#indigenous theatre of the arctic

[cancmbyn]

Wow, I am still reeling from seeing this event. One of the most profound dance-music-theatre experiences I have ever had.

If Elle Sofa Sara comes to a town near you, you should RUN to see and hear them.

From the Show notes:

“Elle Sofe is the voice of the Sami people, expressing their efforts to battle injustice and to retain and celebrate their culture, mirroring the experience of many of the world's indigenous peoples, including here in Canada.  We join the procession of the seven women in the show, marching in unity as they invite us into an evening of polyphonic Yoiking and powerful movement.”

The clips on Youtube do not do this Sami choreographer and the troop justice. Nonetheless, I will post to get the word out there.

Different (better) costumes inside and out than shown in the clips below. The performance started outside in -15 degree weather, before following them inside to the theatre and it ended with the seven dancers leaving the theatre.

I want to run away and join them!

[healingheartdogs]

Malamutes and Siberians 👀

Malamutes: The most shameful thing about malamutes is how hard the show community tries to change the definition of the word "working" to mean "has never worked a day in their life". They have the personalities of buff little old men who live to make jokes. Props to them for being like the only northern breed I can think of off the top of my head that's not named after a derogatory term for indigenous people (as far as I know), a solid bare minimum. I feel like I have literally never met a malamute that meets the ideal freight size listed in the standard, they just keep bigger and bigger and FOR WHAT? FOR WHY? Despite their friendly sense of humor they communicate mostly through disgruntled sounding grumbling. "In judging Malamutes, their function as a sledge dog for heavy freighting in the Arctic must be given consideration above all else" and we quickly determined that this was a lie. The only dog I have ever known to chase down and kill a deer then drag its carcass around in its mouth like a prize was a malamute. So yeah. BEASTS. Sibes: Does not pass the indigenous slur name test, do not pass go, go straight to jail. When are we going to stop pretending like sibes are still working dogs when alaskans and seppalas are right there already replacing them? These dogs take fences and containment as a personal attack and a challenge. However much room you give them to run, it's not enough, they want to escape and find more. Absolutely not trustworthy off leash, your companionship is a lot less interesting than you think it is to them so test their recall at your own risk. They have no shame about leaving you in the dust. More drama and theatre than broadway, and find the sounds of their own voices highly amusing. A lot more fond of murder than their deceptively cute and fluffy appearance would suggest. Literally just love screaming for no damn reason sometimes.

[nativenewsonline]

New Partnership Between International Sámi Film Institute & Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program will Strengthen Arctic Indigenous Film

New Partnership Between International Sámi Film Institute & Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program will Strengthen Arctic Indigenous Film

Published February 11, 2019

BERLIN  — International Sámi Film Institute (ISFI) is pleased to announce a new partnership between Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program around the establishment of the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund. This new partnership has the ability to strengthen Arctic Indigenous film as Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film…

[joesterwiththetoaster]

Bibliography

- by Olivia, Posted. “The Unique Sami Culture of Finnish Lapland : Lapland Tours.” Nordic Cruises | Your Northern Tour Operator, 18 Dec. 2019, www.nordic.cruises/unique-sami-people-finnish-lapland/. 

- “Home.” Giron Smi Tehter, 2020, www.samiteahter.org/en/about-us/. 

- “Meet the Sámi - Finland's Indigenous People.” VisitFinland.com, 21 Apr. 2020, www.visitfinland.com/article/meet-the-sami-finlands-indigenous-people/. 

- Myderne, Anderson. “The Saami in a Shrinking World.” Cultural Survival, 1 Mar. 1984, www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/saami-shrinking-world. 

- “Sami.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Sami. 

- “Sami/Saami.” Sami / Saami, www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-sami.htm. 

- “SWEDEN: Hamlet Performed in Sami at the Ice Globe Theater.” Cultural Survival, www.culturalsurvival.org/news/sweden-hamlet-performed-sami-ice-globe-theater. 

- “The Sami People - Indigenous People of the North - Northern Norway.” Visit Northern Norway, 11 Nov. 2020, nordnorge.com/en/tema/the-sami-are-the-indigenous-people-of-the-north/. 

- “The Sámi National Theatre Beaivváš (SNTB) Celebrates the German Premiere of Johan Turi at the Museum Angewandte Kunst - Norway Guest of Honour Frankfurt Book Fair 2019 - The Dream We Carry.” - Norway Guest of Honour Frankfurt Book Fair 2019 - The Dream We Carry, 2020, norway2019.com/en/events/das-sami-national-theatre-beaivvas-sntb-feiert-im-museum-angewandte-kunst-die-deutschlandpremiere-von-johan-turi. 

- https://web.archive.org/web/20070910094816/http://www.beaivvas.no/web/index.php?sladja=25&giella1=eng

[cristinagooge]

Canada and British Columbia invest in infrastructure in the British Columbia Central Interior to create jobs and strengthen communities

Canada and British Columbia invest in infrastructure in the British Columbia Central Interior to create jobs and strengthen communities

From: Infrastructure Canada

News release

New investments in community infrastructure by the governments of Canada and British Columbia will benefit Central Interior communities while also supporting economic recovery in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic by getting projects underway and meeting communities’ needs as they restart their economies.

Nelson, British Columbia, July 3, 2020—New investments in community infrastructure by the governments of Canada and British Columbia will benefit Central Interior communities while also supporting economic recovery in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic by getting projects underway and meeting communities’ needs as they restart their economies.

These investments will play a key role in strengthening local economies, and helping ensure British Columbians have access to the services and cultural networks they need to build resilient communities.

Today, Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development; and the Honourable Michelle Mungall, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Nelson-Creston, on behalf of the Honourable Selina Robinson, B.C. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced funding for 25 projects under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan in the Central Interior.

The Nelson Civic Theatre Society will rehabilitate the Nelson Civic Theatre into a cultural media arts centre. This project will divide the existing 10,000 square feet theatre into three separate theatre spaces. Each theatre will be upgraded with new seating as well as updates to the lobby area, a new elevator and new washrooms, box office and reception area.

The Okanagan Indian Band will rebuild the cultural arbor that had been a longstanding community gathering place for powwows, ceremonies, youth and elders’ gatherings, cultural events and workshops. Including a stage, children's play area, walking path, bleachers, and landscaping, the new space will restore a key venue for bringing residents together and celebrating the Band’s heritage.

The District of Lillooet will install a new carbon dioxide refrigeration system to replace the existing ammonia system in the Lillooet Recreation Centre facility. The new system will be safer and re-use the heat generated by the plant to heat other parts of the arena to save energy and reduce operating costs. 

Among the other projects receiving this funding are improvements to community centres, health centres, storm water management, drinking water and wastewater facilities, cultural facilities and social support hubs. 

The Government of Canada is contributing more than $22.6 million, the Government of British Columbia is contributing over $15 million and the individual applicants are contributing more than $4 million to these projects through the Community, Culture, and Recreation Infrastructure Stream (CCRIS), and the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream (RNIS) of the Investing in Canada Plan.

More than $7 million of the federal and provincial funding is going to three projects in Indigenous communities.

Further announcements of infrastructure investments will follow in the coming months as Canada and British Columbia work together to support jobs, improve our communities, and safely and sustainably restore economic growth. 

