Carina Costom

​I've freelanced as a writer, editor, and project manager in communications. I've worked as a marketing analyst, a graphic designer, and an employment counselor.  I've also been a contributing editor and a former managing editor at the Black Bear Review - The literary journal of Selkirk College. 

My day job these days is practicing mom and artist. 

I grew up in Montreal and hold a degree (BA, Hons) from McGill University, and am completing an Associate of Arts in creative writing with a special interest in cultural anthropology. My nonfiction essays have been published in the Black Bear Review and the Nelson Star.  There is one chapbook lurking in local bookstores and a few more on the shelf. My current project is 100 Women - 100 Oceans, Notes from the Parenting Underbelly. I am based in what is known as Nelson, BC.

​You can consult my Arts CV here (coming soon or by request).

MY WHY

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WHY AM I DOING THIS PROJECT?

For my own healing process and for the joy of creating as my first exploration of art-as- anthropology because it challenges traditional boundaries between art and typically exploitative knowledge production. That is to say this approach aims to be a self-conscious decolonizing practice. I'm super psyched!

WHAT'S MY GOAL?
My aim is for these dialogues to serve as benchmarks and possibly act as a launching pad for something emergent and good that helps bring our community together creatively to learn, to heal, to grow—and make a diff. The diff - if there is to be one - would be on terms set by participants through our conversations and your input. The project is both a time capsule (of our parenting lived experiences) and a bridge (to our next chapter as parents and people).

WHAT'S MY ASPIRATION?

 ▣  To co-create embodied forms of knowledge produced through art making
​ ▣  To produce art exhibits  and books as forms of public anthropology.
 ▣  To create objects that are both art and ethnography.
 ▣  To do so with an I an eye on decolonizing practices.
 ▣  To emancipate voice, mine and that of others, on our own terms.
 ▣  ​To discuss observing and participating in the creation of  both the artwork and ethnographic knowledge.

I'D LOVE TO PUBLISH THESE STORIES IN A BOOK THAT IS FREELY ACCESSIBLE

Ideally, a portion of the proceeds of sales or sponsorship get directed toward something meaningful to the community of 100 moms. A subsequent option is for this book to be part of the Open Access Movement, which aims to make scholarly literature or literature with scholarly applications available widely and freely. 
Benefits:
Open access publishing increases the visibility and reuse of research, allowing more people to access and benefit from the knowledge contained in the book.