Jury Meets in Thunder Bay

OAC hosted its second jury of the year in northern Ontario on June 19 and 20.  Wanda Nanibush, Aboriginal Arts Officer, who spends an average of a week a month in the north, travelled to Thunder Bay for her Aboriginal Arts Education Projects program jury. 

This program supports artists who work with Aboriginal learners in both school and community settings, primarily in northern Ontario and in fly-in or rural communities.

It funds arts education projects that pass on knowledge and skills of traditional Aboriginal cultures and languages.  The three northern jurors and one southern francophone juror  included musician and filmmaker, Martin Tuesday (Sioux Lookout), educator and music presenter Barb Matousek (Sioux Lookout), writer and performer Alice Sabourin Nowegejick (Thunder Bay) and musician and writer Paul Chaput (Toronto). 

Most of the applications were from northern-based artists.  This led to a good discussion on northern aesthetics and northern communities.  As a result 93 percent of the funded projects are taking place in the north.

By hosting some juries in northern Ontario, OAC is expanding on its commitment to the regional and cultural diversity of program applicants.