LONGHOUSE LABS EXTENDS BANGISHIMO’S BUCK SKIN NAKED

On Jan. 19, 2026, Bangishimo’s Buck Skin Naked photography exhibit debuted at Longhouse Labs (LLabs)., featuring portraits spotlighting Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous bodies. The showing for Buck Skin Naked was extended until Apr. 11, 2026. Bangishimo is planning to shift into working on a book later this year, a collection of their photography over the years.  

“We don’t see the beautiful brown, round bodies, the bodies with scars and cellulite and stretch marks and pimples and all those stuff. We always see size zero, beautiful white skin always seen in ads. It’s so hard to see ourselves, especially as Indigenous peoples,” Bangishimo said.  

Bangishimo is the co-director of the Willow River Center and was the most recent artist in residence for LLabs at the University of Waterloo (UW). Their studio assistants were integral to taking all of the photos in the collection.  

LLabs exists to empower, advance, promote and support Indigenous creatives in Waterloo region and beyond. They are located at 263 Phillip Street, East Campus Hall on the UW campus. As an organization they focus on the Fellowship for Indigenous Artists-in-Residents (FAIR) program.  

The UW Fine Arts department invites Indigenous artists to develop their creative work through self-directed artist residencies.  

“Anything to do with the body or sex became very taboo and something you didn’t talk about.  Because those messages get passed through generations, you should be modest and cover yourself up,” Bangishimo said. 

LLabs supports Indigenous creative practices both contemporary and traditional. Bangishimo’s collection of eight pieces ranging from semi-nude to fully nude aim to showcase the decolonized beauty of Afro-Indigenous and Indigenous people.  

“[And we] get this lateral violence from our own community members saying  that’s not who we are. You should cover up. And then people always direct it back to why we get stolen,” Bangishimo said. opened an interesting inner dialogue within Bangishimo over the concept of self-love and acceptance. Originally there were supposed to be 16 photos in the collection, but only eight were selected for the exhibit. Bangishimo plans to either self-publish or find a publisher for a photobook collection of their work, including the whole body of work. 

“The color contrast between each picture and the story that flowed between each picture. And I didn’t even plan that, it just happened that way when we started hanging them up and deciding which picture should go where,” Bangishimo said. 

Bangishimo plans on continuing Buck Skin Naked beyond the published pictures. To celebrate the Indigenous body, they plan on focusing more of their photography towards nudes. Their goal is to help build people up with their self-esteem and promote feeling proud in their own skin. 

Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Ceremony at the Willow River Centre, 7am on Saturday 21 June 2025

What: Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Ceremony
When: 7:00am on Saturday 21 June 2025
Where: Willow River Centre
Location: 243 King Street East, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Website: https://www.kwmf.ca/indigenous

#OSeKenhionhataTie #WaterlooRegion #WillowRiverCentre

WELCOME TO OUR QRIB

Willow River Centre and Spectrum’s Black, Racialized and Indigenous Queers (BRIQ) House are co-organizing a series of events called QRIB (Queer, Racialized, Indigenous and Black) community hangouts to help foster a safer community for self-identifying queer, racialized, Indigenous and Black individuals. 

The two organizations started hosting these hangouts last year from Aug. 9 to Dec 13. Initially focused on karaoke, the hangouts have since evolved to include other community-focused activities like bonfires and discussion circles. 

The name “QRIB” is a play on words for the word crib and was chosen to evoke a sense of home or gathering space. The Willow-River Centre, an event venue based in Kitchener, played a key role by offering a space designed for the Indigenous and racialized queer population, incorporating culturally specific elements, local art and non-hierarchical, healing-focused community values, instead of clinical or colonial support models. 

“They bring a sense of safety for a lot of Indigenous and queer people locally,” Karla Gomez, a facilitator of the QRIB hangout, said.  

Spectrum provides funding and support, including food and resources at hangouts. Though the organization wasn’t initially inclusive, recent leadership changes made it more committed to reconciliation and community prioritization.  

“The hangouts are non-hierarchical, free, and community-led, fostering healing and connection in ways that feel safe and liberating to those involved,” Roni Noodle, a director of the QRIB hangouts, said. 

Noodle also explained how QRIB is unique in Kitchener-Waterloo, and no other local spaces offer the same intersectional support for 2SLGBTQIA+ and racialized individuals. Noodle described BRIQ House as another supportive space for Indigenous and queer people in the area but noted it holds a different relationship with the community compared to Willow River Centre. Although Spectrum started hosting QRIB hangouts to create a more inclusive space, it’s not a space designed for racialized, Black and Indigenous individuals. Even though they’re attempting to change, they decided a partnership with Willow River Centre will help them. 