Quotes

“Investing in community, recreation and cultural centres promotes people’s health and well-being and builds strong dynamic communities where people want to put down roots and do business. Cultural hubs like the Nelson Civic Theatre and the Okanagan Indian Band’s Cultural Arbor are the backbone of our communities and important focal points for activities that bring people together and help us grow. These, along with the 23 other projects we’re announcing today, will support local economies now, help celebrate local heritage, and bring residents new amenities and programs that will make a real difference in people’s lives for years to come.”

Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Member of Parliament for Burnaby North—Seymour on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and of Rural Economic Development 

“In partnership with the federal government, we are investing in infrastructure that will strengthen communities by boosting local economies and creating opportunities for people across British Columbia. Now, more than ever, people need public spaces and services to support their health and well-being, and this infrastructure funding will bring jobs and hope to communities when they need it most.”

The Honourable Michelle Mungall, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Nelson-Creston, on behalf of the Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Quick facts

Through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan, the Government of Canada is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.

$25.3 billion of this funding is supporting social infrastructure in Canadian communities.

$2 billion of this funding is supporting infrastructure projects that meet the unique needs of rural and northern communities like facilities to support food security, local access roads and enhanced broadband connectivity. In addition, $400 million is being delivered through the Arctic Energy Fund to advance energy security in the territories.

The governments of Canada and British Columbia are providing more than $134 million for the first intake of project applications under the Community Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream (CCRIS) of the Investing in Canada Plan, and more than $94 million for the first intake under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream (RNIS).

The second intake for both streams was announced on June 25, 2020, with the following funding available from the governments of Canada and British Columbia combined: 

CCRIS: up to $100.6 million

RNIS: up to $58.7 million

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[zuzuslastbraincell]

tbh the more i think about this addition the more i'm not fond of it as it characterises gender through a western lens. and obviously concepts like gender etc. in ATLA are weird because they characterise asian & arctic indigenous cultures from a western lens as well and multiple aspects of it are westernised. but either way enjoying theatre and poetry aren't feminine traits, especially not in east asia.

i do think the original point stands though.

I think if you characterise Zuko as significantly more feminine than Sokka, you're getting their characters wrong, and risk sliding into racialised stereotypes

[thenavajotourist-blog]

American Indian Film Festival Recap Premiere Night 2019

Published 11/2/2019, All Photos by Rye Purvis unless otherwise noted.

The American Indian Film Institute celebrated their 44th year of the American Indian Film Festival Saturday October 26th at the Brava Theatre in Mission District, San Francisco. 

The Festival’s Emcee Tom Phillips (Kiowa) introduced the week long festival with an opening song by the All Nations Drum Group, performed in honor and remembrance of founder Michael Smith. 

Tom Phillips (left) and All Nations Drum Group (right)

The night continued with a presentation of five films: Throat Singing in Kangirsuk, Sacheen: Breaking the Silence, Two Brothers, Henry’s Heart, and Red Snow.

Photo from Sundance Institute1

At a mere 4 minutes and 30 seconds, Throat Singing in Kangirsuk immediately takes viewers out of San Francisco and in to Kangirsuk, a small village where the directors and throat singers Eva Kaukai and Manon Chamberland are from. Drone shots by Johnny Nassak present birds eye views of both snowy and rocky horizons making for quite an ethereal landscape. Eva and Manon are seen fluctuating between a calm seriousness and a contagious playfulness, trying not to laugh while their voices reverberate meditatively. One can’t help but get entranced by the sound and image, almost wishing for more. 

The second film of the night, Sacheen: Breaking the Silence had the honor of being introduced by Sacheen Littlefeather (Apache) herself, joined by producer Gayle Anne Kelley. The film directed by Peter Spirer, gave viewers a glimpse into the shocking moment at the 1973 Academy Awards when actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather refused the best actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando. The film gives a short but moving view of Sacheen’s perspective: who Sacheen is, what led up to the Oscar refusal, and what the aftermath looked like. Forty-five years after the fact, the televised moment remains astounding. Breaking the Silence gives voice and respect to the woman behind it all, the woman who carried the weight of the advocacy in the moment and decades after. Littlefeather’s voice is clear, direct and heard.

Sacheen (left) and Gayle (right) answering a question from the crowd during Q&A.

The third film of the night, Two Brothers directed by Montana Cypress (Miccosukee) was a 10 minute short film on the conversations and sense of unease two brothers experience as they prepare for the Seminole Wars. Montana Cypress also plays one of the brothers in the film. 

Sacheen (far left), Gayle (second from left), Montana (on the mic) and Asivak

Henry’s Heart and Red Snow were the last films of the night. In Red Snow, actor Asivak Koostachin played Dylan, a Gwich’in soldier caught by the Taliban in this feature film directed by Marie Clements. The film is set in the present but intermittently shows flashbacks of Dylan’s life back in the Canadian Arctic where his relationship with his culture, Grandmother, and tragic young love influence the young man’s place in the world. Asivak does a wonderful job balancing the hardness of the soldier’s exterior with a complex impassioned interior as Dylan interacts with a Pashtun family through their escape from the Taliban. 

Asivak (left) and Montana (right)

Crowd of Attendees in lobby of Brava Theatre

Overall, premiere night of the American Indian Film Festival gave a great array of film presentation, setting the tone for the week to come. From activism, to historical settings, personal conflicts and heartache, the films certainly reinstated the importance of Indigenous/Native/First Nation vision in media and entertainment. 

Sacheen Littlefeather signing DVD covers.

Me and Sacheen (most exciting moment of the night tbh!)

Links to More Information on the Films:

Red Snow

Two Brothers

Sacheen: Breaking the Silence

Throat Singing in Kangirsuk

Henry’s Heart

Signing Off ,

Rye Purvis “The Navajo Tourist”

[faucetbacon84-blog]

Saturday, December 8 & Sunday, December 9: Mansion Tours, Cookie Crawl, TubaChristmas + 99 More

What are your favorite free & cheap things to do during winter in NYC? Share your thoughts here.

Today’s Events—Saturday, December 8

2018 BUST Holiday Craftacular + School for Creative Living (Through Sunday, December 9) Brooklyn Expo Center, Brooklyn

2018 Gracie Mansion Holiday Open House Gracie Mansion, Manhattan

Choose From 50+ Cookie Varieties During 10th Annual St. Nicholas Cookie Walk (Through Sunday, December 9)

2018 SantaCon NYC

Open Bar SantaCon Brunch

2018 ARC Holiday Record & CD Sale (Through Sunday, December 23) The ARChive of Contemporary Music, Manhattan

2018 New York State Yo-Yo Contest + Afterparty Coney Island USA, Brooklyn

Free Coffee + Prizes 23rd St. & Broadway, Manhattan

Free Candy Buffet

Free Self-Care & Wellness Party with Massages, Music, Treats & More

2018 Wizard Fest Yule Ball Harry Potter Party Brooklyn Bazaar, Brooklyn

2018 Ice Theater of New York’s Free Winter Holiday Skating Celebration + Tree Lighting

Free Bourbon Cocktails + 2018 Paragon Sports WinterFest

PaleyLand 2018 with Vintage Holiday Shows, Games & Free Cocoa (Through Sunday, January 6) The Paley Center for Media, Manhattan

NYC Holiday Scavenger Hunt

Interactive Party Musical Inspired by Festivals of the Ancient World + Free Drinks Caveat, Manhattan

2018 Rubulad Holiday Revue—Performances, Holiday Karaoke & More

History of Riotous Pagan Holiday Saturnalia + Fav ’90s Singer-Songwriter Jill Sobule Caveat, Manhattan

Free Walking Tour: Gay & Lesbian Writers & Artists in the East Village Tompkins Square Library, Manhattan

Free Comics & Zines Workshop Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library Branch, Brooklyn

2018 Colored Girls Hustle Holiday Market New Women Space, Brooklyn

2018 Parklife Holiday Market (Through Sunday, December 9) Parklife, Brooklyn

2018 FAD Market Holiday Pop-Up in 2 Brooklyn Locations (Through Sunday, December 9) Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn

Cheap NYC Ghost Walking Tours (Saturdays Through December 30)

Tomorrow’s Events—Sunday, December 9

2018 Queens Holiday Historic House Tour—Shuttle Transportation & Treats Included

2018 Accordion Festival Museum at Eldridge Street, Manhattan

45th Anniversary of TubaChristmas HOLIDAYTUBAS Concert Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

Free Harlem Gospel Choir Concert

New York City’s 10th Annual Blessing of the Animals Christ Church NYC, Manhattan

2018 ‘Menorah Horah’ Hanukkah Burlesque Spectacular (Discounted Tix!)

