On the move

It’s been a busy month. Which one isn’t?

 

So interesting to be figuring out how much time to spend in which city, on which project or with which people. And how. And why! Lucky me: Toronto, Peterborough, Montreal, Halifax, Lunenburg.

 

Visiting Lunenburg this past week, I got to spend a little time at Luvly in Lunenburg and Out of Hand, two shops (out of many) featuring Canadian works. Both of them are excellent examples of the way creative industries can be developed here in NS.

 

Lots of deadlines in September. I seem to have met all of mine so far, though there are a few more between now and the end of the month.

And all those people going back to school, me included.

 

I was delighted by a very productive and interesting convergence  in Toronto on September 10, when the Canadian Dance Assembly hosted a regional conference of individuals and organizations concerned with dance in this country.

It was a good opportunity for me to present an update on the work Barbara Richman and I started a little over a year ago for a National Training Subsidy Program. I’ve been working hard to develop an article for publication based partly on this research and some ideas I have about where dance fits, so I was also able to try some of those out. Thanks to everyone there for feedback and rousing reactions.

 

It was great to see Pamela Fralick present progress to date on the strategic planning I’ve been helping the Canada Dance Festival conduct. And all of this in the context of a presentation by the partners involved in the upcoming Dance Mapping Project: Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council. As part of that process, they’ve put together a bibliography focused on research about culture and the arts that also or specifically references dance.

In the meantime, the garden is still showing a few flowers here and there, and we’ve been eating tomatoes, potatoes, and just starting on carrots. The beans and arugula are done, and we’re starting to dry some of the herbs for the winter – especially the Thai basil. Yum.

 

Happy to say that there are several friends with exhibitions this month too, including Tonia Di Risio and Susan Wood at the MSVU Art Gallery, which I saw over the past weekend.

 

 

And, several other artists I know and admire will be featured in the Synaptic Connections exhibition about the brain and art at the AGNS, including Melissa Marr and Heather Wilkinson as artists-in-residence (check out their blog).

Not to mention the brilliant Alan Syliboy, Colleen Wolstenholme, Sarah Maloney, and Mitchell Wiebe among others.

 

Next week, I’m heading out to Toronto and Peterborough where I hope to catch Nuit Blanche and some leafy fall colours. My long-time friend, Tony Storey, is retiring after many years of work for the university, and I expect I’ll see a number of friends from my time at Trent.

Mmm. Fall colours. All-night art. Friends.