McMichael exhibition closes in one week and then travels to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland!

STEPHEN WEIR NOTES: The show is now in Switzerland, however, it has left it's footprint on the gallery. A Don Yeomans Totem Pole carved for the exhibition still stands in the McMichael lobby. You can see a George Socka's video of its raising at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr2dcJhpvBE

McMichael exhibition closes in one week and then travels to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland!

Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast will represent Canadian culture to an international audience.


September 10, 2009 Kleinburg, ON — The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announced today that its special exhibition, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, will be on display in Switzerland’s Olympic Museum Lausanne as part of the celebrations for the Vancouver 2010 XXI Olympic Winter Games. The exhibition, organized by the McMichael and guest curated by Ian Thom, will close at the McMichael in one week on September 20th, 2009. Challenging Traditions features over seventy contemporary works of art created by forty of Canada’s most talented First Nations artists living in Canada’s Northwest Coast. The exhibition will travel to the Olympic Museum Lausanne on October 8th, 2009 and remain on display throughout the Winter Games in February, 2010, closing there on April 11th, 2010.
The Olympic Museum Lausanne brings together sport, art and culture. They are the traditional pillars of Olympism, and the Museum gives concrete form to this trinity. The mission of the Olympic Museum is to make visitors aware of the breadth and the importance of the Olympic Movement; to show them by means of images and symbols that Olympism is not merely a matter of sports competition but rather a philosophy of life whose roots are deeply embedded in our history. Bringing First Nations art to the Olympic Museum during the 2010 Winter Games is very much in keeping with the Museum’s and Vancouver Organizing Committee’s commitment to celebrate the best in Canadian and international arts and popular culture. By recognizing the traditions of the First Nations people of Vancouver, British Columbia, they will create a cultural legacy that will endure even after the Olympic Games are over.
“The Challenging Traditions exhibition is so uniquely Canadian and immensely interesting,” said Tom Smart, Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael gallery. “We are proud to be the first institution to organize and host this landmark exhibition and provide our visitors with a unique look at the contemporary art of Northwest Coast artists. And now, we have been given a rare and prestigious opportunity to showcase some of the very best in Canadian contemporary art of the Northwest Coast to an international audience.”
The McMichael exhibition will be part of a larger display entitled Vancouver 2010: Sustainable Development and Living Traditions, which will provide a cultural link with Canada and British Columbia on the occasion of the XXI Olympic Winter Games.
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast is a landmark exhibition and publication (co-published by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Douglas & McIntyre) that examines the rich diversity and creativity of art in this region of Canada. The criterion for the selection of work has been based not on anthropological categories, but on innate aesthetic qualities and artistic significance.
The forty artists included in the exhibition have been selected by the guest curator, Ian Thom, the foremost curator and author of historical and contemporary Northwest Coast Canadian art. Each artist has built a substantial and important career. They address, in their own ways, an important visual and cultural tradition in a unique, personal voice. Lastly, and perhaps most controversially, each artist produces work of remarkable depth, beauty and quality. Moreover, the curator has attempted, wherever possible, to select recent, newly created work in direct consultation with the artists themselves.
Each artist has been interviewed by the curator and the selection of the works included was thoroughly discussed with the artist. In some cases, this has resulted in the artist being represented in a way that might not be expected, but is of their choosing. All have welcomed the opportunity to participate in the project and the opportunity to provide input into the selection of included work.
Acknowledgements
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Culture, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation. This project has been made possible in part through a contribution from the Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage. The publication and accompanying curatorial research has been generously funded by the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts.
About the McMichael
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists.
The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com.

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For further information or to receive high resolution photographs, contact:

Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
sweir@mcmichael.com

Cathy Lepiane, Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
clepiane@mcmichael.com

REVISED: Event Occurs Tuesday at noon. Raising A Totem Pole - A rare event in Ontario.

