Kenney was able to continue their long-standing collaboration with Tempest Theatre in Penticton, helping bring high-quality, community-engaged theatre to audiences across the South Okanagan.

Denise Kenney is an Associate professor teaching theatre and performance in the Department of Creative Studies at UBC Okanagan. Kenney has collaborated with the Tempest Theatre & Film Society on multiple artistic and educational initiatives.

“This partnership grew from our shared interest in performance creation, embodied storytelling, and community engaged arts practice,” she explains.

Kenney has contributed as an artist, educator, and collaborator on Tempest projects, while Tempest has provided opportunities to connect research creation with professional artistic practice and community engagement.

This summer, Kenney contributed to Tempest’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, reimagined by Artistic Director Kate Twa, as a contemporary work that offered both playful entertainment and thoughtful commentary, particularly on women’s experiences.

DREAM is a contemporary adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that explores questions of class, gender, authorship, and belonging through the perspective of Shakespeare’s Mechanicals.

The production was staged at the historic Village Theatre on the grounds of Van Westen Vineyards in Naramata, formerly the Naramata Home Theatre. The project helped spark renewed interest in local history, with archival research on the historic venue presented to audiences alongside performances, explains Kenney.

“In this way, the production connected contemporary artistic practice with community heritage, creating a shared cultural experience for residents,” Kenney says.

The project highlights the importance of community connections in the arts. It also builds on Tempest Theatre & Film Society’s ongoing commitment to develop new, relevant and challenging work that enriches creative community conversations in the South Okanagan.

“Live performance is uniquely positioned to foster dialogue with communities in real time, and meaningful artistic work often grows out of ongoing relationships with the people and places where it is created,” she adds.

By supporting collaborations like this one, universities can help ensure that research, creativity, and artistic expertise extend beyond campus boundaries.

While UBC Okanagan is based in Kelowna, community-engaged projects often take place throughout the region. The funding helped offset travel and participation costs, making it easier to bring university resources and expertise to communities such as Penticton.

Although universities rightly celebrate international research and globally recognized scholarship, community-engaged work serves an equally important purpose.

“We want this community to be a place that people want to live and stay, and so bringing the projects we work on here at a university into the community helps enriches what our local community has to offer,” Kenney says.

Projects like this demonstrate how arts funding can create lasting value, supporting vibrant local culture, preserving community history, and fostering the kinds of connections that make communities places where people want to live, stay, and thrive.

Feminist and queer zines have long been powerful cultural tools used in shaping social movements and preserving marginalized histories, and researchers are now examining how to safeguard their future. Zines are hand-made self-published booklets or magazines.

Dr. Barbara Dynda is a post-doctoral researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on feminist and queer grassroots culture, history and activism in the post-socialist era. She is currently a Visiting Scholar in Residence with the ReMedia Infrastructure for Research and Creation (ReMedia) at UBC Okanagan, where she will work with Drs. Emily Murphy and Maria Alexopoulos on research and creative initiatives. Murphy and Alexopoulos are faculty members in the Department of English and Cultural Studies.

ReMedia, led by Dr. Murphy, supports research that combines cultural memory, media, and embodied methods. ReMedia projects investigate a range of subjects, including comics, literature, performance, social media platforms, memes, modernist robots—and now zines.

Dynda’s role as the ReMedia Visiting Scholar in Residence will expand the multimedia cultural memory-focused research program of ReMedia to include expertise in European and Post- Soviet queer and feminist studies. This visit builds on a long-standing collaboration with Dynda and Alexopoulos through the Polish-German project Queer IT – Queer Theory in Transit, where they work together on archives in Germany and Poland.

During her visit to UBC Okanagan, Dynda will work on the digitization of a collection of zines from post-socialist Poland with International Student Undergraduate Research Award winner, Soha Aftab, a student in English and Cultural Studies. She will also collaborate with Drs. Murphy and Alexopoulos on a forthcoming edited volume on transnational feminist and queer archives, which will be considered for publication by Rutgers University Press.

Feminist and queer zines have significantly influenced feminist discourses, practices, and identities, and the rise of far-right governments has made ephemeral cultural heritage materials, including queer and feminist materials, vulnerable on a global scale, explains Dr. Dynda.

“The DIY, ephemeral production and circulation of zines plays a significant role in the dissemination of activist narratives, biographies, and ideas,” she adds.

