The Winnipeg Art Gallery is the host of the third annual Symposium on the Future Imaginary, and the first one to be made public.

The symposium is a project of the Initiative for Indigenous Futures. Its subtitle this year is "The Future is Indigenous."

Julie Nagam is the chair of the History of Indigenous Arts in North America at the University of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Art Gallery, and a co-applicant on the Initiative for Indigenous Futures grant.

She says the mandate for the grant and for the symposium is for Indigenous people to be able to imagine themselves into the future.

"Sci-fi movies and kind of futuristic ideas and even some futuristic-based artwork, you know, we didn't see a lot of racialized bodies into the future. And so, part of the initiative of this grant is to think about Indigenous people into the future and beyond, so that we know that we're there and we're participating, and not only are we participating, we hope to lead a little bit," says Nagam.

Artists, community activists, curators, academics, and more will present their versions of the future for Indigenous people. The event, happening this week, offers multidisciplinary conversations about Indigenous art and media, scholarships, and cultural innovation.

Registration for the day-time panel discussions is closed, and Nagam says they're at capacity, but there are related events that are still open to the general public; Thursday features a performances night, Friday night has an opening event at the Urban Shaman Gallery, and Saturday has a family arcade from 11am-2pm.