‘Nutcracker’ Set in Old New York

South Africa’s Grammy-Winning Soweto Gospel Choir

2018 East Village Tree Lighting Ceremony Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan

2018 Ft. Greene Tree Lighting + Carols, Cocoa & Cookies Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn

2018 Shamanic & Indigenous Arts Market The Ark, Brooklyn

2018 Holiday Market At Bohemian Hall (Sundays Through December 16) Bohemian Hall, Queens

Holiday Wreathmaking (Weekends Through December 9) Queens County Farm, Queens

NYC Gospel Music History & Architecture Tours (Sundays Through December 29)

2018 Fulton Stall Market Deck the Stalls Holiday Market + Performances (Sundays Through December 23)

2018 Vintage Holiday Subway Rides (Sundays Through December 30)

Nifty NYC is supported by community members like you. Share the love & donate to help me maintain the site. Every dollar is appreciated. :)

Ending This Weekend

Tour a Historic Hotel by Candlelight + Performances & Treats (Through Saturday, December 8) Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, Manhattan

Speaking Truth to Power 2018—Screenings & Talks (Through Saturday, December 8) Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn

Cheap NYC Dessert Tours (Through Saturday, December 8)

99¢ Sandwiches at Carnegie Deli Recreation Pop-Up (Through Saturday, December 8)

Free Cocoa & Chocolate Bars at M&Ms Holiday Pop-Up (Through Sunday, December 9)

Free Drinks, Bites, Styling, Crafts & More at 2018 Thrillist Holiday Hideaway (Through Sunday, December 9)

2018 Lighting Brooklyn’s Largest Menorah + Live Music & Latkes (Through Sunday, December 9) Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn

2018 Lighting of the World’s Largest Menorah in Manhattan (Through Sunday, December 9) Grand Army Plaza Manhattan, Manhattan

1/2 Price Tickets to ‘A Christmas Carol’ (Through Sunday, December 9)

2018 Chelsea Market Holiday Handmade Cavalcade (Through Sunday, December 9) Chelsea Market, Manhattan

MONO NO AWARE XI Film Festival (Through Sunday, December 9)

Ongoing

See more ongoing & upcoming NYC events

$7 Admission to the Museum of Sex (Through Sunday, June 30) Museum of Sex, Manhattan

NYC Slavery & Underground Railroad Tours (Through Saturday, December 29)

Greenwich Village Haunted Walking Tours (Through Sunday, December 30)

1/2 Price Central Park Bike Tours (Through December 2018)

High Line Art Installation Examines Art & Public Space (Through March 2019) The High Line, Manhattan

Save $5.75 on Movie Tickets

‘Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color’ (Through Sunday, January 13) Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Manhattan

‘Underground Heroes: New York Transit in Comics’ (Through Sunday, January 6) New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn

‘Rebel Women’ Who Defied Victorian Era Expectations (Through Sunday, January 6) Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan

Discounted Tickets to Interactive M.C. Escher Exhibit in NYC (Through Sunday, February 3)

‘Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color’ (Through Saturday, January 5) Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Manhattan

‘Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis’ (Through Sunday, April 28) Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan

‘Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power’ (Through Sunday, February 3) Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn

‘Before Projection: Video Sculpture 1974–1995’ (Through Monday, December 17) Sculpture Center, Queens

Jerome Robbins (‘West Side Story’) & New York (Through Saturday, March 30) New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Manhattan

Cheap Indoor Ice Skating in Brooklyn (Through Monday, December 24)

‘Harry Potter’ Exhibition Brings Rare Manuscripts & Magical Objects to NYC (Through Sunday, January 27) New-York Historical Society, Manhattan

‘Tablescapes: Designs for Dining’ (Through Tuesday, April 16) Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Manhattan

Velvet Underground NYC Experience (Through Sunday, December 30)

‘It’s Alive! Frankenstein at 200’ (Through Sunday, January 27) The Morgan Library & Museum, Manhattan

‘Yasumasa Morimura: Ego Obscura’ Questions Eastern & Westerns Notions of Gender (Through Sunday, January 13) Japan Society, Manhattan

Cheap Theatre Walking Tours of The Met (Through Friday, December 21)

$10 Big Apple Circus Tickets (Through Saturay, December 15)

Free NYC Circus Tickets—Human Cannonball, Acrobats & More (Through Sunday, December 16)

120th Anniversary Exhibition at The National Arts Club Displays Treasures from the Collection (Through Friday, January 4) The National Arts Club, Manhattan

The Contenders 2018: MoMA Film Favorites Screened (Through Tuesday, January 8) The Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan

2018 Gingerbread Lane, the World’s Largest Gingerbread Village (Through Monday, January 21) New York Hall of Science, Queens

2018 Holiday Fair at Grand Central (Through Monday, December 24) Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan

Andy Warhol Retrospective at the Whitney Reimagines the Iconic Artist (Through Sunday, March 31) Whitney Museum of American Art, Manhattan

2018 Holiday Train Show (Through Sunday, February 3) Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan

2018 Union Square Holiday Market (Through Monday, December 24) Union Square Park, Manhattan

Discounted Tickets to 2018 NYC Holiday Train Show (Through Monday, January 21)

2018 American Museum of Natural History Origami Holiday Tree on Display (Through Sunday, January 13) American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan

Check Out Charles Dickens’s Original Manuscript of ‘A Christmas Carol’ (Through Sunday, January 6) The Morgan Library & Museum, Manhattan

1st Ever WinterFest at BK Museum with Market, Performances, Tree Maze, Chocolate Tasting & More (Through Monday, December 31) Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn

2018 Columbus Circle Holiday Market (Through Monday, December 24)

2018 NYC Winter Lantern Festival with Huge Light Installations & Performances (Through Sunday, January 6)

Free Meals Paired with Art—Cook & Celebrate Together (Through Monday, December 31) Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn

NYC Christmas Sing-a-Long Adventure (Through Sunday, December 16)

2018 Vintage MTA Bus Rides for the Holidays (Weekdays Through December 21)

2018 Wreath Interpretations Exhibition (Through Thursday, January 3) Central Park Arsenal, Manhattan

Free Tickets to ‘Cleopatra’ Musical (Through Saturday, December 22)

2018 BKLYN Arctic Adventure VR Experience—Meet Santa & Have a Snowball Fight (Through Friday, December 14) City Point, Brooklyn

A Harlemettes Holiday 2018 (Through Sunday, December 16) Harlem School of the Arts, Manhattan

Holiday Classics Screened at Nitehawk (Through Saturday, December 29) Nitehawk Cinema, Brooklyn

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Source: http://www.niftynyc.com/2018/12/08/december-8-december-9-free-nyc-events/

[floraexplorer]

Discover A World of Stories at Edinburgh’s Storytelling Festival

It was a chilly autumn morning in Edinburgh, and I was late for the Storytelling Festival.

