Bio:
I am an artist-activist, researcher and educator in Vancouver, located on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish people, including the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. I recognize that I’m also living on the traditional territories of more-than-human life including bears, deers, raccoons, eagles, ravens, crows, hummingbirds, cedars, firs, salals and others.
My multispecies studio explores more-than-human creativity to develop kinships with local lifeforms and ecologies. I have a PhD from Simon Fraser University. I am Associate Professor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design where I teach New Media + Sound Arts, and I am co-director of the Basically Good Media Lab. I am currently working on creative co-productions with birds (Bird Park Survival Station), and sound art experiences within old-growth forest ecologies (Branching Songs). My book is Lessons from a Multispecies Studio: Uncovering Ecological Understanding & Biophilia through Creative Reciprocity. Intellect Books, 2021.
contact: jandreyev @ ecuad.ca
Artist statement:
My art draws attention to more-than-human creativity of beings in my local region. The projects investigate methods of creative reciprocity, informed by knowledge from multispecies studies, ecology, critical animal studies, ecofeminism and Indigenous methodologies. My practice explores potentials for multispecies technologies that support noninvasive more-than-human creativity. Projects take form as media, sound art, immersive installation, performance, and long-term tending.
I am dedicated to the broad cultural transformation in thought and action that must take place to address the climate emergency, harms against more-than-human life and habitat degradations. This includes acknowledging human embeddedness in the natural systems of the Earth, the responsibilities of living in a multispecies city, and living in relation to wild spaces further afield. My intention is to develop kinships with more-than-human life based on care, respect and reciprocity.