They reinforce the spirit of community and solidarity among queer and feminist circles record and commemorate the herstories of women, and circulate in activist and creative communities far beyond the university.

“With this project, we are working to answer how scholars, memory workers, artists, and activists can work to build strategies for transnational solidarity in preserving and circulating queer and feminist archives,” says Dr. Alexopoulos.

To do so, the team will digitize a sample case study of Polish queer and feminist zines, use that case study to build Polish and Canadian partnerships, and conceptualize an edited collection that expands their collaboration.

Dynda has gathered a unique archive of post-1989 (anarcha) feminist zines in Warsaw as part of her ongoing research and activism. Digitizing this collection and developing an appropriate strategy for its preservation and circulation will contribute to the edited volume.

On July 23rd, the team is hosting a symposium to showcase some of Dynda’s work, and will include other zines and collections by Dr. George Grinnell’s Punk Pedagogy Project. Dynda and Grinnell will present this work in conversation with Alexopoulos and Murphy. This event is free and open to all and will take place at UBC Okanagan in the Sawchuk Theatre from 10am until noon.

Soha Aftab, (BA major in Cultural Studies), is organizing a public event featuring a physical and digital exhibition of a collection of (anarcho)-feminist and queer zines from Poland, alongside a short talk about the value and importance of these zines, by Aftab. The event will take place on August 10th from 4:30-6 in the Okanagan Special Collections, there will also be a zine-making workshop that encourages people to make their own zines as a form of research creation.

This visit is made possible with support from the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and funding from the International Visiting Scholar fund through the Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation at UBC Okanagan. Aftab’s summer research is supported by the FCCS International Student Research Award.

Dr. Barbara Dynda, Visiting Scholar in Residence with the ReMedia Infrastructure for Research and Creation

About Dr. Barbara Dynda

Dr. Barbara Dynda is a post-doctoral researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on feminist and queer grassroots culture, history and activism in post-socialist era. She is a recipient of a Duke University scholarship and research grants from the Polish National Science Centre. Dynda is a member of research projects: CCINDLE (coordinated by University of Amsterdam) and QUEER IT (Humboldt University in Berlin and University of Warsaw). Her work has been published, among others, by Routledge, University of Toronto Press, and Atlantis. She is currently working on a book about Polish anarcho-feminist and queer zines, which will be published by the University of Massachusetts Press in fall 2026.

Kaylie Walker (right), with fellow student Zadie McLeod (left) with ECS Department Head Jordan Stouck (centre) at the FCCS reception following convocation on June 4.

Kaylie Walker graduated from UBC Okanagan with a Bachelor of Arts in the spring of 2026. She completed a major in Political Science and a minor in Communications and Rhetoric.

“My passion for political communications began in high school through speech and debate, where I became fascinated by the power of language and how word choice and delivery can shape meaning and influence different audiences,” she says. “I was confident in pursuing Political Science, I initially felt unsure how to build the practical communication skills I was looking for without a journalism option.”

That changed in her second year when she enrolled in communications and rhetoric courses through the Department of English and Cultural Studies. In these classes Walker says that she learned the importance of active versus passive listening and the ethics of research, which continue to shape how she approaches communication, developed key career skills such as networking, building a strong professional presence, and navigating interviews and workplace culture.

In a class dedicated to public speaking and advocacy she took in her final year, Walker notes: “This experience emphasized teamwork, community engagement, and real-world action through tabling initiatives and gathering signatures to support change on campus.”

In the final Communications capstone project in collaboration with University Relations at UBC Okanagan, she gained hands on experience, built meaningful connections, and presented to stakeholders.

“These practical experiences played a direct role in helping me build my portfolio and secure my current position as Parliamentary and Communications Assistant for Stephen Fuhr. I now look forward to applying both my academic background and hands on experience to serve constituents and represent Kelowna in Ottawa.”

Bachelor of Arts students getting ready to cross the stage

On June 4^th faculty and staff in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies attended the graduation ceremony at UBC Okanagan, proud to congratulate all of the students who completed their degrees in 2026.

This year four doctoral students, five Interdisciplinary Studies Masters students, one Masters of Arts in English students, ten Masters of Fine Arts students, seventy-one Bachelor of Arts students, twenty-three Bachelor of Fine Arts students, and seventeen Bachelor of Media Studies students are graduating with their degrees.