I wove my way past groups of tourists along the Royal Mile until I reached a slightly crooked corner building – painted white on one side, bare brick on the other. I rushed up the stairs of the Scottish Storytelling Centre and suddenly stood inside a warm cafe, where my glasses steamed up immediately.

I looked around and spotted a white-haired man with eagles outlined on his shirt: Robert Seven Crows Bourdon, the man I was supposed to meet. Robert, a singer, songwriter and professional storyteller hailing from Quebec, was my first introduction to the reason for me being in Edinburgh.

We were both there for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival – otherwise known as the best festival I’ve never heard of.

Wait – there’s a Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh?

You’d be forgiven for not noticing the Scottish Storytelling Centre at first glance – it blends seamlessly into the other historical buildings along the Royal Mile. But for me (and for any other story-obsessed folk), this place is a dream location.

The Scottish Storytelling Centre is an arts venue designed specifically to preserve and celebrate live oral storytelling. It’s the first place in the world to do this – and probably just one of a handful of similar centres worldwide.

Throughout the year, the centre holds numerous events – everything from spoken word performances and open mic nights to workshops and exhibitions – but each October it becomes an international hub as storytellers from all over the world flock to the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.

So what is the Scottish International Storytelling Festival?

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival began in 1989 with the intention of bringing storytellers together to share oral histories and traditions. It’s been running for the last three decades, and celebrated its 31st iteration this year.

More than sixty events take place over the twelve day festival, and although the majority are held at the Storytelling Centre, there’s also associated talks and exhibitions scattered throughout Edinburgh too.

The theme of this year’s 2019 festival was ‘Beyond Words’, which showcased how music, dance and song all share their own stories. It also focused specifically on storytellers from First Nation Canada: something of a coincidence, seeing as I’d just spent a fortnight in Atlantic Canada with First Nation Mi’kmaq people learning about their traditions.

It also meant I was fascinated to know more about how Robert’s First Nation ancestry influences his storytelling.

Read more: a fortnight spent exploring Atlantic Canada

“Storytelling performances are a big trend now,” Robert told me. He said that oral storytelling is becoming more like theatre, where the focus is on the ‘show’ instead of the rapport between speaker and listener. 

At a festival, everyone’s sitting and waiting with bated breath, but the tradition he comes from treats storytelling as something effortless. Nobody has stage fright; nobody’s afraid to disappoint.

“In our world there’s dogs running around, there’s kids jumping over you, the elders are talking…It’s not a performance. I invite you into my world — but I’m not saying you must listen to me. The storyteller’s job is not to be listened to. His job is to tell.”

Over the next hour, we talked about the other storytelling festivals he’s performed at (and there are many – Robert’s been telling stories professionally for twenty years). I’ve been to a few literary festivals – the most memorable being Hay Book Festival in Wales and Gibraltar’s annual Literary Festival – but Edinburgh’s Storytelling Festival is the first I’ve heard of which explores the relationship between a storyteller and their audience.

Before I’d even attended a performance, Robert’s words were making me understand just how significant this festival was.

Read more: Sailing to the Arctic in pursuit of storytelling

Exploring Edinburgh’s literary side

The skies were still bright blue outside on the Royal Mile. I had a few hours before attending my first performance of the storytelling festival, so I decided to visit a few of the more famous literary landmarks in the city.

Edinburgh’s fame as a literary destination is unparalleled. It was deemed the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004; it holds the largest literary festival in the world; and it’s regarded by millions as the modern-day home of schoolboy magic, thanks to J.K. Rowling’s regular writing sessions in an Edinburgh cafe.

It feels like you can’t take more than a few steps through Edinburgh without passing a second-hand bookshop, a location featured in a novel, or posters like these plastered all over the bricks.

My self-guided literary tour of Edinburgh began at The Writers Museum where three of Scotland’s most famous writers are celebrated: Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Once I’d climbed up a winding red staircase in a narrow tower at Makar’s Court, I found glass cabinets filled with their childhood toys, dusty clothes, tobacco pipes, chess sets and locks of their hair. 

At the National Library of Scotland, I wandered through an exhibit on how Scottish people have changed the world – and then spent ages in front of a glass cabinet filled with paper sculptures from old books. 

These stunning artworks mysteriously appeared one night in 2011, left by an anonymous female sculptor in various cultural locations around Edinburgh. More sculptures were revealed over the next five years – but although the project has now come to a close, the artist’s identity still remains a secret. 

I even made a quick stop at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, the namesake of which served as the inspiration for ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde‘.

A furniture maker and city councillor by day but a thief by night, the errant Deacon Brodie swung from the gallows in 1788. Some of his furniture made its way to a young Robert Louis Stevenson’s family: the burgeoning author became fascinated with Brodie’s double life, eventually incorporating the character into one of his most well-known novels.

By the time the sun had set, it was time to venture back to the Storytelling Centre for my first festival performance.

Inside the Scottish Storytelling Centre

A crowd of excited attendees were already milling around the Storytelling Court when I stepped inside. I headed for the ���interactive storytelling wall’ – a long row of cabinet doors containing tiny, perfect models of famous stories, legends and folk tales.

After opening a few, I found a scene depicting Flora MacDonald helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to the Isle of Skye. She’s one of the famous Floras I was named after, and I couldn’t help but smile! 

Just then the theatre doors were opened so I headed downstairs to the Netherbow Theatre, a small auditorium with just 99 seats, to watch as the Dancers of Damelahamid appeared onstage.

An Indigenous dance company from the northwest coast of British Columbia, they draw inspiration from their origin stories and use masks to retell traditional narratives of their ancestors. I had no idea what to expect, but from the moment their performance began I was utterly enthralled.

Their movements were quiet. Almost silent. Clean and precise, their feet tapping as they stepped back and forth to a drum beat. They uttered no words and were fully absorbed in their dance; becoming birds with beaks, then shaking wooden rain sticks and gripping animal hooves in their hands. Then suddenly:

“IT’S A SHARK!!”

A young child’s gleeful voice rang out from behind me. I felt the audience twitch and stiffen: my immediate reaction was one of annoyance, and I began mentally preparing for the constant threat of disturbance.

But that’s when Robert’s words came back to me: “Storytelling isn’t supposed to be silent or one-sided!” For him, any moment of storytelling will involve possible noise and outside activity and distraction. 

And in that moment, I realised I’d been looking at this festival all wrong. 

So often I think about storytelling as being something static – something to be read either on the page or a device’s screen. But in fact it’s so important to remember the live aspect of storytelling. The relationship between an oral storyteller and their audience has such power because it’s so subject to changes in timing, volume, even the dynamic between the people involved.

But everything – even a child’s excitable reactions – are simply part of the overall experience.

A spooky storytelling marathon for Halloween

The next day was the last of the storytelling festival, which also coincided with Halloween. I spent the majority of my day at the centre where a steady stream of impromptu storytellers stood (or sat) to share their words.

