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Megan Folden

Saskatchewan Artist’s Work Showcased at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

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Some projects take a long and winding road before they receive their just recognition. For Saskatchewan art jeweller and goldsmith Mary Lynn Podiluk, her piece “Metalanguage” went from her studio, to Chicago, to North Carolina, and now to Montreal. That journey, which began in earnest at the 2015 Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design Fair (SOFA) in Chicago, was helped along by Creative Saskatchewan’s support so that she could attend.

While her artistic work may be well travelled, so is Podiluk. She started her post secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan before moving to the east coast to attend Halifax’s Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. While there, she studied in their jewellery program, spending her last year or so in the program exploring language, a theme that is still prevalent in her work today. Having graduated, Podiluk moved back to Saskatoon in 2012 and, three years later, was part of a group of Saskatchewan artists, supported by both the Saskatchewan Craft Council and Creative Saskatchewan to attend SOFA, which has since been renamed intersect Chicago.

Also forming part of that delegation was a representative from Slate Gallery who knew some of the other companies attending. It was that connection that led Podiluk to sell Metalanguage to the Kamm Teapot Foundation, which holds the world’s largest collection of teapots. Podiluk says that, once she started chatting with the person who would end up acquiring the teapot, connections were easy to make.

“They were so friendly. And he was so excited, because they collect all sorts of tea pots…he was wearing a custom made gold ring that was shaped like a teapot. And because I’m a goldsmith and metalsmith of course, he had to show me his gold ring and we were chatting about that. So it was really, I don’t know if I’d call it nerve wracking, but in a way, it was like, ‘Oh, I really hope they come. I really hope.’ Because they seem so interested.” One trip to the Saskatchewan contingent’s booth later that day and off Metalanguage went to North Carolina, where the collection is held. That is, until a curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art became interested in it for an upcoming exhibition entitled “Parall(elles): A History of Women in Design”. The show, which runs until May 28, is a good place for Podiluk’s work because, in the words of curator Jennifer Laurent via a recent press release, “Today, women designer-makers are working in a multitude of fields and using a wide variety of materials and techniques, often combining the traditional with the avant-garde. The line between design and fine art becomes increasingly blurred as many women creators incorporate a conceptual approach to the creation of functional objects. The Metalanguage Teapot…is a remarkable example of these 21st century developments in women’s design.”

Early critical acclaim, Mary Lynn won the National Student Jewelry competition and was invited to show her work in Ottawa, created a sizable amount of momentum as she moved back westward, she says.

“When Creative Saskatchewan started coming into the picture, and I started applying for some production grants with them, I was able to bolster up a lot of the work that sells a little bit more easily than some of these highly conceptual and also quite expensive one of a kind pieces.”

With a career that has now reached its ten-year mark, Podiluk says she focused on not only the fine art work but also on production-style work, leaning into her influences surrounding language and the botanical, as well as creating custom jewellery like wedding bands and engagement bands. It’s this combination that allows her to have a fulfilling commercial and creative practice.

Still, Podiluk says that she’s doing her part, alongside her fellow artists, to make it clear that this kind of work can and should succeed in Saskatchewan.

“I continue to try my best as one person to just continue to raise awareness about my craft and the tradition and where it can sit in a contemporary space that can blur the lines between art and craft.”

By John Loeppky

If you’d like to read more about the exhibition you can do so here. To see more of Podiluk’s work, including what custom services she has available, you can visit her website.

25th Street Theatre Makes Triumphant Return to Producing New Work

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Over the last 34 years, Saskatoon’s 25th Street Theatre Company has become synonymous with the Saskatoon Fringe. Held each August, the event has become an integral part of the Canadian fringe circuit, welcoming artists from across the continent for a creative and collaborative few days. However, the organization’s history, dating back to its founding in 1972, has been about producing new work as well. Tough financial times just before the turn of the century meant that the company had to focus exclusively on the Fringe. However, with the support of Creative Saskatchewan’s Live Production Grant Program, the organization has made a triumphant return to producing new Saskatchewan plays.

Those two plays, Fruitcake and Breaking the Curse, received multiple nominations and wins at the Saskatoon and Area Theatre Awards. Breaking the Curse, which was co-produced with another local company, Ferre Play Theatre, tackles the topic of menstruation. Stemming from playwright Rachel Walliser, a University of Regina grad’s, realization that she was one of the few people in her life willing to talk about periods–a reality that was true for her as early as in high school–the play moved from a monologue, to being informed by a series of interviewees, to the full-on production that hit the Roxy Theatre’s stage in May of 2022.

