The English Harbour Lithoskiff

I mentioned in a previous post the dry stone walling course that the English Harbour Arts Centre had offered this summer. One of the participants, Jerry Mcintosh, has pulled together a series of photos showing the construction of a piece of environmental art which the group calls the "Lithoskiff".

Check out the Lithoskiff on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmyiKl1PlOw or watch the embedded video below.

Metis artisan Albert Biles

Metis artisan Albert Biles will be the artist-in-residence at the Labrador Gallery in Wild Things for the summer and fall of 2009.

Albert is renowned for his work in whale bone and antler, and almost every major gallery and collection in Newfoundland and Labrador includes some of his work. Albert will be hosting a small exhibition featuring some of his latest and most innovative pieces at a reception at Wild Things on June 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Following the reception, Albert will be taking up the position of Artist-in-Residence at the Labrador Gallery in Wild Things. On select days during the summer and fall, folks will be able to meet Albert as he works on ivory, baleen, whale bone, soapstone, antler, and other natural media of Newfoundland and Labrador.

For a cultural adventure celebrating ancient art and form in the 21st century visit Albert at The Labrador Gallery in Wild Things, 124 Water Street (709) 722-3123. Better yet, meet Albert at our reception (June 25 from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) and have a glass of wine and sample some pitsik from Northern Labrador.

Cupids 400 Cultural Tourism Forum - Arts Section

Last week, I was in North River as part of the Cupids 400 Cultural Tourism Forum. In the afternoon, participants broke into groups to discuss issues of particular interest to them as business owners, volunteers, municipal officials and community leaders. I was asked to facilitate the group on the arts.

The arts (visual, literary, performing arts such as theatre, music and dance) provide a great way to generate activity in a community by: drawing visitors, fostering and supporting the creative talent of youth and artists, enhancing the local quality of life, and giving new life to heritage structures.

Participants brainstormed on possible arts related activities, and one thing we discussed were the key historic themes and traditions in the Cupids and wider Baccalieu Trail area. While not a complete list, some of the local traditions and themes participants identified include:

Fly-tying
Heritage train stations
Archaeology
Pirate history (Hr Grace, Carbonear)
Carbonear Island
Rug hooking
Fiddler traditions
Lancers, traditional dance/ square dancing/ Scottish and NL dancing
Quilting/knitting/spinning, trigger mitts, socks
Boat building
Lobster pot making
Carving, scrimshaw, animal horn
Furniture making
Painting
Photography (modern and historic)
Traditional music
Ballad singing
Stories
Mending nets
Leatherwork
Culinary arts – jams, recipes, rum, dogberry wine, moonshine, winery
Concerts/plays/recitations/mummering/janneying
Wake recitations
Wren boys
Live oral history interviews
Running the Goat
Architecture, stages, root cellars
Fairies
Legends, folklore, ghost stories
Pottery
Mat painting
Jam doughboys on Good Friday
Colcannon, Hallowe’en
Lighthouses

Plenty of work there to keep a team of folklorists busy for quite some time!

Makkovik Elder "Uncle Jim" wins Rogers Arts Achievement Award

On Saturday May 2, 2009, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC) held its 24th annual Arts Awards Show and Gala at the Reid Theatre in St. John’s. The annual Arts Awards honour the accomplishments of Newfoundland and Labrador’s artists.

NLAC Chair Camelita McGrath said, “This year’s winners represent artists who are achieving excellence in their fields both at home and away."

The winner of the Rogers Arts Achievement Award was Uncle Jim Anderson of Makkovik.

James Anderson of Makkovik has been taking pictures for over six decades. Last May an exhibition of his work, James Anderson: Over 50 Years of Taking Pictures, was presented at The Rooms Provincial Archives. It consisted of 80 large colour photographs along with numerous sound recordings of Anderson.

His photographs are a legacy of a lifestyle now gone; they capture candid moments, everyday work activities, and the special events of Makkovik. Church services, jamborees and get-togethers; buildings, industry, and the passing seasons; men and women fishing in boats, working on wharves, and riding snowmobiles.

The complete collection contains some 297 black and white photographs; 1700 slides; 75 hours of VHS cassettes, and 84 hours of 8mm and Hi8mm tape analogue recordings.

Known to many as “Uncle Jim”, he has long been a central part of life in Makkovik: as the dog-team mailman, a fisherman, the post master, an elder at the church, and a musician. For 40 years he helped his late wife Susie run a boarding house.

He was introduced to photography as a teenager, when an English missionary taught him how to develop black and white photos. He bought a Kodak Jiffy 35 mm camera from the Eaton’s catalogue and started to capture the moments he thought important. Self taught and intuitive, his use of angle, perspective, contrast, focus, composition, and framing have evolved by trial and error, experimentation, sensitivity, and perseverance.

He says he never gets tired of looking at his pictures. “They comfort me,” he says, “It’s a contribution I hope will give joy to my viewers.”

His relentless artistic drive and the resulting collection of photographs are unmatched. It’s an outstanding contribution to the cultural life of this province.

Photo of Uncle Jim getting his award here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djangomalone/3497981710/

CBC Radio Podcast of Weekend Arts Magazine's Angela Antle introducing Uncle Jim, and his thank you speech:
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/labmorning_20090504_15094.mp3

Happy International Dance Day!

photo by Heather Patey

Attached is the report from the Dance Heritage Think Tank, held in St. John's in February 2009. The Think Tank committee (Kristin Harris Walsh, Dale Jarvis, Calla Lachance and Colleen Quigley) is providing this report to interested parties in dance, education, government and media for their information and action.

Please forward this report to anyone else you might be interested, and we look forward to the implementation of the recommendations generated from the Think Tank.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Dale Jarvis or Kristin Harris Walsh

Download the Dance Heritage Think Tank report at:
http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/media/2714/dancethinktank.pdf