Don Yeoman's latest will be raised at the McMichael on Wednesday morning. First new totem pole in a GTA public building since 1984
There are few opportunities to see a totem pole raised in Ontario. For one thing, although there are First Nations' artists who carve Totem Poles in the province, their work is often classed as tourism-driven. Before the turn of the last century, pole carving was not considered part of the Woodland culture.
No, the tradition of totem pole carvings belong to the First Nation Tribes of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, usually cedar, but mostly Western Redcedar, and the peoples of the west coast have been making them since the 18th century.
According to Wikipedia "totem pole construction underwent a dramatic decline at the end of the 19th century due to American and Canadian policies and practices of acculturation and assimilation."
Although the number of new poles created last century was very small, the tradition continued. And today a number of successful native artists carve totem poles on commission. So successful are these artists that it is hard to purchase a new pole ... their work is such high demand.
Back in 1984, Toronto's sesquicentennial a new totem pole was commissioned and raised inside the public space of the Macleans Magazine / College Park building in downtown Toronto. Since then there hasn't been a totem raised in public space. But, that is going to change next Wednesday!
A new, very modern (the totem includes images of ipods, cell phones and computers) totem carved by Don Yeoman is to be erected next Wednesday morning, indoors, at the McMichael.
I have assisted in both the repossession of an indoor totem in Windsor and the erection of a large two-story totem in Curve Lake, Ontario. Because Totem's tend to have wings at the top, their erection, especially when it is windy, is a very tricky and dangerouns operation.
With that in mind, the McMichael is restricting access to the gallery on Wednesday to working media, when Don Yeomans' 20ft tall totem is erected inside the McMichael's Great Hall. Here are the details.

Photo Opportunity: REVISED TUESDAY, September 1, 2009 at NOON

A Media Exclusive by invitation only! This is the only opportunity to cover the installation of the McMichael’s latest major art acquisition – a twenty-foot totem pole to be raised in the gallery’s Grand Hall.
WHAT: The McMichael Canadian Art Collection has recently commissioned a major acquisition; a full-scale totem pole by artist Don Yeomans will be installed in the gallery as part of its permanent collection. The installation and raising of the twenty-foot totem pole will take place September 2nd at 10:00 a.m. in the gallery’s Grand Hall, which will be closed to the public. Media will have exclusive access to witness and photograph/film this historic moment.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. (photo op will take a maximum of 30 minutes)
WHERE: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Grand Hall. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg.
WHO: Media are invited to attend to witness/photograph/film the totem pole installation and speak with: Artist, Don Yeomans; McMichael Executive Director & CEO, Tom Smart.
WHY: Don Yeomans is one of the most respected and renowned Northwest Coast Native artists. Born of a Masset Haida father and a Métis mother from Slave Lake, Alberta, Yeomans has studied and worked in the Haida style since he was a youth. He uses many materials in the creation of his artworks and his carving skills are exceptional and consummate his understanding of the Haida form. This latest thought-provoking artwork challenges many traditional native values by interweaving traditional iconography and totemic animals with today’s different modern modes of technological communication.
About the McMichael
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations, and Inuit artists.
The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery visit www.mcmichael.com.
YOU MUST RSVP PLEASE. Media contact:
Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
stephen@stephenweir.com

End Run Publicity - Maroon Elections Look to Foreign Press For Boost At the Polls

cutline: Norma Rowe-Edwards and her election competitors
map showing Trelawny Town Maroons Accompong State of Jamaica

Mrs Norma Rowe-Edwards is on the verge of making Maroon history in Jamaica. Today August 23rd, she could become the first female Colonel (comparable to a city mayor)in the 454-year old history of the Trelawny Town Maroons. Although Jamaica's slogan is one love, truth is that there are two Maroon communities that consider themselves seperate states and believe that legally Jamaica is made up of three sovereign nations.

