New Collaboration Brings Gathering of Indigenous Arts, Culture and Tradition to FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
September 8-10, 2017
St. Catharines
The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, working closely with Kakekalanicks Indigenous Arts & Consultancy and Indigenous community leaders from the Niagara region announce the first Celebration of Nations / Célébration des nations (CN) in downtown St. Catharines from 8–10 September 2017.
The three-day Indigenous arts extravaganza will aim to provide a far-reaching platform for the community to embrace and honour the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples within Canada.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,” said Kakekalanicks president and CN Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett (Métis). “The great Métis leader Louis Riel once said, ‘My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.’ Through the Celebrations of Nations programming delivered at this new state-of-the-art venue, we’re doing our best to make that vision come true.”
Celebration of Nations will showcase a wide variety of Indigenous arts and artists, ranging from traditional and contemporary music, dance and visual arts to film screenings, creative workshops, a distinguished speaker series, and hands-on activities for both children and adults. Headlining a series of performances will be the legendary Buffy Sainte-Marie, recipient of numerous accolades and awards including the recent Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 JUNOs.
This and more than 20+ other compelling events will be curated and juried by Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett and Artistic Producer Tim Johnson (Mohawk), with support of the Celebration of Nations Advisory Council and Performing Arts Centre programming staff.
“Canada’s sesquicentenary and the findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission serve as context for our programming,” said Tim Johnson (former Associate Director at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian). “We endeavour to pull back the curtain, in some cases quite literally, to reveal and commemorate Indigenous contributions to Canada’s defence and formation as well as to display the continuity and scope of Indigenous influence upon Canadian society today.”
Celebration of Nations emerges as an opportunity for Niagara residents and visitors to actively participate in an inclusive and engaging community gathering that will foster a greater sense of belonging, support of meaningful reconciliation, and leave a lasting legacy of goodwill for future generations.
Kakekalanicks’s mission is to promote Indigenous art and artists to broad-based audiences and acts to educate the public about the deep-rooted beauty and uniqueness of each Nation’s culture, heritage, and traditions through the medium of the Arts.