ArtsEverywhere Festival is gearing up for its four-day festival this spring and is putting an emphasis on climate.
Director and co-curator Marva Wisdom is looking forward to many things happening at the festival this year, which runs May 2 to May 5 at various venues in Guelph.
The festival has been around for the last nine years but it started with its annual Guelph Lecture — On Being, 21 years ago.
This year’s lecture will feature keynote speaker Nora Bateson, Lakuuluk Williamson Bathory and her band.
Not only will the band perform but they will talk about the world we live in, climate and Indigeneity.
The lecture is something the community looks forward to, said Wisdom.
“The keynote address is going to be talking about items that impact our lives in a significant way. And then it's going to cause you to really think deeply,” she said.
The festival and lecture have evolved since the beginning and focusing on the climate crisis these last couple of years aims to grow conversations in the community.
Some of the themes of the festival are about using the arts to point us in the direction of social change and “using the arts to surface our interconnectedness, especially as we look at the climate crisis,” said Wisdom.
What has also developed is the festival including an importance around belonging, safety and inclusion. There is an access guide to help remove barriers to the festival for "equity deserving groups" such as those who are neurodivergent or differently abled. A majority of the festival’s programming has ASL and transcriptions. The guide is available online and it's being pushed out to community and service providers to use as well since many of the festival’s venues are used by the public everyday.
Wisdom thinks the conversations sparked out of this year’s festival will be about interconnectivity. People are migrating in part because of the climate crisis. “So the climate crisis, as much as we hear a lot of conversation about it, I think it will make it even more real within the city of Guelph,” she said.
It’s an honour to bring the ArtsEverywhere Festival to Guelph, she said. Through the festival there is a love “of building community in different parts of the world and certainly here in Guelph,” said Wisdom.
Artists who are part of the festival will be sharing their stories through artistic expression. “Imagine how we can support each other and imagine how we can go deep and really challenge our own perceptions,” said Wisdom. Over the four-day festival the aim is to have people listen to the messages of artists’ stories.
Here is the ArtsEverywhere Festival program:
Thursday, May 2
Art Gallery of Guelph at 358 Gordon St.
Big Ideas Lecture, What Remains Collective, La Trenza; 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Exhibition opening for La Trenza; 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments, ASL and transcription.
Friday, May 3
Main Stage, River Run Centre at 35 Woolwich St.
Guelph Lecture – On Being; 7 to 10 p.m.
Tickets are $25/$10. Refreshments follow the event with a cash bar. There will be ASL and transcription.
Saturday, May 4
Canada Company Hall, River Run Centre at 35 Woolwich St.
Book launch and readings by Inuit artists Aedan Corey, Emily Henderson and Janice Grey; 1 to 4 p.m.
Free admission, light lunch, ASL and transcription.
Studio Theatre, River Run Centre at 35 Woolwich St.
An Evening of Music and Dancing; 7 to 9:30 p.m.
Featuring Oneida Wolf Clan, Six Nations, singer, songwriter Lacey Hill, Afro-Iraqi Canadian band, Moneka Arabic Jazz.
Free admission and a cash bar.
Sunday, May 5
Art Gallery of Guelph at 358 Gordon St.
‘Listening Walk’ with Anne Bourne, outdoors; 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
Free admission, refreshments.
Sound healing practice
A panel and performance; 10 a.m. to noon
Panelists in include; Anjeline de Dios, Anne Bourne and Rosary Spence.
Free admission, ASL and transcription.
Sound healing workshop
Held by Anjeline de Dios; 1 to 3 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments and registration is required.
Improv Lab in MacKinnon Building, Room 108 at University of Guelph at 87 Trent Ln.
Documentary film and discussion; 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Screening of the film Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros
A discussion will be facilitated by Ajay Heble with guests Anne Bourne, and Daniel Weintraub.
Free admission, refreshments, ASL and transcription.
Concluding concert
Concert presented by IICSI, Ajay Heble, Joe Sobara and Anne Bourne Trio; 8 to 9 p.m.
Free admission.
For more information about the festival check out the website.
