Several Northwest artists and schools have been awarded grants from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Kenecia Amber Rose Tootoosis of North Battleford receives a $1,500 Indigenous Pathways Initiative grant "to learn through traditional protocol a new technique of quilling from Geraldine Simaganis, and to create a pair of moccasins and leggings using the tack down method of quilling."
Marcelin artist Michelle F. Sanderson has also been awarded a $6,000 Indigenous Pathways Initiatives grant to create new powwow dance regalia.
According to the board, the Indigenous Pathways Initiatives grant program aims to increase access to public funding by indigenous artists in Saskatchewan, either to develop their artistic/cultural practices or to share their art, skills and teachings.
Mestead School and Glaslyn Central School will benefit from ArtsSmarts grants.
Medstead School has $8,000 to help "students discover how nature inspires them and many ways of expressing themselves as they 'muck about' in the natural world using an artistic process."
Glaslyn Central School's $5,413 grant is "to do a project entailing a large pit firing of ceramic tiles that are then installed permanently within the school/community as a mosaic."
ArtsSmarts Saskatchewan offers arts and education grants to schools, artists and community partnerships for innovative projects in any art form that bring kindergarten to Grade 12 students and professional artists together. This program is offered through a partnership among the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Saskatchewan Ministry of Education and SaskCulture Inc.
Ruddell musician Krista Martynes has been awarded a $10,000 Independent Artists grant "to develop a solo program for clarinet with electronics and video, including compositions and improvisations with the appropriate equipment."
Independent Artists grants support the creation, development or performance of new work in any art form, professional development for artists and research in the arts. These grants support the ongoing development of artistic practice in Saskatchewan as well as independent curators and critics in all disciplines.
For the quarter ending Dec. 31, the Saskatchewan Arts Board awarded more than 160 grants to individuals and organizations, totalling more than $1.4 million. Grants support a variety of initiatives, including funding organizations that provide ongoing programs in the arts, the creative work of professional artists, community art projects and the engagement of professional artists to work in schools with students and teachers.
The Arts Board celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2013. Its mission is to cultivate an environment in which the arts thrive for the benefit of everyone in Saskatchewan. For more information, visit www.artsboard.sk.ca.