Nursey (Mrs Norma Rowe-Edwards) is having trouble getting press in Jamaica. She is a female candidate in a world that has been male dominated for over 350 years. Not one to simply take this lack of media coverage, she contacted lawyer Courtney Betty in Toronto, who in turn asked me to create a press release that would be picked up by media in Canada, the US and the UK. It is the old End-Run Publicity tact - get coverage outside your country and the local media will pick up on it, because if it is news in America, it must be news in Jamaica.

This strategy often works. Not sure how it will play out for Nursey, the tight time lines between the opening of nominations in Trelawny and the election date is just three weeks. We will see if the Jamaica press rises to the bait. Here is the release that was crafted for Nursey by myself and Dave Tollington.


ACCOMPONG ELECTION: WOMAN CHALLENGES PATRIARCHAL TRADITION OF COLONELSHIP
August 28th election in Jamaica – Mrs. Norma Rowe-Edwards posed to become the first female Colonel in the 354-year history of the Trelawny Town Maroons Accompong State of Jamaica.

Jamaica, August 14, 2009 … Maroons living in the Trelawny Town Accompong State of Jamaica go to the polls on August 28th to choose a new leader. Candidate Mrs. Norma Rowe-Edwards (affectionately called “Nurse”) is poised to become the first female Colonel in the 354-year history of the Trelawny Town Maroons.
Nurse emphatically differentiates herself from the other contenders by the depth and expanse of the vision she has for Accompong. Among her plans are ideas for the redevelopment of Maroon cultural and political institutions, as well as the development of educational, physical and economic potential. But the issues that resonate most strongly with the emotions of every Maroon and also likely to prove the most contentious are Nurse’s plans to have the post-independence Government of Jamaica formally recognize all articles of the 1738 treaty with Britain, including the restoration of all Maroon lands to the Trelawny Town Maroons of the State of Accompong.
Although little known outside of the Caribbean, the State of Accompong has a unique status within the country – it is a nation within the nation of Jamaica. The citizens of Accompong (Maroons) are descended from the people who resisted Spanish and English slavery, having defeated the English and thus gaining freedom from being enslaved any longer. While their special status is recognized by the current government there are many many issues of law that have to be addressed.
The Maroon settlement of Accompong is perched high up in the mountains of St. Elizabeth in western Jamaica, bordering the western parishes of St. James and Trelawny. Demonstrating the best example worldwide of the Karst rock formation, the beautiful and rugged cockpit mountain range in this area of Jamaica provides the backdrop to a potentially intriguing development in the country’s contemporary politics.
After the British captured Jamaica from Spain on 1655, the Maroons (Africans formerly enslaved by the Spanish) resisted for eighty-three long years the numerous attempts by British authorities to re-enslave them, achieving their goal through the efficient application of guerilla warfare. After inflicting numerous defeats on the local British militia and subsequently crippling the plantation economy of Jamaica (then the most profitable European colony), the British were forced to admit defeat in the instrument of the now famous treaty signed in 1738 on the location of present-day Accompong town. The treaty acceded to the Maroons vast tracts of land that successive Jamaican governments since independence have refused to acknowledge as property not under their jurisdiction.
In the 354th year as a free and independent people, Maroon leadership has persisted under the title of Colonel, a position which historically has been an exclusively masculine domain. But now, the position of Colonel is poised to be occupied for the very first time by a woman. Mrs. Norma Rowe-Edwards (“Nurse”) is the frontrunner in what many observers expect may not to be a particularly close race, given that Nurse is challenged - as one would expect - by three male candidates, including two former Colonels.
The aura surrounding Nurse has become almost mystic - “unbelievably overwhelming”, according to supporters. Amongst Maroons, Nurse re-ignites memories reminiscent of Nanny, the legendary 18th century warrior princess who was sister to Kojo, the famous Maroon leader who signed the treaty signaling the formal surrender of the British colonial armed forces. “It is not just the militant and progressive stance that she has taken towards the issues affecting Maroons, but Nurse – like Nanny - practices traditional African healing methods,” said one supporter, an undergraduate student at the University of the West Indies.
Meanwhile, Nurse has strong international support as well. In Canada, former Ontario MPP and Speaker of the House Alvin Curling and prominent civil rights lawyer Courtney Betty support her campaign. “If Nurse’s ambitious plans manifest even a reasonable amount of success, posterity will mark the leadership of Nurse as the beginning of the Maroon renaissance,” said Mr. Betty. “This is a movement that not only continues to enshrine the Maroon’s language, culture and civil rights, but will also bring the community the best the 21st century will have to offer.”