Fruitcake, meanwhile, is described as a comedic family drama that discusses family heirlooms, family expectations surrounding identity, identity, and inheritance. The play, penned by local playwright, journalist, public speaker, and former arts administrator Heather Morrison garnered three SATA nominations having first been created in 2017. Just like Breaking the Curse, Fruit Cake received developmental support from other local organizations like the Saskatchewan Playwright’s Centre. Fruitcake ran at Persephone Theatre/the Remai Arts Centre’s Backstage Stage in December of 2021.

The return to producing new plays is something that Anita Smith, the organization’s Artistic and Executive Director, and her team are excited to have back as part of the province’s theatre ecology. As they proudly write on their website, “As the first professional theatre company in Saskatoon, it is a great honour to be able to use theatre to amplify the voices of those who are underrepresented in our community while supporting the development of new Saskatchewan works…25th Street Theatre is elated to be back, bringing engaging artistic opportunities to the community in and around Saskatoon, from professional theatre productions to workshops and everything in between.”

Alongside the Fringe Festival, which runs from August 3 to 12 this year, the organization is also hosting workshops for kids interested in theatre, named collaboration station. The program, which is described as, “a free, drop-in, theatre-centered program where children (aimed at ages five to twelve) can work with professional artists to engage in hands-on art creation with a focus on theatre” will be an integral portion of the Fringe this year.

Being able to provide professional creative opportunities by producing new work, alongside holding the spectacle that is the Saskatoon Fringe, and doing so while also coordinating youth-based programs mean that 25th Street Theatre is positioned to continue on with the mandate they’ve held since starting out as an artist collective more than fifty years ago: to bring theatre to Saskatoon’s audiences that opens up their understandings of the world.

By John Loeppky

To learn more about 25th Street Theatre, you can visit their website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook.

Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Charts Province’s Indigenous History Through New Guide

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When people start to look at the Saskatchewan landscape, when they look beyond the preconceived notions of a flat province that you wave at as you fly to Vancouver, they can find many items and places of interest. From an archaeological perspective, one of the first things they might find once they dive in and start learning is an arrow head—also known as a projectile point. Now, thanks to funding from Creative Saskatchewan’s Book Publishing Grant, the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society (SAS) has published a book, entitled Points of View: A Guide on Saskatchewan Projectile Points with Indigenous Perspectives, that archives and shares this knowledge.

Tomasin Playford, the organization’s Executive Director, says that right from the project’s early stages it was clear that Indigenous voices needed to be included.

“We also know, in this time of reconciliation and recognition of Indigenous culture, that we couldn’t do something like that about Indigenous artefacts without including Indigenous voices in the book. And so, right from the start, we knew it couldn’t just be an identification guide like you can get with birds, or fossils or plants. There had to be those voices.”

The SAS isn’t new to publishing work, they regularly produce a newsletter and have a digital storefront called the Den of Antiquity. Still, Playford says that Creative Saskatchewan’s funding allowed them to bring in more Indigenous writers and artists throughout the process of creating the book as well as broadening out the organization’s skillset when it came to content creation.

“We wanted to do something that was really a higher caliber, really professional, we wanted a product that people would be attracted to that they would, they would, that it would get out there. And I think that’s really why we look to creative Saskatchewan is because they have the funding, but they also have the expertise. And so going through that funding process helped us think about things that we don’t normally think about as a small organization.”

Those new areas of exploration included thinking more about promotion as well as about the book’s market. Because the SAS is usually catering to academics and archeological science-minded people, this book was a new and exciting way for the organization to help tell the province’s history through the lens of Indigenous knowledge and traditions. While there were broader lessons to be learned, it was foundational steps—like creating contract-based resources that can be reused—that Playford says were especially helpful to her team.

“It’s a tiny little bit of a learning curve, but now that we have contracts, and we learned that process, we don’t have to relearn it, we can just adapt what we already have for anything new going forward…And especially with the marketing and promotion, we also have a better idea of different promotional tools.”

Playford’s advice to other organizations looking to replicate their success? Learn as you go and work with an “open heart, open mind”.

“We weren’t successful in our first application, so we did go back and redo it and took their [Creative Saskatchewan’s] advice and that helped… so don’t get discouraged.”

The SAS has used the momentum from the project to build relationship and to do a series of book launches through their newfound connections. While creating the guidebook they were able to hire a videographer, an editor, and grow closer to their membership by holding a fundraising campaign. According to Playford all these additional aspects of the project helped solidify the main goal of the book.

