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 called Animal Lover explores more-than-human creativity to develop kinships with local lifeforms and ecologies. I have a PhD from Simon Fraser University, and am Associate Professor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design where I teach New Media + Sound Arts, and Critical Studies. One of my favourite things to do is hiking with my canine companions Zorra and Heroe, paying attention to the liveliness of the animals, trees and plants, and Earth forces. 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 Art Studio: Uncovering Ecological Understanding & Biophilia Through Creative Reciprocity. Intellect Books, 2021.

contact: jandreyev @ ecuad.ca

Artist statement: 
I am dedicated to the broad cultural transformation in thought and action that must take place to address the climate emergency and habitat degradations. This includes acknowledging human embeddedness in the natural systems of the Earth, and developing kinships with more-than-human life based on care and reciprocity. My art explores  methods of reciprocity and ecologization. The projects incorporate knowledge from multispecies studies, ecology, critical animal studies, ecofeminism and indigenous methodologies. I practice respect in each encounter with other beings and explore multispecies technologies to support noninvasive more-than-human creativity. I work with forms of media, sound art, immersion, sound performance.

I investigate more-than-human creativity in my local region with the intention to generate deep knowledge of the land and multispecies communities. This work involves taking action against unsustainable practices, such as pipelines and other fossil fuel projects, over-logging and habitat destruction. I’m committed to the changes needed for an ecologically-minded future.