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Editor’s note. Please contact Courtney Betty for phone interviews with Nurse and Alvin Curling.
Issued by:
Stephen Weir & Associates
416-489-5868
Stephen@stephenweir.com

Press conference: ‘De Caribana Lime’ Moves to Ontario Place!

Media Invite
‘De Caribana Lime’ Moves to Ontario Place!
Scotiabank Caribana island event to be held at Toronto’s #1 family destination

TORONTO – July 24, 2009 – Come hear the official announcement and all the details as Scotiabank Caribana festivities come to Ontario Place. August 2nd features “de Scotiabank Caribana Lime” and August 3rd features Scotiabank Caribana Tent Village.

What: Speeches, photo ops, live entertainment and light refreshments.

Date: Tuesday, July 28

Location: Ontario Place, Vista Courtyard

Time: 11am

Please RSVP to this address or the phone number below. On July 28, please come to the eastern-most entrance to Ontario Place by turning off Lakeshore Boulevard. on to Ontario Place Boulevard. Proceed along our east causeway to the security booth. They will contact media relations and let you through to park in our Administration lot. From there you will proceed to our Vista Courtyard for the press conference.

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For More Information, Contact: Ontario Place Media Relations Office
Phone: (416)314-9773; Phone (416)314-9814
E-mail: media@ontarioplace.com

Issued By Stephen Weir
stephen@stephenweir.com

MEDIA ALERT: Formal Scotiabank Caribana Gala this Friday night at Liberty Grand CNE 6.30 Thursday, July 23, 2009 1:21 AM

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MEDIA ALERT
2n ANNUAL SCOTIABANK CARIBANA GALA
Liberty Grand - Exhibition Place

Friday, July24th 2009
6:30 pm - midnight

An evening of elegance celebrating Carnival Music and Arts
The Right Honorable Lincoln M. Alexander, PC, OC, BA, LLD.
Former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is this Patron of this event

What: Formal event (with a Carnival flair) to celebrate Scotiabank Caribana and to honour the works of the pioneers of the Caribana Festival. Evening includes presentations to builders of the festival, carnival style entertainment followed by a dance.
Why: This Scotiabank Caribana Gala is a fundraiser for the Caribana Arts Foundation, which was organized in 2008 to enhance and develop the quality of knowledge and leadership in the field of Carnival Culture and Arts in Canada
Who: Founders of Caribana. The Festival Management Committee. Dignitaries including the Honourable Lincoln Alexander, the Honourable Margarett Best, The Honourable Alvin Curling, Mayor David Miller, The Consul Generals of Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. Entertainment: Hummingbird Tassa Band, Deltones Steel band of Trinidad & Tobago and Ossie Gurley & De Relativs
When: 6:30 to midnight. Presentations begin at 7pm
Where: Liberty Grand Ballroom on the western grounds of the CNE

NOTE: Media are welcome to cover this event but please note that seating/dinner will not be provided. There is seating in a balcony overlooking the stage.


