Welcome to the inaugural The Bridge: A Festival of Ideas. This annual event invites audiences to go deeper, to engage in the issues of our time. This year, we explore how art moves the conversation forward around reconciliation.

The Bridge is an all-access event. Our mission is to share this conversation with as many people as we can and ignite a sense of community around these ideas. Every offering is free and we invite you to help spread the word and join us at the festival.

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Festival events are all digital and all free. Click below to gain access.

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A message from the curator

The land the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre sits on is the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Néhiyaw (Cree) and Oyate (Dakota) and the home of the Métis. Winnipeg has become a centre of Indigenous arts in Canada, so it makes sense Royal MTC has chosen to honour Indigenous artists by making space for us at the inaugural festival of The Bridge: A Festival of Ideas.

The theme of this 2021 digital edition of The Bridge is Art & (re)Conciliation. Reconciliation has become a loaded term and has generated a lot of conversations among Indigenous peoples. But reconciliation isn’t up to us. It is up to non-Indigenous people to conciliate their feelings and teachings of Indigenous people. Artistic Director Kelly Thornton has taken those first steps for Royal MTC in making space. And the Indigenous arts community has answered their invite.

We have so many incredibly talented and driven people who have embraced the arts as their calling: actors, writers, musicians, fine artists, producers, directors, poets, journalists and many others from all entertainment sectors.  

To be able to offer a platform to help elevate their voices is a great honour for me. As a journalist, my personal mandate has always been to bring positive Indigenous stories to the media and masses. Curating The Bridge: Art & (re)Conciliation has been the culmination of 28 years of covering the Indigenous arts community.

I’ve built bridges and friendships that have helped me engage the artists you will see during The Bridge -- all who have offered up their time with zero hesitation and for that I am truly grateful.

Kim Wheeler