Newfoundland’s art scene comes to MUN
Newfoundland and Labrador has a fierce reputation amongst the arts community, and three of its strongest advocates presented their work at Memorial University Friday.
The presentation took place as part of the university’s Havin’ A Time 2012 Reunion.
Jillian Keiley, the artistic director for Artistic Fraud, gave a sneak peak of her latest play, “Oil and Water.” The production uses African-American gospel music, traditional Newfoundland music and haunting text to tell the true story of Lanier Phillips.
Phillips was shipwrecked near the town of St. Lawrence, and the African-American sailor’s encounter with the white community of miners forever changed him.
The play, written by Robert Chafe, is touring the country.
Keiley said she loves the story because it’s about two worlds colliding.
Phillips, who died earlier this year, was unable to attend, but he watched the play on DVD. His daughter, who is a character in the play, attended the opening night performance.
The beauty that occurs when cultures collide was also the subject of Tom Gordon’s presentation on Hayden in Inuktitut.
Gordon, who teaches music history at MUN, told the backstory of his documentary “Till We Meet Again: Moravian Music in Labrador.”
Gordon became involved with the documentary because it combined his two favourite subjects: classical music and the North.
“I’m kind of a classical music geek,” he said.
The documentary shows the long tradition of classical music in Labrador, brought to the Inuit by Moravian missionaries.
Classical greats like Hayden and Bach have been performed by the Inuit since the 18th century, and reinterpreted to suit the people’s Inuktitut language and culture.
Finally, archival librarian Colleen Quigley presented a brief history of the province’s greatest contribution to sketch comedy: Codco.
“Taboo seemed to be the name of the game,” she said.
The show began when a failed audition led to a $300 investment to start a comedy show about Newfoundland and Labrador.
What emerged was a biting and ribald satire of local identity, cultural tourism and pop culture.
“They were speaking about the marginalized, the misfits,” Quigley said.
Quigley said the show’s history is now being archived at MUN, and the university has honoured some of its former stars.
Andy Jones has been the writer in residence for the school, and Jones, his sister Cathy, Greg Malone and Mary Walsh all received honorary doctorates for their contributions to the arts.