Dean Bryce Traister congratulated all of our graduates: “As new graduates, you have so much to contribute. Go forward with the courage to challenge, to create, and to do the kind of work that changes how people see the world around them.”

Our FCCS graduates, their guests, our faculty and staff continued the celebrations of the day at a reception held in the Creative and Critical Studies building after the ceremony. Dean Traister raised a glass to toast this year’s graduating class and their families.

“Congratulations to all of you who crossed the stage. You have all done a great thing, and will continue to do so not just for yourselves, but for the rest of us. It is important for us to retain the human in relation to each other and something that we need to care about for our futures, and we need more of you and continue to work in the spaces of the arts and humanities. I salute you and thank your families and friends and all the people who helped get you to this moment.”

Images below show our students getting ready to cross the stage and attending the reception after convocation.

FCCS is also pleased to recognize the achievements of the following graduating or continuing students who received awards for their outstanding academic performance this year:

• Olivia Allen, Dr. Shelley Martin Memorial Scholarship
• Kamila Bennett, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Languages Scholarship
• Sonja Berg, Creative Studies Award in Media Studies
• Pippa Bingham, Okanagan Visual Arts Scholarship
• Averi Boerboom, Creative Studies Award in Fine Arts
• Sara Bursey, Campbell Family Graduate Award in Fine Arts
• Finley Cole, Craig Hall Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship in Printmaking
• Trinity David, Creative Studies Award in Fine Arts
• Charlotte Dowell, Kelly Curtis Memorial Scholarship in English; Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Spanish Scholarship
• Talia Gagnon, Norma and Jack Aitken Prize in Visual Arts
• Brynn Garvey, Creative Studies Transfer Prize in Creative Writing
• Georgia Goerz, Asper Scholarship
• Ivo Guidi, Doug Biden Memorial Scholarship in Visual Arts
• Garvin Leblanc, Asper Graduating Prize
• Sophie-Anne Lefebvre, Asper Scholarship
• Ariel Leung, Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies Media Studies Scholarship
• Grant Malcolm, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Media Studies program
• Pablo Montero, The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies International Student Award
• Ashley Mori, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies French Scholarship; Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies French Essay Prize
• CJ Ozee, Elinor Yandel Memorial Award in Fine Arts
• Stevie Poling, SOPA Fine Arts Emerging Artist Award
• Neela Rader, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Cultural Studies Scholarship
• Ains Reid, Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies Art History & Visual Culture Scholarship
• Brendan Russell, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Media Studies program
• Sumire  Shiozaki, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Visual Arts Scholarship
• Stephen Taylor, Jessie Ravnsborg Memorial Award
• Chris Urban, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies English Scholarship
• Ana Vallejo, Perez Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Creative Writing Scholarship; Creative Writing Prize
• Peony Wong, Deans Award for Artistic Excellence in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program
• Johee Yeom, Creative Studies Award in Media Studies
• Tianyu Zhang, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies International Student Award

The FCCS Dean’s Honour list recognizes students in all years of the BA, BMS, and BFA degrees, who are at the top of their class with a GPA of 85% or better.

BACHELOR OF ARTS STUDENTS

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS STUDENTS

BACHELOR OF Media STudies STUDENTS

The MDes program learning in Woodhaven Regional Park.

UBC Okanagan’s Master of Design (MDes) professional graduate program recently welcomed its inaugural cohort of students.

Rooted in critical design thinking, creative practice and design principles, the program—collaboratively delivered by the School of Engineering (SoE) and Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS)—empowers students to tackle real-world challenges alongside industry, community and public sector partners.

In this blog series, Professor Dr. Kenneth Chau and the MDes Team reflect on the cohort’s journey as they work together to solve pressing societal problems and embrace new ways of learning, teaching and innovating.

Read the full blog post

Liam graduated from the Bachelor of Media Studies program in the spring of 2026. He says he chose the program as it blends creativity and technology, and allows for a lot of flexibility with the courses he could take.

“I’ve always been interested in creating things, even back in high school, I was experimenting with art in a pretty casual way. So having a program that builds on that creative interest while opening doors to different paths really appealed to me.”