Just like Robert had said, the beauty of this event was in the interactive aspect. I watched a dozen different people take centre stage: a girl from Poland, an elderly Irish man, a Belgian woman, a guy in a full Scottish kilt outfit, all of whom told spooky stories. 

Every time I thought of leaving, a new character appeared on stage and I couldn’t go – particularly when a group of older Scottish gentlemen arrived. They clearly spend a lot of time at the centre: there was an easy camaraderie between them borne of years in each others company, and their enjoyment of each others’ stories was infectious.

Celebrating a different kind of story at Samhuinn Fire Festival

Later that night, I wrapped myself in all the clothes I’d brought with me and trudged up Calton Hill to a side of Edinburgh which seemed lifted from the pages of a folk tale. 

That’s because Halloween is celebrated differently in Scotland. October 31st is the night of Samhuinn, an ancient pagan festival which welcomes the thinning of the veil between two worlds. And each year, the Beltane Fire Society hold a festival to celebrate Samhuinn tradition with immersive performance, drumming, acrobatics and fire.

Read more: celebrating Samhuinn Fire Festival in Edinburgh

The value of storytelling

As I stood amongst the crowds and watched a grinning group of costumed characters dance and spin their way across the hilltop, I thought about how many ways there truly are to tell a story. It doesn’t prescribe to any one medium: it can be dancing or singing, drumming or speaking, full of sound or completely silent. 

It’s about the rhythms they choose to use: cadence, words, the lilt of their voice. It’s about the place they decide to perform: sitting amongst their audience or standing on a stage or weaving their way through a small, tight crowd.

There is always a place for stories, and for storytellers – and in Edinburgh there’s a literal building for it. I’d never heard of Edinburgh’s Storytelling Centre before this visit, but I’m so thankful I know about its existence now. Creating a real, physical space for storytellers to gather together – not to mention hosting a festival which celebrating those gatherings, and opens them up for others – is something pretty special in my book. 

Pin this article if you enjoyed it!

NB: This trip was in paid partnership with Edinburgh Festivals, who kindly invited me to the Scottish International Storytelling Festival so I could wax lyrical about stories for a weekend.

The post Discover A World of Stories at Edinburgh’s Storytelling Festival appeared first on Flora The Explorer.

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[winnipegwinterpeg]

Definitely recommend the Manitoba Museum! They have an exibit on the history of hockey, including the earliest known hockey stick, an exhibit about the Franklin Exploration, and exhibitions honouring Canadian soldiers of World War One, all on right now, as well as the normal galleries such as the Nonsuch replica and recreation of the businesses around the wharf from 17th century Deptford, England; the Hudson’s Bay Collection; the Urban Gallery, a recreation of Winnipeg in the 1920s, complete with a movie theatre playing short silent movies; the Arctic/Inuit Gallery; and much more, including the planetarium.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is also up there, especially if you have interest in Indigenous art.

Hey tumblr friends! Is anyone from Winnipeg? I’m going for a long weekend next month and would LOVE some advice on sights to see and things to do. My plans insofar include the Assiniboine Zoo and the Museum of Human Rights, as well as some good ole Northern Lights hunting - not to mention chilling in the sauna and hot tub of our hotel (I feel like that will be much needed with Manitoba’s wintery cold weather). Anyone have any other ideas of what do to do/see?! 

[funtubeweb]

NFB’s English Animation Studio Launches All-New Experimentation Lab: NFB/ONFxp

For decades, the National Film Board has been at the forefront of innovation in cinema, creating a vast array of award-winning films. True to its history while also eager shaping an ever-changing industry, the NFB has never shied away from sharing its extensive knowledge with the community and fellow artists alike. Now, the NFB is excited to introduce an all-new experimentation lab: NFB/ONFxp.

Spearheaded by the English Animation Studio, this experimentation lab will offer an inside look as four creators from Quebec tackle an idea they’ve always wanted to explore, but lacked the resources to carry out. With the help of the NFB’s considerable resources and a mentor (who has been specially handpicked for them), these passionately curious creators are ready to push the boundaries of their imagination.

These four creators will have one month to complete their experiments in-house at NFB Headquarters. Without the pressure of a final project on the horizon, they will be able to better focus on the fun of experimentation. Through live interviews, behind-the-scenes coverage and blog posts, the creators will share their findings publicly. With the lab wrapping up at the end of March, a public presentation in the form of lightning talks will be held in downtown Montreal where creators will discuss their successes, pitfalls and discoveries. The presentations will also serve as an opportunity for members of the art and tech community to gather, learn and participate in a discussion about the experiments and how they can be pushed further.

Here’s what you need to know about them!

Shawn Laptiste

Shawn Laptiste is known for his laugh, for having an affinity for beautiful sounds and for caring about clean code (though not necessarily in that order). With almost two decades of tinkering in computer music and approximately 15 years in professional software development, his interests range from game design to sound design and installation art. Currently, he is in the process of exploring new and innovative ways to merge interactivity and art and bring them to the public at large.

Imagine a stadium filled with people, where everyone’s phone is acting as one individual pixel, a part of one giant art installation. With the intention of bringing people together via jaw-dropping art installations, Shawn’s experiment revolves around finding the best approach to merging these two interests.

You can follow Shawn across Instagram, Twitter, GitHub, itch.io: @lazerfalcon

Kofi Oduro

Kofi’s artistic practice is an observation of the world around us, which he then puts into artwork for others to relate to or disagree with. Through videography, poetry and creative coding, he tries to highlight the realms of human performance and the human mind in different scenarios. These situations can be described as social, internal, or even biological, which we face in our everyday lives. Adding music and visuals often helps to identify one’s own feelings, and to highlight the various subtleties that make us human. With a dose of technology, there is an endless range of progress in human creative endeavours.

Brimming with brilliant ways to play with people’s senses in VR, Kofi’s experiment is all about creating a mystifying VR space using artificial intelligence, with a mix of audio and visuals to trip up viewers as they try to navigate the room.

You can visit Kofi’s website here.

Travis Mercredi 

Travis Mercredi is a Métis producer, sound designer and musician from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He has produced work across mediums such as film, music, theatre, radio, television and games, and his projects have been featured in venues such as the National Arts Centre, the Canoe Theatre Festival, Talking Stick Theatre Festival, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, APTN, CBC, Yellowknife International Film Festival, Cannes and others. As an Indigenous person working in new media, he seeks to connect technology and indigeneity and explore the implications of that relationship for social innovation. As an advocate for the arts in his region, he has sat on the boards of Western Arctic Moving Pictures, NWT Professional Media Association, Yellowknife Artist Run Community Centre and Music NWT. He currently resides in Montreal, Quebec, where he is completing Concordia University’s Computation Arts program and is a research assistant with Initiative for Indigenous Futures.

Travis’s experiment entails merging his Indigenous roots and exploring the edges of what our ears hear that cue our perception on an unconscious level. Dabbling in hyperrealism and surrealism, Travis also enjoys showcasing the beauty of the Northwest Territories through his VR spaces.

You can visit Travis’s website here.

e→d films

e→d films is an animation studio and tools lab based in Montreal since 2007. Known for hybrid, holistic animation production, technical experimentation and innovation, e→d films does it all in the animation and gaming industries, both for clients and their own productions. The studio’s work has travelled to festivals worldwide. Their awards include a Webby for Best Animation in 2011, a Power to the Pixel (London, UK) win in 2015, and a MIFA-Annecy pitch selection in 2016. Their latest project, for EyeSteelFilm’s Let There Be Light documentary, premiered at SXSW, screened at Sundance and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation at the Cinema Eye Honors Awards in NYC (2018). Along the way, the company has committed to sharing their knowledge, offering online tutorials, tools and downloadable assets that empower other animators to take their projects to the next level.

