Hello Regina!

I arrived in Regina a little over 1 week ago to start the Community Engagement portion of my residency at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, but first there was the big birthday bash! 

On October 11th hundreds of people headed out to the Legislative Building to celebrate it's 100th anniversary.  There was so much going on including live music performances and displays throughout the building.  The other artists and I worked with school groups during the day (reconnected with a young woman that I used to babysit when I was in university), attended the chamber ceremony and chatted with the public about our legacy projects in the evening.  The day was capped off with fireworks over the Wascana.  A very nice birthday party indeed!

This past weekend I spent working with different women's groups on creating the backdrops that will be used in my Legacy Artwork performance.  They put in a lot of time, energy and creativity and with the help of designer, Rebecca Donison, and set construction guru, Steve Martin, they've created some really beautiful pieces.  A special thank you to the Legion Auxiliary, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the U of R Women's Centre, and Chelsa for jumping in with both feet.

U of R Women's Centre's Mary "Bonnie" Baker backdrop in the works

 

Sharon and Beth of the CFUW standing by their Violet McNaughton backdrop

 

The Buffy Sainte-Marie backdrop created with Chelsa Riel, Rebecca Donison, and Drop-in Helpers



Legion Auxiliary members pose with Rebecca Donison and Steve Martin by the Gladys Arnold backdrop

 

 



Tonight, rehearsals begin for a very special performance that I am creating with women from the community.  I can't give away too many details, but I can tell you that it is going to be a lot of fun!  More to follow...

Presenting Four Amazing Saskatchewan Women

It's official! 

I've decided which four women I will be depicting on December 5th at the Legislative Building.  It was a very difficult decision.  I found myself making pitches for each of my finalists to any one who would listen.  But the torturous decision process is over!

I am pleased to introduce the subjects for my project!

Galdys Arnold - WWII Reporter, and Activist

Mary (Bonnie) Baker - Professional Softball Player, Sports Broadcaster

Violet McNaughton - Suffragette, Farmer, and Newspaper Editor

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Songwriter, Singer, Visual Artist, and Activist

I am honoured to have the opportunity to present my interpretation of these four inspirational women.  

Canadian Heritage Moment - Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy was from our neighboring province to the West, and she fought for every woman in Canada.  I remember watching this Canadian Heritage Moment when I was a kid, and finding it so inspiring.

Canadian Heritage Moment - Emily Murphy

"All my life, I have been a woman's woman." - Francis Beynon

I am loving researching the many incredible women that have helped shaped the Saskatchewan dream!  With the help of the Legislative Library Staff I have got my hands on some great resources.  Right now I am reading a book called Foremothers by Candace Savage and the words of Ms. Francis Beynon who was the women's editor of the Grain Growers' Guide from 1912 to 1917 are particularly inspiring.  Although Ms. Beynon was not a Saskatchewanian, she certainly rallied women in our province to fight for their rights through her columns.  Here is a sample of what she had to say:

"I don't like the idea that the man gives his wife money at all.  I protest that the wife who... works from nine to twelve hours a day has produced a certain amount of wealth, otherwise she must be in the wrong place in the industrial world.  The manager of a business does not think he is performing an act of charity when he pays his employees at the end of the week."

"We have too long been contended with the kind of motherhood that can... see little children toiling incredible hours in factories and canning sheds... and say calmly, 'Thank God, it isn't my children.'  I tell you, sisters, this kind of motherhood isn't good enough for the present day.  We want a new spirit of motherhood -- mothers whose love for their own children teaches them love for all children..."

"All my life, I have been a woman's woman."

SK Farm Girl Leads 2,000 Dutch Civilians to Safety Through Jungle

Wow!  I have spent the afternoon perusing the "Women" section of The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (http://esask.uregina.ca/themelist.html?themeID=885C3A20-BCD4-8C82-13D00A0551868738) and I am blown away by the amazing women that have called this place home.  I've only made it to the G section and already there have been multiple judges, hardcore advocates, senators, ambassadors, and several Order of Canada recipients (you know that it is an elite group when the Order of Canada is no biggy).

One entry that really made my jaw drop was Joan Bamford-Fletcher.  A name that most of us wouldn't know, but after reading the first sentence in the entry about her, I wanted to know more.

"In 1945 Regina’s Joan Bamford Fletcher captured headlines in Canada and Britain after shepherding some 2,000 Dutch civilian captives from a Japanese prison camp through the Sumatra jungle to safety: while commanding seventy vanquished but armed Japanese soldiers she guided the evacuees through territory swarming with hostile Indonesian rebels."

Whoa!  That is intense.

I can't wait to read through the H to Z entries!  I know it will be tough to narrow it down to 4 or 5 women to represent in my legacy performance. 

If you have suggestions of women from Saskatchewan's past that I should research and possibly perform as, please let me know.  I'm in the planning stages, so I am open to suggestions.

Meet the Artists!

http://www.opcc.gov.sk.ca/leg100/artist

I had the pleasure of meeting 6 out of the 7 other artists who will be taking part in the Leg. Residency Program to commerate the building's 100th birthday at our orientation at the Legislative Building on Monday, May 28th.  It was very cool to hear about the diverse projects that the other artists will be doing.  As the only performance artist in the group, I am a bit of the odd man out but through our discussions I quickly realized that all of our projects were going to present certain challenges.  But as they say, nothing worth doing was ever easy!  It was particularly awesome to meet the many helpful people who work at the Leg. and are so enthusiastic about our projects.  As always, it's the people who make the projects worth doing, and I am truly honoured to be a part of this fine group.

Now, it's time for me to get to work putting some pieces together for my project.  This is the exciting/scary stage for me as there is nothing but possibilities of what could be done.  Eeek!

Leader Post Article Announcing Selected Artists

http://www.leaderpost.com/Local+artists+chosen+residence+program/6692836/story.html