“It’s a space where you don’t need to translate your soul. It’s designed with you in mind,” Roni said.  

They said that people from within the racialized or queer community are not always comfortable in public spaces and they do not feel acknowledged or seen, but this is a space where those individuals can feel comfort and express themselves more freely. 

Noodle explained that last year’s QRIB hangouts went very well. However, Spectrum’s director changed earlier this year and the two organizations were not sure if they had funding for the hangouts this year. However, the new director was very supportive of the events. 

“Events like this are too important to the community for us not to prioritize funding for it,” Gomez said.  

She said events such as the QRIB hangout need to exist, saying that Spectrum continues to show commitment to supporting these hangouts, by applying for funding for racialized Indigenous Queers. 

These events have had a successful turnout so far, with returning participants and new individuals joining the hangout, these events also address local issues revolving around the racialized, queer, and Indigenous communities such as peer support, food insecurity, loneliness, and isolation.

#2SLGBTQIA_ #Black #colonialSupportModel #FoodInsecurity #healingFocused #Indigenous #Isolation #karlaGomez #KitchenerWaterloo #LocalArt #loneliness #PeerSupport #qrib #queer #racialized #RoniNoodle #SafeSpace #SangjunHan #Spectrum #WillowRiverCentre

WILLOW RIVER CENTRE FACES FUNDING CUTS

Willow River Centre will temporarily close its doors due to a lack of funding. 

The Centre has served as the first dedicated space for the Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous community in the region. 

Bangishimo Johnston and Amy Smoke, co-founders of the Willow River Centre, are looking to sublet their current space while simultaneously looking for a smaller, more inexpensive place to relocate the Centre.  

The Centre will remain open through June; after that, the Centre will no longer have the funding to remain open. 

Johnston said that they originally began reclaiming space when they started Land Back Camp in Willow River Park in June 2020. 

Four years later, the co-founders of the Centre moved into their physical building.  

Ever since, the Willow River Centre has been a space for gathering and collaboration. Most importantly, it has provided a one-of-a-kind safe space for Indigenous and queer folks in the community.  

“I think we’ve really cultivated a safe space and authentic space for folks to be whoever they are,” Smoke said. 

“There’s been so many great firsts that we’ve witnessed … someone saying for the first time, ‘I’m a queer person,’ or someone saying, ‘I found more about my grandmother, my connection to my Indigeneity’—that can be lifesaving,” they said.  

Roni Noodle, facilitator of the Queer, racialized, Indigenous, Black group (QRIB) through Spectrum—which runs in partnership with the Willow River Centre—said the Centre has been a healing space.  

Specifically, Noodle said the space allows them to feel a sense of belonging with regards to both the queer and Indigenous pieces of their identity.  

“When I’ve been in spaces where I could be racialized, I didn’t feel like I could be queer because it wasn’t safe,” Noodle said.  

“When I go to a queer space, I’m the only racialized person there, and so I don’t feel like I can be both racialized and queer, but [Willow River Centre] has been really helpful for that,” they said. 

“Everyone deserves a space where they can be their whole selves and not just to be tolerated but celebrated. I think that’s a really big deal,” Noodle said. 

Willow River Centre was first started through the Upstream Fund, which was originally allocated to Black and Indigenous groups in the Waterloo region.  

“The region then decided that it should go towards numerous groups in the region, not just black and Indigenous,” Johnston said. 

“It’s great that all these groups can have money, but now there’s very little money being dispersed across all these groups, and a lot of these groups aren’t being supported with a long-term plan,” they said. 

In addition to looking for a smaller space to relocate, the co-founders are open to partnering up with another organization to share their current building, making it more affordable to stay long-term. 

“We chose the site specifically because of the racialized and gender-based violence that has occurred in Willow River Park,” Smoke said. “It’s got quite a violent history. So, we chose to put our bodies on the land in that space.” 

Smoke said that, prior to colonization, the Grand River Watershed was an economic hub of activity where InterNations would meet and gather, making it a significant location for the Centre as well.  

“Our community is still struggling for space today, and not only the Indigenous community, but so many other grassroots groups, so many other racialized groups, queer groups, artistic groups, we’re all fighting for space in the region because there’s so little,” Bangishimo said. 

With June being National Indigenous People’s month and Pride month, Smoke is encouraging the community to support local Indigenous folks and donate. 

“Look to the people around you and how you can be a better ally. Be an accomplice, not an ally,” Smoke said. 

#2SLGBTQIA_ #AmySmoke #artisticGroups #BangishimoJohnston #ChristoffLeRoux #grandRiverWatershed #Indigenous #internations #nationalIndigenousPeoplesMonth #prideMonth #queerGroups #racializedGroups #SafinaJennah #Space #WillowRiverCentre