Liam first joined UBC Okanagan in the Fine Arts program, but after his first year he realized he wanted something that felt like a better fit.

“When I looked into the Bachelor of Media Studies program, it just clicked—there are so many directions you can take it, whether that’s working in technology, design work, or pursuing something more creative.”

During his degree, he focused more on design and user experience, noting that a lot of his class projects have helped him build a professional portfolio.

“Having that hands-on work and feedback gave me confidence in my skills and even led to freelance design opportunities after graduation.”

In the 4th year of the program, students develop their projects for a full academic year.

For his capstone project, Liam created an art installation called generative imagery via neurofeedback. He used an electroencephalogram headband that reads your brain frequencies and connected it to a program called TouchDesigner, which turns those signals into visual outputs.

Liam explains that the visuals on screen—like the movement of a circle or a grid of 200 by 200 dots—are driven directly by your brain activity.

“One of the pieces is a monochromatic particle system where the harder you concentrate, the more the dots move, flow, and shift in color, with subtle delays between red, green, and blue. It’s all about translating concentration into something visual.”

Liam has been able to continue developing this work in the Critical Futures Studio Lab, working with Dr. Megan Smith, a professor from the program, and director of the lab.

“We’ve basically just been working on one of her big projects, implementing biofeedback, neurofeedback, and just sort of bringing the skills I learned in the program into a different area of artistic practice.”

See more about this generative imagery via neurofeedback project on Liam’s web site.

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) is honoured to be the presenting sponsor of Opera under the Stars for 2026.

Join us on Thursday, June 25th in the central courtyard of UBC’s Okanagan campus for an outdoor evening concert, hosted by Opera Kelowna, featuring a quartet of professional opera singers. Artists will perform favourite songs from well-known operas, as well as a music of other genres and perhaps a surprise performance or two.

“We are proud to support Opera Kelowna and to contribute to the intellectual and cultural life of our community through this partnership. This event has been welcomed on our campus for more than a decade, and we are delighted to continue opening our doors to both residents and visitors,” says Bryce Traister, Dean of FCCS. “Each year, it offers a unique opportunity to experience exceptional operatic talent in a relaxed, beautiful outdoor setting, bringing people together to celebrate the arts in a truly special way.”

Bring your favourite blanket or festival chairs and settle on the lawn for a glorious evening under the stars. The site opens at 6:30 pm., and the performance begins at 8 pm and will run a little over one hour. 

Event Details and Ticket Registration 

Interested in volunteering?

We are looking for UBCO staff to fulfill wayfinding roles for the event. Volunteers would be located around the main campus, liaising with guests arriving and directing them to the check-in desk, answering UBC questions, and being one of the first UBC points of contact. Email fccs.ubco@ubc.ca to sign up now! (volunteers do not need to reserve a ticket)

Winners of the 2026 Student Okanagan Film Festival. Left to right: Michael V. Smith, Astrida Neimanis (accepting on behalf of Clara Kleininger Wanik), Riley Palmer, Erin Scott, Ariel Leung, Ana Vallejo Pérez

A public screening for the annual Student Okanagan Film Festival was held on campus on April 27, 2026.

The festival showcases emerging student filmmakers from high schools and post-secondary institutions around the Okanagan Valley.

“This year’s program was very diverse. We saw a full range of genres and what really stood out were all the video poems, and we selected more video poems than any previous screening,” says Michael V. Smith, co-organizers and judges for the festival.

The 2026 festival Jury members were FCCS faculty members Dan Keyes, Michael V Smith, Myron Campbell, and Jacen Dennis, and the student reps were Gabriela Chan, Samantha Chen & Ana Vallejo Pérez.

“With such a diverse selection, we didn’t have clear categories for awards this year and instead, we chose to award the top 5 films, nominated and voted upon by the jury,” says Myron Campbell, co-organizer and judge. “In general, the quality was so high that we actually ended up with the longest program in the festival’s history, which is a great problem to have.”

