Safety and the Ethics of Vulnerability

Catherine Richardson/Kineweskwêw

Catherine Richardson/Kineweskwêw, Ph.D. is Métis with Gwich’in, Cree, and English ancestry. Her mother is from Fort Chipewyan Alberta and she has maternal connections to Red River. Cathy is the former Director of First Peoples Studies at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. She has a half-time appointment in Creative Art Therapies and holds a Concordia Research Chair in Indigenous Healing Knowledges. Cathy is a counsellor in private practice and a co-founder of the Centre for Response-Based Practice. She provides clinical supervision to human service workers, particularly those engaged with Indigenous communities.

Cathy has been working in Indigenous communities for over 30 years. She is the mother of three children and has published seven books, the most recent ones entitled “Stitching Our Stories Together: Indigenous Journeys into Social Work.” She is the recipient of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association Award (2024); Concordia’s President’s Award for Media Outreach (2023); and Concordia Dean’s Award for Excellence in Community Outreach and Public Engagement (2022). She was a two-time delegate at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2008/2009.

kimura byol lemoine

kimura byol lemoine est un·e asiatique atypique agenré.e, adopté.e à l’étranger, artiste, activiste et archiviste. 

Son travail fascine par son ampleur et par son évolution au fil de ce qui semble être plusieurs vies, sur plusieurs continents : né·e en Corée du Sud, adopté·e en Belgique, kimura-lemoine a cherché à se réintégrer en tant que Coréen·ne pendant plus de dix ans avant de finalement immigrer à Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal et de devenir un.e acteur.trice actif.tive au sein des communautés artistiques queer et féministes de la ville — un parcours au travers duquel se révèle une exploration continue de moyens de communiquer, de nouveaux médiums et de leur potentiel respectif. 

kimura byol lemoine (star~kim project) est aussi un.e commissaire qui questionne les binaires et les perceptions des identités – la diaspora, l’ethnicité, le colorisme, la post-colonialisme, l’immigration et le genre – principalement par l’art multimédia de la calligraphie, de la peinture, de l’écriture et de la collaboration.

kimura byol lemoine is an atypic agendered asian adopted abroad artist, activist and archivist. 

Zer work fascinates by virtue of its breadth and evolution across what seems like several lifetimes and continents: Born in South Korea, adopted in Belgium, kimura-lemoine sought to reintegrate as Korean for more than ten years before finally immigrating to Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal and becoming an active player in the city’s queer and feminist art communities — a trajectory throughout which we see a continued exploration of ways of communicating, of new mediums and of their potential.

kimura byol lemoine (star~kim project) is also a curator who questions binaries and perceptions of identities—diaspora, ethnicity, colorism, post-colonialism, immigration, gender—through calligraphy, painting, poetry, digital and video, and collaborative practice.

Rawda Harb

Rawda Harb (she/her/elle/هي) is a teacher, researcher and social change maker dedicated to working with youth, Queer people, people of colour and women on building safe, inclusive, empowering communities. Of Palestinian and Lebanese origins, her passion topics are decolonialism, inclusion, continuing education, and post traumatic growth. 

She is based in occupied, stolen, unceded Tiohtià:ke / "Montreal".

Rawda Harb est enseignante, chercheuse et actrice du changement social. Elle se consacre à travailler avec les jeunes, les personnes Queer, les personnes de couleur et les femmes afin de bâtir des communautés sécuritaires, inclusives et valorisantes. D'origine palestinienne et libanaise, elle se passionne pour le décolonialisme, l'inclusion, la formation continue et la croissance post-traumatique. Elle est basée à Tiohtià:ke volée, occupée et non cédée / « Montréal ». 

Zeina Ismail-Allouche

Research Associate CSLP and Director of Partnerships and Program Development CPN PREV

An advocate for social justice and prevention of violence against children and an oral history/autoethnography storyteller and performer, I have worked for more than 20 years in the field of child protection, especially with children forced to separate from their families. I have contributed to international initiatives to promote family strengthening aiming at preventing separation, and co-established Badael-Alternatives, an NGO based in Lebanon to advocate for the rights to origins for the survivors who were illegally adopted out during the wartime.

I was appointed as a public scholar (2019-2020) and I completed my Individualized Ph.D. in Arts and Social Science, at Concordia University in 2021.