New Indigenous Storyteller for Vancouver library hopes to encourage community arts

Cee Peal will bring his love of theatre, storytelling and image-making to the Vancouver Public Library as the 2026 Indigenous Storyteller in Residence.

The actor, director, writer, dancer and producer from Nisga’a First Nation in northern British Columbia has a passion for Indigenous studies and cultural revolution and will provide a unique learning opportunity for visitors to the library.

“This is my second time applying for the position,” said Peal. “A lot of my application focused on my developing my continuing interest in the intersection between my professional practice as an artist and how that intersects with opportunities to give back to community.”

This spring, Peal will offer playwriting consultations and workshops for aspiring theatre artists through his programming. The Stage Your Own Play workshops are scheduled for April 14, 21 and 28.

“Half of their time is spent working on their own project, a piece of work that they are developing, and then half of their time is spent working with the public and sharing through the programs,” said Polly Argo, manager of library Programming & Learning about the work of a resident. 

She said Peal will screen the documentary The Pretendians (May 5) and talk about pretendianism, “because that's something that he's been exploring in his work recently.”

Argo said having Peal fill the resident position was a “wonderful opportunity” to share his interest in a variety of artistic expressions while delivering insights into his own processes and ideas.

Peal will lead discussions about Indigenous identity and storytelling and spend part of the residency working on an examination of the relationship between history, representation, and the impact of exposure to Indigenous cultures.

“I think there’s a lot of potential opportunity at this meeting point as it relates to what we can envision giving art to community can mean,” Peal said. “Part of my core belief is that art exists, the art that I create exists, in service to the communities from which it arises.” He said art can play a variety functions.

“Art can be a very valuable destabilizing agent” to culture and “shake up the foundations a little bit.” He said he hopes to find “a bit of room for play in the joints. What I don’t want to happen is for the way things are to get locked into place, to calcify culturally, so to speak.”

This is accomplished by individuals or groups of people connecting a piece of art with one of their own stories and how the energy passes through each and is shared culturally, Peal said.

As an example, he quoted a fashion artist: “Fashion isn’t so much about clothing, it’s more about the image that’s painted and how clothing can either reinforce or destabilize prejudice.”

“I feel like that framework of the possibility of either reinforcing or destabilizing prejudice is a big part of the core of what I hope to offer to the communities that I intersect with and that I’m a part of through the art that I create,” Peal said. 

“And then the other curiosity around what art can do for community is in the possibility of inviting people in the community to consider pursuing some level of creative engagement in the performing arts.”

At the community level, Peal said, activities such as local theatre productions are proving to be a powerful force in fostering resilience in individuals. Participants often face a wide range of challenges as they work to transform an idea or creative vision into a live performance, whether it be through developing the concept or story, or putting it onto the stage.

The process of artistic engagement achieves a feeling of self-expression, Peal said.  

“It empowers people to realize not only is this something that a person can do, but it can happen if we are willing to engage in the process with courage and vulnerability and humility and dedication.” 

The Indigenous Storyteller in Residence launched in 2008 as a way to highlight and share Indigenous traditions and contemporary culture. 

The program honours Indigenous cultures and promotes intercultural understanding and communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through various workshops.

“We’ve been dedicated to meeting the learning and information needs of Vancouver residents for more than 100 years now,” Argo said. “Things have changed over that time, and our vision here is to have an informed, engaged, and connected city and a free space for everyone to discover, create and share ideas and information.”

All events are free. Find out more at vpl.ca/storyteller.