In the process of creating an exciting new plug-in that will facilitate the process of working between 2D and 3D software, e→d films will leverage the NFB’s creative minds to beta-test the plug-in to observe how it performs with animators who use the software and regularly face the task of moving between the 2D and 3D space. As explained by Daniel Gies, the plug-in’s purpose is to allow illustrators to export layered Photoshop files out to a 3D Maya Model for sculpting.

You can find e→d films at their website here, and on social media at @e.d.films.

Stay tuned for all the exciting upcoming content!

 The Animation Studio has appropriated the NFBONFxp title from the Digital Studio, and created a new entity. With the Digital Studio’s blessing.

The post NFB’s English Animation Studio Launches All-New Experimentation Lab: NFB/ONFxp appeared first on NFB Blog.

NFB’s English Animation Studio Launches All-New Experimentation Lab: NFB/ONFxp posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

[awesome-adventures]

5 FAQ's About Travel in the Arctic

If sultry heat is not your style, set your travel compass to the North. The Far North. 

The Arctic is one of the most remote and life-changing travel destinations – and it's accessible to adventurous travelers year round and especially during the relatively 'warmer' summer months.

Here are 5 questions everyone asks about taking a trip to the Arctic:

How Far North is the 'Arctic'?

The Arctic Circle is the northern-most of the 5 circles of latitude circling the earth. The 25,000-mile Equator is the one around the widest part of the Earth at the middle. Up near the top of the planet, by comparison, at 66°33′47.2″ north of the Equator, the Arctic Circle is only 10-thousand miles around. 

The Arctic Circle passes through 8 Northern countries: Greenland (Denmark), Canada, the US (in Alaska), Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and an island off the coast of Iceland. Although definitions vary, travel roughly anywhere above the 'tree line' – where the terrain and the cold climate prevent trees from growing – could be considered a trip to the Arctic.

Unlike the opposite polar region, the Antarctic, which is a vast island continent, much of the 4% of the Earth's surface above the Arctic Circle is ocean. So many trips to the Arctic involve travel by sea.

(Photo Credit)

Will I See The Northern Lights?

This magical natural phenomenon is one of the top reasons people travel to the northern hemisphere's polar regions. But you'll have to dress for cold weather. The Aurora Borealis are only visible nights from September til April.

And only when atmospheric conditions are right. Moving charged particles in solar winds interact with the Earth's magnetosphere, emitting different colors of light that seem to 'dance'. The most common colors are greens and yellows, but other colors are possible in different conditions.

The best places to experience the Northern Lights include Canada's Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Alaska, southern Greenland and Iceland, northern Norway, and off the coast of Siberia. The farther north and away from the 'light pollution' of towns and cities, the better the viewing.

If you travel to the Yukon during the summer and miss experiencing the Northern Lights, drop in to the Northern Lights Space and Science Centre, which will treat you to interactive displays about the science and folklore behind the Northern Lights, as well as a spectacular video in its domed theatre. (If you visit in the winter, the show's all around you outdoors).

Is There Really A 'Midnight Sun'?

Summer has its own uniquely polar atmospheric event. Because the Earth tilts on its axis, in the Arctic at the very top, during the Summer Solstice in June, the sun is visible for a full 24 hours, even at midnight. And the days on either side of the Summer Solstice are very long, indeed. 20-24 hour days are a surreal experience – as are mid-winter days of endless darkness on the flip side of the annual calendar. 

(Photo Credit)

What Wildlife Can I See?

The word 'Arctic' comes from Greek meaning 'Bear' and 'northern'. It actually is referring to constellations of stars, but there's no doubt the poster child creature of the Arctic is the magnificent polar bear.

Canada's Churchill, Manitoba is the polar bear capital of the world, the ultimate destination for any traveler intent on seeing polar bears. Guided tours in the safety of specialized vehicles can bring you unbelievably close to the largest polar land mammal and fierce predator, one whose survival is threatened by shrinking sea ice due to climate change.

Travelers to Arctic seas hope to cross beluga whales, orca and narwhals, seals and walrus off their spotting lists.

And on land, polar bears share the tundra with musk ox, Arctic fox, wolves, caribou and Arctic hare, and in the skies, snowy owls and other species highly adapted to a severe environment.

Plant life in the Arctic is less notable for being spectacular than for being astoundingly hardy; the tiniest flowers you wouldn't notice underfoot at home are breathtaking in such a stark environment.

What About Human History in the Arctic?

While the Arctic is famous for its 'Big Nature', you may be surprised that about 4 million people also live above the Arctic Circle in the 8 Arctic countries. Indigenous people have lived in this harsh climate for thousands of years, and being able to visit one of their villages and experience first-hand their traditions and lifestyle is a highlight of any trip to the Arctic.

(Photo Credit)

Also don't miss the historic sites associated with tragic attempts to locate a maritime Northwest Passage as well as the famous Klondike Gold Rush sites in Alaska and Canada's Yukon.

There are many ways to explore one of the world's last remaining wilderness frontiers. Let us help you plan an Arctic journey of a lifetime.

Start your Trip!

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[thatalks]

Edition 173 - Alison Williams-Bailey - Project Great Grandmother, The Ancient Vanir

Alison Williams-Bailey is a talented, versatile and creative theatre practitioner who has worked with many companies as a performer, workshop leader, choreographer and assistant director.  She is the artistic director of Root and Branch Theatre Company and also performs as a folk singer and a songwriter. She has performed internationally, recorded her own CD albums and performed on radio (UK & international).  Since graduating from her MPhil (Brunel 2006) & MA (Middlesex 1996) in performing arts Alison has taught in higher education (Brunel, Winchester & London University) as well as leading workshops and giving lectures at festivals (Tommy Makem International Festival of Song, Northern Ireland) and academic conferences (Winchester & Cambridge University, British Forum for Ethnomusicology).  She has performed as a folk singer at festivals (Sami Indigenous Music Festival, Kautokeino, Norway; Broadstairs and Tenterden Folk Festivals UK) and has toured in international theatre with Optik Theatre Company & Dudendance. amongst others.

In 2006 Alison set up Root and Branch exploring ideas from her MPhil and encounters with the Sami indigenous people in the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic.  The Sami have a story-based culture passed through the generations by oral tradition. This year she founded Project Great Grandmother as a Root and Branch Theatre Project to explore mythology, legend and lore in Britain with storytelling performance of the Norse Creation Myth.

  Related Links:

www.rootandbranchtheatre.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/Project-Great-Grandmother-1041163536013638/

THA Talks, latest Edition !

[joesterwiththetoaster]

Who Are the Sámi?

