Archives Access: Warren Arcand

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre. We support a multidisciplinary program that provides opportunities to artists working across music, media art, visual art, performance, and literature to create and present work.

Western Front

An evening of archival excerpts showcasing the performance-based works of artist, writer, and educator Warren Arcand.

<p>Western Front and grunt gallery is pleased to present <em><em>Archives Access: Warren Arcand</em></em>, an evening of archival excerpts showcasing the performance-based works of artist, writer, and educator Warren Arcand.</p><p>Arcand was a Cree artist from the Muskeg Lake and Big River First Nations. His multidisciplinary practice spanned performance art, film and video, theatre, and text-based projects. He taught at the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design and served as artistic director of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto. This event honors Arcand’s life and contributions as an active member of Vancouver’s thriving Indigenous arts community between the 1980s and 2000s. Selections from the archives of Western Front and grunt gallery offer a glimpse into a specific period of his creative output, highlighting the quirky, cerebral, and playful qualities that defined his practice.</p><p>Curator Aaron Rice will speak alongside the excerpts, offering insights and context. Tea and bannock by Raven and Hummingbird will also be served.</p><p>It will be an evening to reflect, connect, and remember a remarkable and charismatic artist—giving the public an opportunity to engage with and appreciate Arcand’s legacy ahead of a celebration of life on November 15, 2025 (details <a href="https://westernfront.ca/events/celebration-of-life-warren-arcand" title="https://westernfront.ca/events/celebration-of-life-warren-arcand" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>). </p>

<h3>About the Artist</h3><p>Warren Arcand (1966–2025) was a Cree performance artist, writer, educator, and musician, whose family comes from the Muskeg Lake and Big River First Nations. His work spanned performance art, film and video, theatre, and text-based projects. He taught at the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design in Vancouver and served as artistic director of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto. Although he lived in several Canadian cities, Warren considered Galiano Island his home for over twenty-five years, after moving there to join the Gulf Islands Film and Television School.</p>

<h3>About the Curator</h3><p>Aaron Rice is an emerging interdisciplinary artist and curator of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) Nation. His work combines the mediums of printmaking, video, textiles, and sculpture. His work focuses on the manipulation and assemblage of materials, employing the elements of movement, pattern, and indigenous cultural reference. His work is informed by teachings of the land and traditional forms of artmaking. He seeks to explore concepts of indigeneity, queerness, and land/spirit relations. He completed his BA in visual arts with a minor in curatorial studies from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He is currently an intern at Daphne in Montreal and he is enrolled in the curatorial studies certificate at Concordia.</p>

<h3>Accesibility</h3><p>The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream <a href="https://vimeo.com/event/5497943?fl=so&amp;fe=fs" title="https://(https://vimeo.com/event/5497943?fl=so&amp;fe=fs)" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>. ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please contact us at <a href="mailto:info@westernfront.ca" title="mailto:info@westernfront.ca" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">info@westernfront.ca</a> or +1 (604) 876 9343 to arrange. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found <a href="https://westernfront.ca/pages/visit#accessibility" title="https://westernfront.ca/pages/visit#accessibility" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p>

<h3>Acknowledgements</h3><p>Presented in partnership with grunt gallery, with support from the Hamber Foundation.</p>

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Archives Access: Warren Arcand

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Archives Access: Warren Arcand

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