New art festival pays tribute to Bernie Martin
Have you heard of Bernie Martin?
If not, you are in the majority. Artist Bernie Martin passed away in 1995, leaving a large body of work in many mediums. But today he is barely known outside of a select few in and around Peterborough.
“He was this playwright, musician, painter, poet, who also mentored a lot of younger artists in his time,” writer and performer Kate Story says. “He left behind a really remarkable legacy. And a lot of the artists he mentored are making significant work to this day.”
So why isn’t he better known? It was this question that drove Story and Ryan Kerr, artistic director of The Theatre on King, to organize a new festival.
A Certain Place: The Bernie Martin Festival is presented by Fleshy Thud in partnership with Public Energy.
“It’s about Bernie, definitely,” Kerr says. “But more than that, the festival is about how and why people make art in this particular place. Bernie embodied a kind of energy and connectivity that Peterborough’s creative classes are really known for.”
“He’s had a huge impact,” says musician Benj Rowland. “But he’s only really known in this one place. That, in the 21st century, the internet, etc., is very unusual. It’s maybe even unique.”
The festival takes place over the month of November, with some activities spilling out through October and December too. “Over 75 local artists will take part, if you count all the participants in the workshop and mentoring activities ,” Story notes. “We really reached out to established and new local artists, and to youth,” Kerr adds.
The festival kicks off with Rowland’s tongue-in-cheek band Weekend at Bernie Martin’s performing at the Garnet on Thursday. The band covers Martin’s catchy songs, and consists of a revolving door of well-known local musicians.
That event begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $8 or pay what you can at the door
The festival itself begins with filmmaking and spoken word workshops through October, for youth, seniors, and artists. It explodes onto the stage in November with diverse theatre, spoken word, film, visual art, and music events, involving local luminaries including Lester Alfonso, Ziy von B, Brad Brackenridge, amy m. cummings, Su Ditta, Jon Lockyer, Bill Kimball, Brian Mitolo, Victoria Mohr-Blakeney, Janette Platana, Wes Ryan, Brian Sanderson, David Tough, Victoria Ward, and the Peterborough Poetry Slam Collective. Ward, a visual artist and culture blogger, notes, “It’s a remarkable idea, a brilliantly conceived festival: grassroots hero paid homage by a dense month of activities.”
Ryan Kerr’s performance group Fleshy Thud is presenting the festival in partnership with Public Energy, with the support of Peterborough THeatre Users Group. “We got funded by a wonderful range of supporters,” Story notes. “Public Energy – the City of Peterborough – the Ontario Arts Council – all have gotten behind this.”
The festival takes place at The Theatre on King, the Garnet, the Spill Café, and Evans Contemporary Gallery.
Check the festival website for more details: www.ttok.ca