Transformation: Making change to challenge perceptions

Transformation can happen in many ways, for many different reasons. This week on Unreserved, we look at how Indigenous people are transforming space, body and media to change and challenge perceptions.

We often think of transformation in connection to art, music, or our physical selves.
But what about transforming the spaces around you? David Fortin says there are fewer than 20 Indigenous architects in Canada. He's hoping to change that, by transforming Indigenous spaces in a way that inspires others to do the same.

A lot of bands have their own sound, but when presented with the option to record with hundreds of one-of-a-kind instruments? That sound might transform into something completely different. That's what happened to Edmonton-based band nêhiyawak. They recently took up residency at the National Music Centre in Calgary. Unreserved's Kyle Muzyka caught up with the band as they learned about an instrument called TONTO.  

Quanah Style is a Cree drag queen from Vancouver who was featured in the second season of CBC's Canada's a Drag. She's a triple threat — she sings, dances and acts. Style is also a proud transgender woman who will tell Rosanna how her physical transformation was a long time coming. 

Merata: How Mum Decolonized the Screen is a new documentary about the late Maori filmmaker, Merata Mita, made by her son, Hepi Mita. Merata Mita is known for transforming the cinema landscape through her groundbreaking films, that ranged from documentaries about the effects of colonialism, to Hollywood science-fiction films.

Self-taught photographer Jeff Thomas was just honoured with a Governor General's award for artistic achievement in visual arts. But his award-winning photography was inspired by an accident that left him physically transformed, and determined to make his mark.  

This week's playlist

Emma Stevens - Blackbird
nêhiyawak - copper 
Teeks - Change