There has been plenty of information that has crossed my desk this week via email relating to the arts, so let's get right to it and update you on some important news. We'll go from sad to glad in order of presentation here...
Late last week the Lewiston Council on the Arts announced their popular summer events schedule for 2020 has been cancelled. This includes Bug Fest, the Summer of '69 concert, Blue Monday concert series and the Lewiston Art Festival and Keybank Chalkwalk Competition, all of which will return in 2021.
Artists who were accepted into this year's arts festival will have an opportunity to exhibit and sell their work on the Lewiston Arts Council Facebook page. Meantime the Chalk Walk Competition will be taken online and opened up as a virtual competition so everyone can become a chalk artist. The arts council says there is no specific theme for the competition; they want to see what inspires you in your own neighbourhood.
Other unfortunate news from Lewiston includes the fact the ever-popular Brickyard Brewing Co. on Center Street was recently gutted by fire. The roof collapsed over the the new banquet hall on the second floor, along with plenty of damage to the rest of the structure.
There were no people in the building at the time of the fire, and owners Ken Bryan and Eric Matthews say they will reopen bigger and better than ever in the future. In the meantime people can contribute to the Brickyard and the employees on a GoFundMe page. There will also be a Brick by Brick benefit fundraiser to help displaced Brickyard employees on Saturday, June 13th. Details on these and other ways to help can be found on the Brick by Brick Facebook page.
The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake has now cancelled events and performances throughout the month of July. At this point the balance of the season has not yet been scrubbed as has been the case at Stratford, and the Festival is following all public health directives regarding when they can safely reopen.
It is good to see the Festival has managed to keep almost all their artists and arts workers employed, although as we mentioned earlier this month about 70 ensemble members, musicians and other independent contractors have been suspended, and several part-time seasonal staff have also been laid off.
The Festival has re-engaged almost all the artists along with others from the local Shaw Festival family as temporary, full-time employees under a new program supported through the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The team of nearly 80 Education and Community Outreach Specialists will work to increase the Festival's connection with the rest of the community by increasing the amount of digital patron engagement, creating online events for Friends of the Shaw and other projects.
As has been the case with earlier season cancellations, a small team of box office representatives is currently working remotely to contact ticket holders to provide options such as holding money on account for future exchanges, converting the ticket value to a charitable donation or if preferred, issuing a full refund.
If you have any questions or concerns you can visit the Shaw Festival website.
This past Thursday afternoon Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts took part in a virtual charity concert entitled United in Music, to aid UNHCR's coronavirus response. The UN Refugee Agency's COVID-19 response aims to help protect refugees and the communities that welcome them in the ongoing global fight against coronavirus.
This musical charity fundraiser was initiated by Shlomo Mintz, the renowned violinist and conductor as a response from Bravo Niagara! founders Christine Mori and Alexis Spieldenner's invitation to collaborate on a virtual performance. That performance included several works including the Concerto for Four Violins by Vivaldi, together with musicians from several orchestras based here in Canada as well as in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The concept then grew to include professors, concert artists and students from as many as 29 countries, with all the music being recorded remotely in each artists' respective homes.
All donations from the concert will go to UNHCR and you can still donate by going to the UNHCR website. You can also view the concert on YouTube by going to www.BravoNiagara.org.
The Niagara Symphony Orchestra announced this week they have appointed a new Interim Executive Director in order to guide the organization through this difficult period for any arts organization, but especially one already looking for a new Executive Director.
Ms. Gerry Callaghan joins the NSO on contract, bringing years of experience in operations and change management, primarily in the financial services industry, along with several years experience with a local community orchestra. Ms. Callaghan will be with the NSO for the next few months as the orchestra and Maestro Bradley Thachuk lay out plans for the coming 20/21 season starting this fall.
While one person arrives on board, another leaves. It was also announced this week Annie Slade will be concluding her time with the NSO as of this weekend following a 5-year journey with the orchestra, helping with the transition from Brock University to their new home downtown at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Annie will be off to pursue her Master's Degree in the field of Arts Leadership through Queens University this fall.
Finally the latest concerts in the ongoing #NiagaraPerforms online concert series hosted by the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre have been announced. The virtual concerts, held each Sunday afternoon at 4 and Thursday evening at 7 have so far attracted more than 20,000 livestream patrons to date.
The latest lineup looks like this:
Singer-songwriter Ariana Gillis - Sunday, May 31st, 4 pm.
Niagara's premiere jazz pianist John Sherwood - Thursday, June 4th, 7 pm.
Singer-songwriter Whitney Pea - Sunday, June 7th, 4 pm.
Shaw Festival Artistic Director Tim Carroll and members of the Shaw ensemble - Thursday, June 11th, 7 pm.
Tony Dekker of indie folk act Great Lakes Swimmers - Sunday, June 14th, 4 pm.
Superstar Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman and Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts - Thursday, June 18th, 7 pm.
Celebration of Nations Artistic Director Michele Elise Burnett & Artistic Producer Tim Johnson - Sunday, June 21st, 4 pm.
Yellow Door Theatre's Artistic Director Andorlie Hillstrom - Thursday, June 25th, 7 pm.
Local artists Lori Cullen & Kurt Swinghammer - Sunday, June 28th, 4 pm.
All of these #NiagaraPerforms virtual concerts can be viewed via the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website and YouTube channels.
So I told you we'd go from sad to glad, right?
Have a great week, and stay safe!
Saturday, May 30th, 2020.
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