By Hollie Pratt-Campbell
Landing the job of community engagement coordinator at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning was like a dream come true for Shannon Brown.
“Everything that I’ve done in the past really comes together in this job,”she says. “It feels great to be utilizing those skills, but also to be meeting lots of people, to be living in Kingston again, to be bringing my excitement and exuberance for the Tett.”
By Hollie Pratt-Campbell
Unsuspecting passersby found themselves drawn into the world of art and culture on Saturday, Sept. 27 when Kingston City Hall came alive with colour, hip hop and breakdancing; the colour came in the form of one of Canada’s most familiar household items, as local artist Mark Reinhart shared his unique art form, “painting”with duct tape, with community members.
“It feels great,”said Reinhart of seeing people of all ages create images out of duct tape on the ground, walls and steps of the City Hall courtyard.
By Hollie Pratt-Campbell
Brett Christopher has big plans for the future of theatre in the Limestone City.
“My hope is that I can provide plays that are of a quality that can be seen anywhere in the country and even in the United States,” says the Theatre Kingston artistic director…”That way people don’t need to drive to Toronto or Montreal to see a play - they can see it in Kingston.”
The Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning (TCCL), a not-for-profit corporation set up to oversee the governance and management of the Tett Centre, invites interested members of the community to join the volunteer Board of Directors. Working with other community board members and board members representing the tenant organizations, the successful candidates will be part of the establishment of a thriving arts hub for the community.
By Hollie Pratt-Campbell When Janet Ross isn’t sitting in her dentist’s chair, filling cavities and reconstructing patients’ teeth, she can be found in the loft of her country home north of Kingston, creating beautiful pieces of jewellery, or teaching classes on silversmithing, wax casting and more with the Kingston Lapidary and Mineral Club. In fact, she notes that the skill sets for dentistry and jewellery making are really quite similar.
By Hollie Pratt-Campbell
When Marc Lemieux walked into his first pottery class with the Kingston Potters’ Guild in 1990, he had no idea he was starting down what would eventually turn into a very successful career path.
"I was in university and I was looking for something to do in the winter,”he recalls. “I just signed up for one of the six week classes and then took another one in the spring. I really liked it, so I became a member [of the guild].”
Kingston Arts Council’s Cultural Animator, Irina Skvortsova, is one of the many participants in a collaborative, multidisciplinary art project, The Kingston Shebang, set to take place at the opening of the Tett Centre. The Kingston Shebang will celebrate the inauguration of the arts cluster by building bridges between the diverse artists and artistic organizations set to take up residency in the revitalized facility.
By Hollie Pratt-CampbellChantal Thompson had just moved from Kingston to Toronto to study at the Ontario College of Art and Design when she got the news that her friend and former bandmate Joe Chithalen had died unexpectedly.
By Hollie Pratt-CampbellMichèle LaRose is living proof that it’s never too late to follow your heart.In 2002, she left behind a successful, decades-long career in national museums and archives and management consulting to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time painter.“I had started to paint again on a part-time basis when I had the time, and I realized that I was having a hard time staying focused on my paying job,” says LaRose, noting that she had a childhood interest for making art that never really died. “It just became a more consuming passion, I suppose.”
By Hollie Pratt-CampbellIt’s no real surprise that Greg Tilson’s son, George, is demonstrating some serious musical skill (particularly for percussion) at the early age of eight months. Greg and his wife, Annie Clifford, are both talented musicians themselves as members of the sprawling music collective The Gertrudes, and Greg has spent many years organizing music events and festivals in Kingston.