|
Reviews
|
Leisure Lines
Artists push the boundaries in 2007
As Marnie Hilash, former president of the Great Northern Arts Society, once said, if you throw a stone in the Northwest Territories it'll hit someone who carves. The territory is full of creative talent working in many different media, and these artists can be proud of what they've accomplished in 2007. Filmmakers' uprising Western Arctic Moving Pictures, along with a coalition of filmmakers and film supporters from all over the territory, made themselves heard loud and clear in September in a collaborative effort to get more funding support from the powers that be. The effort included a webpage, which gave a new reason every day of the month why such funding should be given. Meanwhile, filmmakers kept on keeping on and successes such as Hay River's Kelvin Redvers' award for best film in the National Exposure Amateur Movie Contest were achieved. NWT performers at Canada Winter Games The Canada Winter Games were held in Whitehorse last March, and the cultural component included several Northern artists and performers from the NWT. Some of the performers to travel to the Yukon for the event were Elaine Alexie, a filmmaker from Fort McPherson; Terry Woolf, a Yellowknife filmmaker; and tufting and beading artists Lillian Wright of Fort McPherson and Julia Trennert from Aklavik. Musical entertainment from the territory included the Paulatuk Moonlight Drummers and Dancers. A song for every audience Many musicians reside in the territory, and this year many of them took a step forward in their careers. In February, the song Anywhere by Inuvik resident Laurie McNabb and sung by Leanne Goose began climbing the charts on radio stations in the NWT, Yukon and Manitoba. Jesse James Gon, originally from Rae, led his band Diga as the opening act for the White Stripes' Yellowknife concert in June. Meanwhile, a lot of youth got in on the musical side of 2007, including the largest group ever to take part in the Kole Crook fiddle camp in Fort Providence in July. Several acts recorded albums including Cathleen Lesperance, who lives in Fort Simpson part of the year, Hay River's classical musician Tyler Hawkins, Fort Smith rockers State of the Art and more. A few Yellowknife bands - Transience, The Dawgwoods and Momentary Evolution - tried out what they called the Hub Tour for Transience's CD release celebrations. Starting in Yellowknife, they then travelled to Hay River and then to Fort Smith. Meanwhile, musicians in Fort Simpson have been out on the first Friday of every month to take part in the Open Sky Society's coffeehouses. Festivals and celebrations The 52nd annual Caribou Carnival in Yellowknife attracted artists from around the North for music, traditional activities, sculpting and more. Eli Nasogaluak of Tuktoyaktuk transformed blocks of ice into the logo for the 2008 Arctic Winter Games, handgames were played and drummers from various parts of the territory performed. One of the year's jamborees was Inuvik's Muskrat Jamboree in April, which featured a variety of talents, from fiddling to magic to throat singing. Storytellers gathered in Fort Smith in June for the third annual NACC Festival of Stories, at which Jim Green and others entertained with their storytelling abilities. The sky opened up in July in Fort Simpson during the Open Sky Festival, but otherwise the annual event was a success. Later that month Inuvik held its 19th annual Great Northern Arts Festival, which showcased work by visual artists from all three territories and beyond. From Fort Smith to Sachs Harbour, many parts of the territory were well-represented. In August it was back to Fort Smith for the South Slave Friendship Festival, which featured arts, crafts and music. Hay River jumped on board to celebrate International Music Day for the first time in late September. Many more communities celebrated the arts in their own festivals and celebrations throughout the year. NACC extends its reach The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre may work mainly out of Yellowknife, but has been extending its reach into communities in the rest of the NWT. This fall, NACC visitors the Swingin' Sisters took a trip through Hay River and The Canadian Tenors sang at Our Lady of Victory in Inuvik. North of Normal The Town of Inuvik is now home to its very own theatre group, the North of Nomal Players, which started in 2006. In March 2007, the group performed its first show, Catnip and Bananas. Later in the year, they performed the comedy play A Pair of Lunatics to a large audience. A year for literature In early January, Florence Brown of Fort Simpson published her first book titled York Boats, a book based on her father's stories about his own father who worked as a river guide. Richard Van Camp of Fort Smith continued on his prolific writing journey with the publication of another handful of books. This year, he went from publishing his first graphic novel, Journey of the Healer, early in the year to publishing a baby book called Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby For Newborns, which will be given to every child born in British Columbia in 2008. The artists of the NWT did so much this year to add to their communities. Here's hoping for another great year in 2008.
|
