Cross-Border Dialogues is a series of conversations between arts programmers based in Canada and the United States. Participants will address a range of topics including the philosophies that inform their work, their methods for engagement, and the role of pedagogy and community outreach in their respective practices.

This iteration features Ryan Rice and heather ahtone.

Ryan Rice, Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawake, is a curator, critic and creative consultant based in Toronto. His institutional and independent curatorial career spans 30 years in community, museums, artist run centres, public spaces and galleries. Rice focuses his extensive curatorial research and writing on contemporary and Onkwehón:we art. In 2023, he co-curated the 2023 Bonavista Biennale (Newfoundland) and he was appointed to OCAD University’s Onsite Gallery as the Executive Director alongside his Curator, Indigenous Art post. He consistently contributes to multiple communities to advance leadership and organizational experiences in the arts and culture sector.

Dr. heather ahtone (Choctaw/Chickasaw Nation) is Director of Curatorial Affairs at First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her research examines the intersection between Indigenous cultural knowledge, art and museum practice. Working in the Native arts community since 1993, she has curated numerous exhibits, publishes regularly, and continues to seek opportunities to broaden discourse on global contemporary Indigenous arts. In addition to serving the Native arts community, she is on the editorial board for American Art Journal, is on multiple boards, including the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center, Association of Art Museum Curators, and the Native American Art Studies Association.

Presented with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and Guelph Community Foundation Community Fund.