The Sami are the indigenous people of the Sapmi (or Lapland) region in Northern Europe. Sapmi stretches from central Norway and Sweden through Finland’s northernmost territory and into parts of Russia. According to the website Arthropolis, there are “more than 40,000 Sami in Norway, 15,000-25,000 in Sweden, 6,500 in Finland, and about 2,000 in Russia.” For thousands of years, the Sami’s ancestors occupied the majority of Scandinavia, only to be pushed further north when settlers moved in. They now have dispersed to both occupy both traditional areas and become settled in major cities, largely abandoning their nomadic past. There are nine varieties of the Sami language, a Finno-Uralic language (a bit like Finnish or Hungarian), and for a time it was banned from being taught in Swedish schools, which also has led many Sami people to not even know how to speak the language(s). Indeed, until the second half of the twentieth century, Sami culture was somewhat stifled, with the countries’ governments trying to force assimilation on them and use their land for development. However, within the last forty-odd years, there has been a resurgence of interest and appreciation for Sami culture. There is a Sami parliament that acts in tandem with each country’s government, and given their territory is situated primarily in the Arctic Circle, they are in close discussions about fighting climate change.

Traditionally, the Sami have made their living as reindeer herders, farmers, and fishers, although there are Sami in virtually every employment sector nowadays. Culturally, the Sami are most famous for the Joik (a form of singing dedicated to a person, place, or animal, and is intended to capture the spirit of the subject) and “duoddji” (Sami for “craft,” regarding their unique traditions of weaving, embroidery, carving, and “kofte,” or traditional Sami clothes). Many of these traditions have found modern ways of implementation, including theatre!

[juliandmouton30]

Schmidt Hammer Lassen reveals new images of Greenland cultural centre to mark its 20th anniversary

These newly released photographs show the undulating timber-clad form of the Katuaq Cultural Centre of Greenland, which Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen credits as being its "breakthrough" project.

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Schmidt Hammer Lassen won an international competition in 1992 to design the building with a proposal intended to reflect Greenland's dramatic landscape.

The 4,800-square-metre Katuaq Cultural Centre of Greenland in Nuuk has survived two decades of the country's unforgiving climate since opening in 1997.

"Winning the competition to design the cultural centre in Greenland was a major breakthrough for our studio as our first project on an international scale," said founding partner Morten Schmidt.

"It spearheaded our architectural ambition to create cultural buildings with a strong sense of place and a space that acts as a meeting place for people," he added. "The challenge of constructing a sustainable building that could withstand the arctic climate conditions also brought us new knowledge about which materials we should use."

The wavy screen of golden-toned larch wood that fronts the cultural centre is intended as a metaphor for the region's Northern Lights. Rooflights peak above, marking the dark and massive form of the main building behind, which is a reference to the icy mountains.

The sinuous skylight and narrow openings in the screen bring daylight into the large bright, white foyer. Three volumes inside the space, representing fjords, mountains, snow and ice, hosts one of the centre's main facilities.

This includes a square box for the TV studio, a triangular structure for the cafe and a circular form for the multi-purpose auditorium, which seats 550 people and can also be used as a cinema, theatre, concert or conference hall.

Along the walls, Greenlandic artist Buuti Pedersen carved a relief based on the local myth of the sun and the moon called Malina and Aningaaq.

The building hosts concerts, film screenings, theatre performances, conferences and exhibitions that attract 100,000 visitors each year.

Events are also regularly broadcast from the building's TV studio to the international Inuit community – a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada, Denmark, Russia and the US.

The Katuaq Cultural Centre of Greenland received a number of awards when it opened, including the Selected Buildings Award in 1997, The Nykredit Architecture Prize in 1998, The Danish Arts Foundation Award in 1998 and The Eckersberg Medal in 1999.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen now has offices in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Shanghai and London. Other projects by the firm include Scandinavia's largest library, a titanium-clad cathedral in Norway that spirals up towards the sky and a canal-side cultural complex in Sweden.

Related story

Schmidt Hammer Lassen completes Scandinavia's largest library

Photography is by Adam Mørk and the Katuaq Cultural Centre.

The post Schmidt Hammer Lassen reveals new images of Greenland cultural centre to mark its 20th anniversary appeared first on Dezeen.

from ifttt-furniture https://www.dezeen.com/2017/02/21/schmidt-hammer-lassen-katuaq-cultural-centre-greenland-nuuk-20th-anniversary-architecture-photography/

[funtubeweb]

In the Frame: Five NFB Projects to Watch in 2019

2018 has ended on a high note for the NFB. Two NFB productions have made it onto TIFF’s prestigious Top Ten list — Patrick Bouchard’s masterful stop motion animation The Subject (Le Sujet) and Christy Garland’s Palestine-set coming-of-age story What Walaa Wants, a Murmur Media/Final Cut for Real/NFB co-production that’s set for theatrical run at the TIFF Bell LIghtbox.

Meanwhile 1999, Samara Chadwick’s meditation on collective grief, has been named one of the year’s best documentaries by POV Magazine, Elizabeth Hobb’s animated short I’m OK has nabbed a BAFTA nomination, and Animal Behaviour, the latest comic animation from David Fine and Alison Snowden, has been shortlisted for an Oscar.

In theatrical news, Jordan Tannahill’s experimental VR creation Draw Me Close is poised to open at the National Theatre’s Young Vic in the UK, and What is Democracy?, Astra Taylor’s red-hot film of the moment, has been named Movie of the Week by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) as it kicks off its American run at New York City’s IFC Center.

2019 is shaping up to be another milestone year: on May 2 the NFB celebrates its 80th birthday. In the eight decades since it was established, Canada’s public producer has come to occupy a unique position within world cinema, distinguishing itself as a crucible for documentary and film animation — and more recently as a hub for creative experimentation in immersive/interactive media.

As the NFB enters its ninth decade, English Program studios are gearing up to release a slate of inspired and inventive new work — a line-up that includes a playful VR investigation of Artificial Intelligence; documentaries on food sovereignty and restorative justice; a lively movie essay on the state of contemporary journalism featuring Robert Fisk; and a record number of Indigenous-directed projects. Here are five to watch.

Throat: Tanya Tagaq Testifies

Tanya Tagaq is an inimitable force. Infusing the performance traditions of her people with startling new urgency, she cuts her own fierce and utterly distinct path through the world of contemporary music.

In a few short years, the Nunavut-born Tagaq has made searing solo albums like Animism and Retribution, collaborated with Bjork and the Kronos Quartet, won the Polaris Prize and other honours, authored a fictionalised coming-of-age-in-the-Arctic memoir called Split Tooth, and emerged as a passionate defender of Inuit culture.

Tagaq is now breathing life into a new project, a feature-doc called Throat that she’s creating in partnership with Chelsea McMullan, a filmmaker who turned heads at Sundance in 2014 with the NFB-produced My Prairie Home, a stylish profile of transgender performer Rae Spoon.

Sound will be key, and material captured at a 2017 concert at Toronto’s Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church provides the film with its spine. The shoot offered the NFB its first opportunity to work with Dolby Atmos, newly developed sound technology that can record as many as 128 separate tracks, offering a hugely expanded set of soundtrack options in post-production. The primary sound recordist on the shoot was Alex Unger, working with Marcus Matyas and Mark Wilson from the Ontario Studio, and a top-notch team from Tattersall Sound & Picture, the Toronto post-production house that created the soundtrack for My Prairie Home.

“Tanya and Chelsea are breaking new ground, experimenting with new ways of depicting performance on film,” says producer Lea Marin, who also produced My Prairie Home. “Sound is of utmost importance, and Jane Tattersall, Graham Rogers and their team are bringing invaluable expertise and dedication to the whole project.” Throat is co-created by director Chelsea McMullan and Tanya Tagaq, produced by Lea Marin, associate produced by Kate Vollum and executive produced by Anita Lee at the Ontario Studio. Sound design is by Tattersall Sound & Picture.