Media Contact

Stephen Weir, Publicist Alicia Sealey, Publicist
Email: Sweir5492@rogers.com atchp@the-wire.com
Toronto Office: (416) 489-5868 Cell: (416) 801-3101 (416)599-0664

Scotiabank Caribana kick-off

MEDIA ALERT
WON’T STOP THE VIBE – THE LAUNCH OF THE SCOTIABANK CARIBANA™ FESTIVAL

Tuesday, July14th 2009
11.45am – 2pm

Official Launch for the Caribana Festival at Yonge/Dundas Square
Minister of Tourism, Federal Minister of Health and FMC to speak
Harder They Come, Calypso, Mas costumes and Steel Pan to perform

What: Scotiabank Caribana™ 2009 is kicking off the summer festival. The launch showcases the many events that will entertain and energize Toronto over the next three weeks. Speeches. Musical performances. Dance troupes and dancers in Mas costumes. Special performance by members of the cast of The Harder They Come Musical. Calypso singers. Soca music. Pan orchestra.
Why: Scotiabank Caribana™ is an important tourism event. It annually brings hundreds of thousands of tourists into the city. This year, the volunteer-driven festival is marking its 42nd year.
Who: Scheduled to speak - the honourable Lisa Riatt and the Honourable Monique Smith. Councilor Joe Mihevc and FMC Chairman Joe Halstead. Other dignitaries, including a Federal Government representative will be announced soon
When: Mini-Caribana tent (historic displays, info on festival events) opens at 11am.
Speeches 11.55 am to 12.30 pm. A cavalcade of entertainment until 2pm.
Where: NOTE NEW LOCATION. Yonge/Dundas Square. Corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets. Downtown Toronto.
How: All media are welcome to cover the event. www.caribanafestival.com The public is encouraged to attend this FREE event

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Media Contact

Stephen Weir, Publicist Alicia Sealey, Publicist
stephen@stephenweir.com atchp@the-wire.com
Toronto Office: (416) 489-5868 Tel: (416) 599-0664 Cell: (416) 801-3101 Cell: (416) 500-4349

Ian Thom - Order of Canada. Author. Curator. Nice Guy

On Canada Day curator and author Ian Thom, was one of 60 people named a Member of the Order of Canada. The announcement was made Wednesday, July 1st, by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada. Mr. Thom will receive the award at a future ceremony.

The Order of Canada is the highest honourary distinction in the country. It recognizes exceptional lifetime contributions to Canada and to humanity at large. Ian Thom is renowned for his contributions as a curator of Canadian art, and as an advocate for British Columbia artists.

Mr. Thom was a guest speaker at the McMichael at the Canada Day public opening of the exhibition he has curated, when the Governor General made her announcement of his appointment. He returned to the Vancouver Art Gallery the following day.

Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast is both the name of the gallery’s new exhibition and the title of a companion book. Written by Mr. Thom and co-published by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Douglas & McIntyre, this publication explores the career, working methods, and philosophies of up-and-coming artists originating from Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakw a k a ’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations tribes of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Ian Thom discusses the Challenging Traditions exhibition at The McMichael on Youtube here.

The exhibition, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, brings Mr. Thom’s magnificent publication to life. It showcases a collection of over seventy pieces of contemporary art that are featured in the book and investigates how artists are drawing inspiration from history and grappling with the challenges of interpreting traditional design and transforming it into modern-day Northwest Coast art. The exhibition continues at the McMichael until September 20, 2009.

Responsible for organizing more than 100 exhibitions over his twenty-year curatorial career at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver-born Ian M. Thom is the resident expert on British Columbia’s art and artists. Mr. Thom is also a prolific writer, publishing numerous books on popular artists: Maxwell Bates, Alistair Bell, B.C. Binning, Franklin Carmichael, Emily Carr, C.J. Collings, Robert Davidson, Gathie Falk, Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, Clarence Gagnon, Lawren Harris, Edwin Holgate, E.J. Hughes, Ann Kipling, Arthur Lismer, David Milne, Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, Takao Tanabe, Andy Warhol, and many more. Prior to joining the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1988, he worked as the McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s Curator of Collections, and at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria as Chief Curator. Thom holds a BA and MA in Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.

CUTLINE: Ian Thom signing copies of his new book "Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast" at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario (Toronto). Mr. Thom was at the gallery to open the new exhibition which the book accompanies. Photo by Stephen Weir

Art Patrons admire this huge red cedar mask carved by Beau Dick. The piece is part of the Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast exhibition curated by Ian Thom.