Canada Speaks
The Poetry Gabriola Society on Gabriola Island, B.C., is very pleased to announce the receipt of an award from Arts Partners in Creative Development (APCD) to create Canada Speaks: New Literary Performance Works by Twelve Canadian Artists. The award of $24,000 will be used to commission twelve of the nation’s preeminent poets, spoken word and storytelling artists to create new works that will be presented from coast to coast. The artists who will be commissioned for this project are:
Fortner Anderson, Montreal
David Bateman, Vancouver/Toronto
bill bissett, Vancouver and Toronto
Ivan Coyote, Vancouver
Drek Daa, Winnipeg
Ian Ferrier, Montreal
Kaie Kellough, Montreal
Cheryl l'Hirondelle, Vancouver
Evalyn Parry, Toronto
Robert Priest, Toronto
Richard Van Camp, Vancouver/Ft Smith, NWT
Sheri-D Wilson, Calgary
Canada Speaks will be curated by Poetry Gabriola Artistic Director Hilary Peach, and the pieces will premiere on Gabriola Island in 2010. All of the commissioned artists are alumni of the Poetry Gabriola Festival. We think it’s extraordinary that a rural organization can create a national initiative that will impact artists across the country and influence the direction of an emerging genre. Twelve Gabriola artists will also be invited to perform their work at the 2010 event.
APCD supports B.C. organizations in creating and developing original works in the performing and studio arts. Some will reach audiences locally, while others will be presented across Canada and abroad. APCD is funded by the Province of British Columbia, Canada Council for the Arts, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Foundation, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and 2010 Legacies Now. For a list of all 17 of the approved projects, project descriptions and information on Arts Partners in Creative Development, please visit www.ArtsPartners.ca.