We Will Stand Up: Tasha Hubbard Reflects on the Life & Death of Colten Boushie

On August 9, 2016, Colten Boushie, a young Cree man from the Red Pheasant First Nation died after being shot in the head at point blank range. On February 9, 2018, Gerald Stanley, the Saskatchewan farmer who fired the gun, was found not guilty of his death.

The story has captured national attention, symbolizing the inequity and injustice that so often colours the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities on the Canadian Prairies. With We Will Stand Up, filmmaker and scholar Tasha Hubbard (pictured in banner) turns her attention to the case.

“This is a region with a complicated and painful history when it comes to the treatment of Indigenous people,” she says. “I wanted to examine how that history resonates in the current context, where a farmer who shoots a young Indigenous man is acquitted of all charges. And I’m drawn to Colten’s family, the way they’ve sought justice not only for their loved one but for other Indigenous people too, right from the very beginning.”

“My own story is intertwined in the film,” says Hubbard. “I’m an Indigenous person who was adopted into a farming family and I’m dealing with very personal challenge: how do I raise my son in our own homelands, amongst people who insist that a farmer’s property is worth more than his life?”

Hubbard won a Gemini for Two Worlds Colliding, her exposé of Saskatoon’s infamous ‘starlight tours,’ whereby local police were abandoning Indigenous men in deadly winter conditions on the city outskirts. Birth of a Family, her film about the Sixties Scoop, made in collaboration with journalist Betty Ann Adam, has been hailed as a remarkable exercise in reparative filmmaking. The film premiered at Hot Docs in 2017, going on to win the Special Jury Prize at imagineNative.

We Will Stand Up is co-produced by Downstream Documentary Productions (Tasha Hubbard and George Hupka, producers) and the NFB’s North West Studio (Jon Montes and Bonnie Thompson, producers). Executive producers are Janice Dawe and Kathy Avrich-Johnson for Bizable Media and David Christensen for the NFB.

Sisterhood is powerful

The famous rallying cry assumes pointed and literal new meaning in Baljit Sangra’s Because We Are Girls, a remarkable portrait of sibling solidarity scheduled for a 2019 release.

Having kept silent for decades about their common experience of childhood sexual abuse, three sisters from a conservative South Asian family, motivated by the suspicion that their abuser is still active, resolve to seek justice in the courts — and challenge patriarchy at home.

Herself the daughter of Punjabi immigrants, director Baljit Sangra brings both nuance and deep empathy to the project, juxtaposing scenes of searing confrontation, as the family comes to grips with the taboo and trauma of sexual abuse, with moments that speak to her subjects’ resilience and tenacious life-affirming bond.

“This is a universal story, one of survival and overcoming adversity,” says Sangra. “It touches on questions of patriarchy, gender inequality and shame — but it also celebrates these women, their power and creativity, and their sense of justice.”

The founder of Vancouver’s Vivamantra Films and a seasoned documentarian, Sangra has directed powerful social-issue films like the NFB/Vivamantra co-production Warrior Boyz, an unflinching and compassionate foray into youth gang culture. With Because We Are Girls, she explores a painful and complex issue with surprising uplift, bringing an articulate new set of voices into the #MeToo conversation. Because We Are Girls is produced by Selwyn Jacob and executive produced by Shirley Vercruysse at the BC & Yukon Studio. 

Assholes: A Theory

Bad behaviour is something we will all encounter at some point — whether at home, online, in the workplace, or the corridors of power. And the phenomenon only seems to be amplified in an age of authoritarian politics and frenzied social media.

With rampant narcissism threatening to trash civilization as we know it, the time has come for Assholes: A Theory.

A tonic and entertaining new film from acclaimed director John Walker (above), built around a lively encounter with philosopher Aaron James, author of the best-selling treatise of the same title, the feature doc sets out to investigate the breeding grounds of ‘asshole culture.’

Moving from the frat clubs of elite universities to the princedoms of Silicon Valley and boardrooms of international finance, Walker explores the roots of bullying and entitled behavior, inviting input from observers like comedian/author John Cleese; IT engineer Leslie Miley, once the only African-American executive at Twitter; and former police officer Sherry Lee Benson-Podolchuk, who punctured the cliché of the nice Canadian Mountie with Women Not Wanted, her exposé of RCMP workplace bullying.

Other featured interviews include law professor Robert Hockett, who consulted for both Occupy Wall Street and the Federal Reserve in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, and Italian LGBTQ activist Vladimir Luxuria, a former parliamentarian who has locked horns with the great pathological narcissist himself, Silvio Berlusconi, a forerunner of the current crop of demagogic leaders.

A seasoned director and one of Canada’s most celebrated cinematographers, Walker is the author of acclaimed work like Men of the Deeps and Quebec My Country Mon Pays. Honoured at the 2018 edition of Hot Docs with a career retrospective, he has collaborated frequently with the NFB.

Assholes: A Theory is a co-production between John Walker Productions ((Ann Bernier, producer) and the Quebec-Atlantic Studio (Annette Clarke, producer), in association with the Documentary Channel and Canada Media Fund, with assistance from the Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund, Telefilm Canada and the Rogers Group of Funds, through the Theatrical Documentary Program, Rogers Telefund and Canadian Film or Video Film Tax Credit.

VR Animation: Frances in the Anthropocene

With The Orchid and The Bee, artist Frances Adair Mckenzie works with cutting edge VR and classic plasticine to craft a sublime and unsettling meditation on evolution, genetic modification and our tenuous position within the natural world.

“We’re at a crucial historical juncture right now, stepping into a brave new world of genetic manipulation, hyper-industrialized farming and environmental degradation — and I’m interested in the monsters, as well as the angels, that get summoned into existence by all of that. I believe in the positive potential of matter and I’d like to create an optimistic vision about our evolutionary future.”

Casting viewers into the swirling double helix of a simulated DNA strand, she proceeds to immerse us in a perversely seductive stereoscopic universe — a realm inhabited by gorgeous primordial jellyfish, GMO humanoid pigs and a mystifying interspecies love affair.

Drawing inspiration from contemporary thinkers Jane Bennett and Donna Haraway and artists like Mika Rottenberg and Hito Steyerl, she explores political ecology with an appreciation for dystopian futurism and mischievous sense of play. “I like using digital tech to create tactile experiences — worlds that are abject and weird, but also beautiful and colourful, and kind of sexy. I like to make people feel, as an impetus to investigate.”

The project features plasticine-moulded puppets animated with stop motion over and around 3D Plexiglas sets, shot stereoscopically on a Sony A7r II, with all elements integrated into VR with Nuke software. Designed for headset and conceived for viewing on handheld devices as well as in larger VR settings, The Orchid and the Bee will be exhibited at festivals and museums later this year.

Adair Mckenzie’s team includes animators Brandon Blommaert and Elise Simard, stereo and compositing whiz Fred Casia, and NFB’s in-house technical director Eloi Champagne. The Orchid and the Bee is produced by Jelena Popović and executive produced by Michael Fukushima at the NFB’s Animation Studio.

Working across a range of genre and technologies, Adair Mckenzie has exhibited in Canada and Europe. Her Augmented Reality book Glossed Over & Tucked Up was published in 2016 by Montreal’s Anteism Press. Her association with the NFB began with the 10th edition of Hothouse, when she created the surrealist short animation A Little Craving. Click here for more info on her work.

Pictured above: Frances Adair McKenzie with co-animator Brandon Blommaert.

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