A free songwriting camp addressing issues of immigration at Rock Barra Artist Retreat in July.
Songwriter Teresa Doyle teams up with famous Nova Scotia visual artist Alan Syliboy and filmmaker Eliza Starchild Knockwood to present a week-long songwriting camp at the beautiful Rock Barra Retreat from July 11–17, 2016 (download the application form). We will collaborate with youth from the Prince Edward Association of Newcomers to Canada, Aboriginal youth and participants from The Irish/Scottish/Acadian traditions to write songs that address the ongoing story of peoples leaving their homelands under desperate circumstances and coming to the island. Alan’s skills as a visual artist will help bridge language barriers as we “storyboard” the songs, all in a context of honouring the Mi’kmaq as the first peoples of Prince Edward Island. Be sure to visit his website at www.alansyliboy.ca.
Here’s the story that inspired the project: Christie Campbell, a penniless spinster, stowed away on one of the Selkirk ships in 1803. Her fellow Scots did not take kindly to this, cast her out when they made landfall and the Mi’kmaq community took her in for that first winter. Over the course of the winter she learned healing properties of local plants and tree barks and in the spring moved back into the settler community with this vital knowledge that helped them survive. This is one of many stories about the help offered by the Mi’kmaq people. As we work to integrate a new wave of refugees into the country we could do well to remember the kindness shown to early settlers by first nations peoples.
We will use this story as a starting place to write songs about the immigration story on the Island. The retreat received Canada Council funding and we can offer this program for free. Participants of all ages are welcome but priority will be given to youth. No musical experience is necessary. We will be looking for people who have always wanted to have a chance to write music and try their hand at painting and would be open and enthusiastic about exploring these mediums in a group setting at beautiful Rock Barra Retreat. Again, this program is for the complete novice and not accomplished artists. The camp will run weekdays July 11–15th, 10:00 am–4:00 pm, with a public presentation on Sunday, July 17th. We will be helping to provide transportation to the retreat. Interested people should download and submit the application form as soon as possible.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
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