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Hamilton: Forum 2006: Community Arts Matters

COMMUNITY ARTS ONTARIO

FORUM 2006: COMMUNITY ARTS MATTERS

June 9 – 10, 2006

Workers Art and Heritage Centre, Hamilton

TOPICS ADDRESSED:

• Role of art in community development, social change and activism.

· How Canada’s legacy of colonialism shapes the way we work with communities.

• The history and future of community arts practice in Ontario.
• Other issues identified by participants.

PROGRAM INFO:

Elder Walter Cooke Leads a Welcome Ceremony in Aboriginal communities opening ceremonies are a part of all gatherings. A common part of many ceremonies is the “Smudge”, a burning of sage and/or sweetgrass. The fragrant smell of the smoke reminds us that we are all connected to each other through our breath; we all breathe the same wind. In addition, we are asked to give thanks to All Our Relations: the plants, animals, waters and other life that enable us to survive and thrive on Mother Earth. In this large family we acknowledge our interdependence and begin whatever journey awaits us this day. Walter Cooke works as an Elder / Counsellor for the Dedwa da dehs nye’s Aboriginal Health Centre in Hamilton. He is from the Ojibway-Cree Nation and the Bear Clan.

Community Arts Matters! Robin Pacific will lead a session that asks everyone to contribute to why ‘Community Arts Matters’. Her own response is “Community Art matters because community matters and so does art. At its best it holds the collective and the individual in exquisite balance. It can return us to our right and our need to create, to dream, to express and to resist. It both finds the common thread and celebrates difference. Community art makes an end run around the longueurs of the art world, the sterility of political protest that ignores creativity, the isolation of life in a globalized corporate world. It can make manifest a cry of anguish, a shout of joy, a moment of silence. It matters.” Robin Pacific is a multidisciplinary Toronto artist whose practice ranges from community art to painting, performance, video and installation work. Her work can be seen at www.robinpacific.ca

A living wage for artists: tackling poverty with Bryce Kanbara, visual artist and curator. Bryce will take a candid look at the coordination of a community-funded project (in progress) aimed at improving the lives of Hamilton artists, writers, and visual artists. Who? What? Where? Why? The project is fraught with issues of participation, definition, aspiration and necessity. In June, this seven-month project culminates in a first-time gathering of Hamiltonians in the arts to discuss collective strategies for change. This is a project of the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre as part of the Hamilton Community Foundation’s "Tackling Poverty Together" initiative. Bryce Kanbara is a visual artist/curator and owner of you me gallery in Hamilton. He has worked in curatorial positions at Burlington Art Centre, Art Gallery of Hamilton; was Visual Arts, Crafts & Design Officer at the Ontario Arts Council, and Executive Director at the Toronto Chapter of the National Association of Japanese Canadians.

Decolonise your art a Popular Education Exercise with Diane Roberts, theatre artist and Community Arts Ontario’s Cultural Development Coordinator. “A people who free themselves from foreign domination will not be free unless…they return to the upward paths of their own culture.” Amilcar Cabral.

How do we define culture when expressions of identity are constantly shifting? This interactive and playful workshop explores the meaning and value of recognizing root cultural practices. Participants are asked to bring (or physically represent) an object* that defines their individual root practice. Exchanging gestures, sounds, words and images, we will create together our ideal of a diverse cultural community.

*Bring something small, not precious (can be handled without fear of damage), culturally rooted and personal to you and your practice. For me, a calabash bowl is an earthen vessel representing communal practice – an important value in my culture.

Lifting as we climb: for young artists and their organizations to address common concerns and issues with Michelle Iman Myrie, Project Coordinator, Workers Arts and Heritage Centre; and Queen Cee, singer, songwriter and youth activist. This session looks at art as a tool for social resistance. The workshop will help young people develop new ways of channeling creativity by expressing opinions and thoughts around social issues that impact their lives. Finding creative ways to get ones message across while reclaiming youth culture is not always easy. Michelle Myrie and Queen Cee will encourage participants to use their voices to express their thoughts and feelings through hip-hop and R&B. With no previous experience required, learn how to develop and channel creative skills to be issued-oriented and reclaim your own culture and voice.

Further breakout sessions. You have other topics, issues, concerns you need to discuss? This is your opportunity

Opening Celebrations with the Hamilton Steel Youth Orchestra, steel pan playing at its best; and Gar Santucci, award winning guitarist and founder of Guitarreworks Music

A Hamilton Gallery Crawl

Ghost Tour of the Custom House by Haunted Hamilton Throughout all of the different environments that have come and gone through the Custom House, one thing has remained constant all these years; the fact that it is notoriously known for being haunted. Haunted by whom you ask? Well, they call her the ‘Dark Lady’ and she is in as much residence there today as she ever was. Stephanie Lechniak-Cumerlato and Daniel Cumerlato founded GhostWalks.com and Haunted Hamilton. They report hauntings and folklore, while calling attention to the preservation of Hamilton’s historic structures and buildings. More information can be found at www.hauntedhamilton.com and www.ghostwalks.com. (Please book by May 26.)

Finale: A special performance by Neeraj Prem, master sitarist

For times, how to register & other information on this conference, check our website http://www.artsonline.ca/cam/

Looking to save on gas and transportation costs to the 2006 FORUM in Hamilton? Consider carpooling. If you are looking for a ride or for passengers, post to our site at: http://www.artsonline.ca/carpooling

Volunteer positions still exist. Free registration for 5 hours of volunteer work.

Zainab Amadahy, Executive Director
Community Arts Ontario
354-401 Richmond Street West
Toronto ON M5V 3A8
1-800-806-2302
416-598-1128
Fax: 416-598-4468
http://www.artsonline.ca

CAO gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Ministry of Culture, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

posted by Annamarie at 12:50 PM