Bright Nights ahead for Serpent People

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We’ve got a busy summer ahead at Aanmitaagzi! Our Summer Arts Program is now in full swing, and we’ll be putting everyone to work over the next few weeks as we develop and prepare the latest incarnation of the Serpent People project. Then we’ll be hitting the road to tour this dynamic collaboratively-created performance all across Ontario.

The Performance

Grounded in historic Anishinaabe stories of the Black Sturgeon from Nipissing First Nation as told by one of Aanmitaagzi’s founding artists, Perry Mcleod-Shabogeesic, Serpent People gathers, reflects, and expresses stories and imaginings about the human condition. What are we consuming that gives us power? What are we consuming that is toxic? What has taken us away from ourselves and the essence of who we are? What would it take to transform us, and what transformations have we already undergone in our lives? Serpent People investigates these questions and explores our ability for self-reclamation and to transform for the positive.

The Tour

Our first presentation will be at The Citadel as part of Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie’s Bright Nights performance arts series from June 15 – 17 at 8 pm. Tickets are $25 for General Admission and $20 for Artists, Students, Seniors, and can be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at 1-416-364-8011 ext.1.

Following that, Serpent People will be in Ottawa for the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, performing on June 25 at 3 pm at Vincent Massey Park. Admission is free and paid parking is available.

The last stop on our summer tour (unless we squeeze in a few more!) will be in Red Rock for the Live From the Rock Folk Festival from August 11 – 13. Camping sites are available for $20, and festival passes can be purchased at the gate or online.

Hope to see you on the tour!

Congratulations, Sid Bobb!

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Aanmitaagzi is proud to announce that Co-Artistic Director Sid Bobb is one of the recipients of this year’s Reveal – Indigenous Arts Awards from The Hnatyshyn Foundation. The awards, which recognize emerging and established Indigenous artists working in traditional or contemporary practices, were given to 150 artists in six artistic categories including dance, music, theatre, literature, film/video (media arts), and visual arts/fine craft.

A special event honouring the artists will be held in Winnipeg on May 22nd, 2017.

Arts Culture Exchange with La Mama Theater

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On May 13, Aanmitaagzi will participate in a Livestream Arts Culture Exchange facilitated by CutureHub with New York City’s La Mama Theater. Participants from Aanmitaagzi’s after school kid’s class will share songs and the Serpent People story from Nipissing with children from the La Mama Kids program, while learning songs and dances from their New York counterparts in real time.

For more information, please contact Aanmitaagzi’s Co-Artsitic Director Sid Bobb.

Arts Culture Exchange with La Mama Theatre
May 13, 2017 at 2 pm
Big Medicine Studio
161 Couchie Memorial Dr., North Bay, ON

Pulling Threads Workshop Tour

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Aanmitaagzi and Spiderwoman Theater are excited to present a new series of Pulling Threads Fabric Workshops as part of their ongoing Material Witness project.

Material Witness explores violence, healing and renewal in the lives of Indigenous women through the development of a multi-generational performance. The backdrop and set for the performance is comprised of a “story-quilt”, a layered landscape of fabrics, heaps, piles and bundles that holds its own collected stories and supports the stories of the women on stage.

Through the Pulling Threads workshops, community participants are invited to come in and create a piece of the “story-quilt” based upon their own experiences, exploring not only the stories of violence that have shaped their lives, but also the hope and transformative possibilities that arise from them. The created pieces will then be sewn or woven into the larger quilt and will travel with the production wherever it goes.

Participants of all ages and experience levels are welcome, and counsellors will be on hand to offer support as needed. All materials will be provided, however participants may bring in their own materials to donate to the project as well.

Come and enjoy some food, some talk, and some laughter while pulling threads with us!

Workshop Dates:

April 10, 2017          True Self – Debwewendizwin Employment and Training       
10 am – 4 pm          239 Main Street East
                                North Bay ON  P1B 1B2
                                www.trueself.ca

April 21, 2017          Minwaashin Lodge – The Aboriginal Women’s Support Centre
10 am – 4 pm          1155 Lola Street
                                Ottawa, ON  K1K 4C1
                                www.minlodge.com

April 27, 2017          N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre
1 pm – 5 pm            110 Elm Street
                                Sudbury, ON  P3C 1T5
                                www.nfcsudbury.org

April 28, 2017          Debajehmujig Storytellers
10 am – 4 pm          43 Queen Street
                                Manitowaning, ON   P0P 1N0
                                www.debaj.ca

April 29, 2017          Nimkii Naabkwagan – Batchewana Family Crisis Shelter       
10am – 4 pm           180 Gran Street
                                Sault Ste. Marie, ON  P6A 5K9

May 1 & 2, 2017      Pic River First Nation Community Centre
6 pm – 9 pm            78 Pic River Rd.
                                Heron Bay, ON P0T 1R0

For more information, please contact Penny Couchie – (705) 474-2227.

Wild Meat Processing Workshop

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On Tuesday, March 7th, from 9am. – 5pm. at Big Medicine Studio, Dan and Eva Couchie will be facilitating a workshop on processing wild meat. Dan will be taking everyone through the process of skinning, fleshing, and stretching a beaver pelt onto a board in preparation for tanning and processing the meat for food. This workshop will also include the plucking and preparing of geese and duck for cooking. Eva will lead us through the canning process of bottling both geese and beaver with a pressure cooker caner. See you all there!