Drawing on over 30 years experience of teachings from Indigenous spiritual advisors; Barb is a Traditional Medicine Woman, Teacher, Life Consultant, and she also performs Ceremonies. Elder Barb is part of a group of elders that work with various departments and agencies within the Government of Canada. They provide valuable perspectives on programming and policy issues, as well as rights of indigenous people. She and her peers help bridge the gaps between past, present and future generations of leaders. She considers it an honour to be asked to participate in this year's Taboo Health event. Her gift of the oral tradition will be the bridge between Indigenous Health and that of Western Health, and what that looks like in accordance to suicide prevention, affecting youth and families, both inside and outside of First Nation Lands and/or Territories. We invite you to participate, as Barb performs a ceremonial blessing on the event and bridges the healing between cultures.

‘Dying.” is an event series exploring death through the lens of Art & Design, running alongside the DesignTO Festival January 17 - 26, 2020. The event series will include art exhibits, a symposium and a number of free and facilitated group events across the city running both during and outside of DesignTO festival dates. The ‘Dying.’ series is a collaboration between the Health Design Studio at OCAD U and Taboo Health.

In 2019, the ‘Dying.’ series attracted over 3000 attendees, 14 speakers, including keynote Ivor Williams (Helix Centre, UK), and 12 exhibiting artists and designers over the course of the DesignTO festival. In its second year, ‘Dying.’ will continue to offer the public the opportunity to creatively engage in conversation about death and dying through the lens of art and design.