202: Big Heart Beats
11:30-12:30pm
General Track 2
Ki Ngot-Ki Nish
Mtg Rooms 1&2
This interactive music education workshop will focus on language and culture using the art of storytelling. We will uplift indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary media, music, performance art, and video. We will explore music production technology and strategic programming practices that aim to positively impact native communities for cultural programming and revitalization efforts.
By exploring culture and language through indigenous futurism of sound and music, we will uplift the past into the present to get to the ancient future through storytelling.
Lead By:
Christopher Yepez (Anishinaabe [Ojibwe + Potawatomi]), Walpole Island First Nation, Thunderbird Clan), Music Artist & Educator, Big Heart Beats
Big Heart Beats is a mobile, Indigenous-led arts and culture company that delivers immersive workshops, creative consulting, and artist residencies blending music, film, and design. Founded by Christopher Yepez, a multi-disciplinary artist with over 15 years of experience in the arts, the company empowers cultural institutions, organizations, and communities through transformative storytelling rooted in education, creativity, and social impact. With commitment to accessibility and collective creativity, Big Heart Beats creates inclusive experiences that inspire connection, visibility, and action. The founder brings both technical expertise and lived experience to every project, offering a unique lens that bridges tradition and innovation. Big Heart Beats focuses on community engagement while centering Indigenous perspectives in a way that invites all audiences to take part.
The mission of Big Heart Beats is to serve communities and is dedicated to harnessing the power of ancestral indigenous knowledge and contemporary media to create transformative storytelling experiences. We collaborate with communities to produce vibrant music and video projects. Through our diverse creative projects, we educate, inspire, and motivate, fostering a positive impact on the world.
We strive to ensure our creativity contributes to a more connected, compassionate, and culturally rich world, one project, one story, and one heartbeat at a time.