HAMILTON ARTS WEEK GOES ONLINE
Annual celebration of arts & artists
They’re making it easier than ever to catch the whole of Hamilton Arts Week this year, without any risk of catching something else — COVID-19.
The Hamilton Arts Council’s annual marquee nine-day celebration of area arts and artists will, for the first time, be strictly online, for obvious reasons. It’s going to be digital, so you can, ahem, dig it all, on your own time, at your leisure, except for the livestream portion but even that you will be able to revisit.
And, by “all,” we mean everything from Tom Wilson to contemporary dance, livestreamed theatre productions and much, much more.
The programming will allow a wide scope for audience participation, feedback and collaboration with many opportunities to discover new skills from the safety of people’s own homes.
It was going to be a historic “first” kind of an Arts Week anyway, says David Hudson, HAC’s community engagement officer and an Arts Week organizer.
The council had decided this year that it would put the planning of the week’s events up for grabs, within the arts community itself, says Hudson.
“Whereas in the past, the arts council would create the events itself, we gave a platform (this year) for the artists to create their own events,” with the council offering up to $2,000 of funding for each one.
“We wanted to foster a culture where artists are paid appropriately for their work and their time,” says Hudson.
So HAC entertained applications, went through the ones submitted and a collaborative jury chose the successful candidates — 13 of them altogether, from about 50 applications.
And then, pandemic.
The arts council went back to the 13 and asked them to modify their proposals so that they could be presented online.
“‘Can we rework this?’ we asked them,” says Hudson. “Within a week they all came back with exciting adaptations.”
For Hudson personally, salvaging the week by putting it online has been a very gratifying outcome.
“It (Arts Week) was my introduction to Hamilton,” he says.
“When I landed here from the U.K. in 2018, I ended up in the midst of it.”
With his background in contemporary dance and choreography, he was delighted to see that being featured among much else. “It’s exciting to be able to extend it to other artists and audiences.”
Some highlights from the 13 “signature” events and other elements of Arts Week:
“Dangerous Vacancies” — Aeris Korper dance company; public engagement project
“Switched” (by Anna Chatterton) — Industry (theatre group); online play reading
“How To Write a Suicide Letter” — Make Art Theatre; play reading, humorous/serious treatment of difficult issue
“Why Art Project” — Rose Hopkins, Laura Welch; podcast celebrating artists, with critical dialogue, interviews, bridging artists and audience
“Soaring Spirits” — Hamilton Film Festival; short film screenings, including TEKAHIONWAKE by Shelly Niro with poetry by E. Pauline Johnson, followed by chat room discussion with viewers and filmmakers
“Sita’s Revenge” — Red Betty Theatre, reading of original play by Rahda Sciara-Menon
“Climate Action” — Paul Lisson and Fiona Kinsella; online launch of ecology issue of Hamilton Arts and Letters magazine with essays, poetry and visual art around City of Hamilton’s declaration of climate emergency
“Gimbling in the wabe: Reconnecting with Creative Play” — Katrine Raymond; online writing workshop
“Live Performance” — Michelle Titian; live musical performance, with storytelling
“Live Performance” — Tom Wilson, with Jesse O’Brien; live musical performance
“Album Launch” — Logan Staats; release of new music album and live performance
“Apostoleas” — Apostoleas collaboration; analog and digital merging of music, soundscape and visual projections
“Dirty Donna and the Penis Paintings” — Building Cultural Legacies; short film screening of show about artist Donna Ibing
“Inside the Chrysalis” — Building Cultural Legacies; immersive video piece and panoramic photos that Hamiltonians have sent to Taien Ng-Chan
The events and programming will all be delivered through a variety of online platforms such as videos, podcasts, livestreams and digital publications, all accessible through HAC’s website (hamiltonartscouncil.ca/artsweek ) and social media channels.
Among the highlights of Hamilton Arts Week 2020, as is the case every year, will be the presentation of the juried Hamilton Arts Awards which acknowledge and celebrate the excellence in this city’s arts. To ensure the well-being of all program participants and public safety, the Arts Awards will be presented throughout Hamilton Arts Week in a series of online announcements; videos recognizing category nominees; and interviews with award recipients, as well as performances from within the community, including a performance by Ellis.
“The devastation of revenue sources faced by Hamilton’s creative community, as a direct result of COVID-19, has inspired new levels of creativity and determination from artists to meet the challenges ahead,” says HAC Manager Joanna Johnson. “For the wider community the arts have always provided immeasurable benefits, and now more than ever HAC strives to create access to this vital resource.”
Presented with support from the City of Hamilton, Ontario Arts Council, Downtown Hamilton BIA and DPAI Architecture, Hamilton Arts Week is designed to showcase different genres of the arts and the diversity of the city’s performers and creative workers.
The HAC says it wants to list all regional arts events, classes, performances, and presentations that will take place between June 11to 20. Artists and groups can submit their events at hamiltonartscouncil.ca/artsweek.