Awards were given to:

• My ancestors and my children by Erin Scott
• Deer Song by Riley Palmer
• Thirsty by Clara Kleininger Wanik
• Hidden Light by Ariel Leung
• dreaming, again by Ana Vallejo Pérez

Films selected for the festival were:

• There is a Small One inside me, by Kel Taylor
• Agent Allo, by Kaleb Sproule
• Birds, by Mariana Perez
• Ada and the Creature, by Elvira Walsh
• Thirsty Clara, by Kleininger Wanik
• BREAKDOWN – Music Video, by Lorenzo Rodrigues
• Beach Baby, by Ella Schmor
• Cicada Rhythm, by Erika Lachance
• Deer Song, by Riley Palmer
• Two Worlds Apart by Adam Carter
• Depleted, by Gudmund Rothing
• dreaming, again, by ana vallejo p√©rez
• Galaxy T.V, by Handro Hougan
• In Motion, by Grant Malcolm
• Léa (et moi), by SophieAnne Lefebvre
• Untitled Star, by Alex Boldt
• my ancestors and my children, by Erin Scott
• Growth, by Stephanie Lu
• Fishy Friends, by Jundan Diao
• To the artist who remembers, by Gabriela Chan
• Shark Bait, by Shayne Hitchens
• Snowday, by Sarah Walter
• The Shadow, by Gigi Yang
• RAW, by Erika Rios Prado
• Hidden Light, by Ariel Leung

Media Studies alumni Brenna Lam Kennedy was also selected to create the branding and graphics and poster design for this year’s festival.

View the full 2026 Student Okanagan Film Festival reel:

Group shot of graduate student organizers and attendees

The FCCS Graduate Conference The Road Taken: Along The Way was held this past weekend on April 24^th and April 25^th, 2026. Organized by a team of graduate and undergraduate student representatives, this conference provided an opportunity for students to share their research with peers, faculty, and the community at large.

Please find a recap of the events below, from the Lead Organizer of the event, Sharmila Ghanekar:

The Road Taken: Along The Way began with opening remarks from the MA English Program Coordinator Michael Treschow. Our first panel began shortly after, titled “Alternative Paths to Survival, ” with presentations from Lianna Raisanen (MA English UBC Van) and Nida Firdaus (MA English UBC Ok). Their presentations touched on the different paths that diasporic communities take in search of survival – with Liana discussing the temporal and spatial multiplicities in diasporic life, and Nida examining counter publics in sex work communities through the film Gangubai Kathiawadi. We moved swiftly into our second panel, “Identity and Transformation,” with Ophelia Fraser analyzing Virgina Woolf’s Orlando as a modernist bildungsroman.

All presenters and attendees then convened in the Graduate Collegium for a lunch, catered by Naked Café, before returning (much less hungry) for an Indigenous Storytelling collective discussion with Anona Kampe. Anona Kampe is a knowledge keeper from the Penticton Indian Band. She shared with us an engaging, enlightening, and deeply moving telling of captikʷł, or traditional Indigenous Storytelling. She told us the story of “How Names Were Given,” after which we were each individually encouraged to share our personal responses to the story. Having this session as part of the conference called for our attention to our individual positionality while on the unceded, traditional, ancestral land of the Syilx peoples. This session was a fantastic way to frame our conference theme of The Road Taken: Along The Way as we question the paths, journeys and roads we find ourselves upon.

We then returned to our panel presentations, this time with an Honours Undergraduate Roundtable, “Contemporary Resistance and Revolution.” Presentations were given by English Honours students Nimrat Kaur Dhaliwal, and Charlotte Lucina Mejias Dowell. Examining both the revolutionary power of cringe, and the possibilities of turning the fascist gaze, these presentations inspired a thoughtful and interesting conversation.

Our final panel for our first day, “Nonhuman Animals and Political Ecology” had three fascinating presentations. Caio Shindo Souto, an MA IGS: Digital Arts and Humanities student, presented his 3D rendering of Kelowna in 2100 – as a visual reflection of the climate crisis. He offered a few key solutions to the receding lake, as well as some thoughts on the species that will be impacted by this local climate breakdown. Felisha Anderson, an MA IGS: Power Conflict and Ideas student, discussed the power of grieving the deemed ‘ungrievable’ in regards to road-killed animals. She examined the beauty that can be found in both life and death, while calling for multi-species justice. Oluwatoyin Fagbamila, an MA English student, examined D.H Lawrence’s poem “Snake,” to demonstrate the care within paying attention, and the power of disruptive encounters in shaping multi-species justice.

