Canada Council Awards $30,000 to Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: A Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists

July 4th-6th, 2008
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Media Release - March 25th, 2008

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RED LAKE, ONTARIO - The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre and the Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre are delighted to announce that the Canada Council for the Arts has approved a $30,000 grant for the Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: a Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists.

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The festival, to be held July 4 -6th, 2008, is a collaborative endeavour between the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre and local Aboriginal organizations. The first of its kind in Red Lake, the event will bring together Aboriginal artists from across Ontario as well as collectors, curators, dealers, writers, art historians and others.

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The festival will feature a variety of activities that celebrate and promote the Aboriginal culture, including plays, dance performances, art workshops, story-telling, and special exhibitions. Also offered will be guided walking tours where visitors will learn about Norval Morrisseau’s remarkable journey, from the time he arrived in the area in 1959 to work as a gold miner, to when he left in 1973, at the peak of his artistic career.

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The Canada Council funds will be used to pay for the travel and artist fees for Ontario-based visual artists Christi Belcourt, Whitefish Bay; Goyce Kakegamic, Thunder Bay; Gord Fiddler, Elliot Lake; Alice Williams, Curve Lake; Saul Williams, North Caribou Lake, and De-ba-jeh-mu-jig, Wikwemikong, (Manitoulin Island). The artists were selected for the quality and variety of their work; their interest in sharing their knowledge with youth; and their connection to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland art movement.

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The guest artists will spend the festival weekend conducting art workshops, participating in lectures and panel discussions, and meeting informally with young artists to encourage and guide them in their artistic pursuits. In addition, selected pieces of their art will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Heritage Centre, along with original works by Norval Morrisseau.

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De-ba-jeh-mu-jig, also known as the “Best Medicine Troupe”, is a six member Theatre Group that assists communities in developing infrastructure to support and promote artistic development. The Troupe will conduct workshops on various art forms, as well as stage a play about Norval Morrisseau’s Red Lake years, which will be presented at the Red Lake Legion on July 5th.

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“The Canada Council’s support for the Festival is not just about supporting one event; it is also about contributing to the artistic development of aboriginal youth of the community”, says Michèle Alderton, Director/Curator of the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre.

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In addition to Morrisseau presence, from 1960 to 1980, Red Lake was home to a number of Canada’s best known and most successful Aboriginal artists. Inspired by Morrisseau and supported by the Triple K Cooperative, a local aboriginal art cooperative, they created pieces that continue to be exhibited in prominent Canadian art galleries and museums. These early pieces are also in high demand by private collectors from around the world.

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A number of aboriginal youth living in Red Lake today are the direct descendants of these artists, and some also show artistic promise. However, since the closure of the Triple K Cooperative 28 years ago, too few new Aboriginal artists have emerged from the area. Nurturing the creative development of this new generation of Woodland Artists is the vision and mandate of the festival.

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For more information, please contact:

Michele Alderton

Director/CuratorRed Lake Regional Heritage Centre

(807) 727-3006

e-mail: rlhc@goredlake.com

website: http://www.redlakemuseum.com/

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* The painting in this posting: "Untitled" (Thunderbird), "30"x62", © c. 1960 Norval Morrisseau /Collection of the Red Lake Museum/