Todd Forward March Testimonial 2

“I’m grateful for the opportunity Outside that March has offered me with this commission and I continually can’t believe it. Being given the support to dream big and allow my imagination to reach heights I hadn’t thought of is both humbling and amazing and was never something I thought I would ever have. When I was young, I sought so many different avenues to grow my imagination: like video games, movies, and toys, but never were these sources reflective of my cultural ancestry making me feel like my story wasn’t one of the stories that kids should play with. Being given this opportunity to develop and create what I hope to create, I think I might be able to add to the few sources of indig- enous joy and wonder that I was so greatly in need of as a child. With this project, I might be able to challenge what we see as indigenous art which is something I’ve been seeking to do in my work for some time, and offer audiences a chance to see our indigenous narrative from a brand new perspec- tive. Ultimately I hope I might be able to help the young native kids like me, desperate to reimagine their futures and see themselves as the heroes they are.” [Photo: Houseman at a tabletop workshop in the OtM Studio. Credit: Sébastien Heins.] *