We returned on Day 2, well-rested and rejuvenated, for our Keynote presenter Joanna Cockerline. Joanna teaches English, Communications, and Creative Writing at UBCO. A CBC Literary Awards prizewinner and Pushcart Prize nominee, her novel Still, set in the unhoused and sex work communities of Kelowna, was longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize and named to CBC’s Fall Reading List. She is currently at work on a new climate novel, and sequel to Still, entitled We Are All Here. Her Keynote presentation titled, “Envisioning New Roads (That Might Not be Roads At All)” was an inspiring mixture of passages from her upcoming novel, as well as critical theoretical interventions regarding multi-species justice, climate breakdown, and the value of multiple voices in constructing a story.

Our final panel for the conference, “Community, Life Paths, and Roads to Peace,” had four impassioned presentations. Chinedum Onyinyechi Agwu (MA English) examined the reverberating impacts on the Igbo community following the Nigeria-Igbo war. She argues that the classroom can be a powerful site for acknowledging unacknowledged stories, as well as inspiring historical education. Brenda Hebert (MA IGS: Indigenous Knowledges) began her presentation with a traditional welcome song, and then went on to discuss the power of knowledge and knowledge keeping in cultivating your own journey. Nils Donnelly (MFA Creative Writing) presented his creative piece “Flyboys: Tethered and Torn on a Wayward Road,” where he explores themes of addiction, survival and friendship. Sharmila Ghanekar (MA English) examined the figural Child in Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel The Road, as a disruptive figure to heteropatriarchal narratives.

Following some closing remarks from Dr. Jodey Castricano, we split apart for the afternoon – going home to rest, eat and congratulate ourselves for making it down this road! We met again later that evening at Buffalo Rouge Brewing Co. for some celebratory drinks, appetizers and dinner to close off the event.

We are so unbelievable thankful for all those who presented or attended. Special thanks to Anona Kampe for inviting us into that collective space, and Joanna Cockerline for a thoughtful and remarkable Keynote. Thank you to those that provided funding, the English Department, FCCS, the Library and CoGS – your support was invaluable in making this event come to life. Thank you for all of the inspiring presentations, and fruitful conversations. We look forward to future Graduate conferences that can bring our academic community together! Below are a few photos taken during the presentations.

The FEELed research centre is celebrating its five-year anniversary later this month. Located at the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, this will be a day of celebration, community and sharing, as we look back on five years of questions, collaborations and contributions to thinking more deeply, joyfully and inclusively about environment and climate on syilx lands.

Dr. Astrida Neimanis, director of the FEELed Lab explains that it a creative research lab where researchers think about our human relationships to place, Land and the more-than-human world.

“We specifically ask how these relationships can foreground our own differences, through a feminist, anticolonial, antiracist, queer, and accessibility justice lens,” she says. “Our community includes students and university researchers, but also neighbours and other community members and groups. This includes the four-legged, winged, swimming, and photosynthesizing beings that live here!”

The five-year anniversary celebration will be held on Friday, March 27 with drop-in workshops from 9am to 4pm, followed by a keynote conversation from 4-6 pm between FEELed Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Sue Reid and globally renown feminist and queer ecologies scholar Professor Catriona Sandilands (space is limited for the talk, registration is required).

Find out more about the events and register for the keynote

We talked to Dr. Neimanis about the last five years and what to expect for this celebration.

What sorts of events have you run over the last 5 years?

We usually run about 30 different research events per year. These range from film screenings, to reading groups, to “Craft-a-strophe!” crafting workshops, to student-run study sessions, to visiting scholar or artist workshops. What unites them all is a common question: how can we humans, in all of our differences, learn to be in better relationship with the environments that support us?

Why is having this space important to you and your research?

A lab in the woods is a very different vibe than an office on campus! The FEELed Lab, located in the Bellevue Creek watershed in the unique and threatened forest ecology of Woodhaven on syilx lands, gives us a living lab for thinking about environmental relations. We don’t have to imagine these relations or responsibilities in the abstract: we can practice caring for and relating to what is right here.

What do you hope people will get out of this full day of events that celebrate the 5 years?

We want to celebrate the diversity and breadth of our work here! It is the accomplishment of so many people, that could only have been done as community. We want to remind everyone that research impact comes in many forms, and “measures of success” importantly include the quality of the relationships we are building. That’s the best indicator of sustainability, in its broadest sense. And research can also be playful, restful, nourishing and fun!