“It was in response to a need that we identified. It wasn’t just ‘Oh, we want to write a book, and we want to put a product out there.’ This was something that we didn’t have in our province.”

Sales of the book have been strong, and it has won two awards recently; the 2023 Canadian Archaeological Association Award for Public Communication and the 2023 Museums Association of Saskatchewan – Certificate of Excellence.

By John Loeppky

If you’re interested in purchasing Points of View: A Guide on Saskatchewan Projectile Points with Indigenous Perspectives you can do so on the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society’s website. While there, you will also find more information about the organization’s programs and services. You can also find them on Facebook.

O’Grady Breaks Deeper into Western Canadian Markets with Local Clothing Designs

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Saskatchewan clothing designer and textile artist Kathleen O’Grady’s work is heavily influenced by travels to places like Greece, Japan, Africa, and India. Still, travel isn’t just part of how Kathleen thinks about design, but also business. Using Creative Saskatchewan’s Market Travel Grant, O’Grady spent part of last fall travelling to Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver to showcase and sell her work, an experience that she says had a significant positive impact on her bottom line.

“It allowed me to strengthen my market presence in those cities, to recruit new customers to my email list, and to significantly grow my revenues for the current year.”

With support from Creative Saskatchewan, which helped foot the bill for travel and promotional materials like posters and business cards, O’Grady cleared high above her revenue targets for the three events: the Circle Craft Christmas Market (Vancouver), Art Market Art & Craft Sale (Calgary), and Butterdome Craft Sale (Edmonton). One key takeaway O’Grady has from this tri-city experience is the clarification she saw in which garments not only resonate with customers but also are worth investing more into from a financial perspective. It’s data that she keeps close tabs on using tracking software and spreadsheets.

“What I see with going back and looking at numbers is what styles and sizes sold, but also where my time, energy and money is best spent. Rhetorically, do I want to continue with this particular garment for the capacity that I have as a single artist in my business?”

Kathleen was very intentional in selecting the markets she attended. Her products are primarily marketed in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but travelling to BC allowed her to step into a new market which, like Edmonton and Calgary, has a strong customer base. According to O’Grady, going to markets like these gives her clarity about her typical customer, or ideal client. Things like sizing preferences between different markets, as well as the styles that do well there, are all things O’Grady says are difficult to learn in the same way without an on-the-ground presence.

From Kathleen’s perspective, another advantage of doing these market shows is the interplay between her in-person sales and her digital storefront.

“I think the website is really important because I do an online business as well.” From the three shows, O’Grady was able to add dozens of new subscribers to her email list. “One of the beauties of doing a market show is that there’s follow up from people at the show who go to the website and then place an order.”

Participating in these markets allowed O’Grady’s business to pass a significant milestone, reaching profitability over the entire year for the first time after a two-year stretch that was rough on the independent clothing market due to the limitations bestowed by the pandemic.

“Creative Saskatchewan’s support has been so helpful in giving me the opportunity to reach new markets for my designs and to strengthen the sustainability of my business.”

By John Loeppky

To take a closer look at O’Grady’s clothing designs you can go to her website at kathleenogradydesign.com or peruse her Facebook or Instagram pages.

Saskatchewan Duo Bring South African and Canadian Artists’ Work Together with New Business

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Brendan Copestake and Jillian Ross didn’t initially plan to open a business in Canada. The pair, who met overseas and originally settled in South Africa, were originally meant to come to Canada for an artist residency. Due to COVID-19, they came a few months earlier than intended and decided to stay in Ross’ home province. Now, they’ve started a business called Jillian Ross Print (JRP), continuing their careers focused on collaborative printmaking that have seen them partner with world renowned South African artist William Kentridge. To build their business, they applied to Creative Saskatchewan’s Market and Export Development Grant in order to get them started on the right foot.

Copestake says that the funding was key to sustaining the relationship between Jillian Ross Print and their collaborators overseas.

“Starting a new business, there are always cashflow concerns and the Creative Saskatchewan funding gave us access to some finances that allowed us to travel… to South Africa and to work with long-time collaborator Kentridge in his studio and the David Krut Workshop for a period of two months, and produce a significant body of prints.”

While Kentridge is well represented in places like Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong, Copestake says that Jillian Ross Print was and is well positioned to take that role in Canada.

Jillian Ross Print - Creative Saskatchewan
Collaborative team of William Kentridge, David Krut Workshop and Jillian Ross Print looking at a newly pulled print at the David Krut Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. Left to Right : Publisher – Brendan Copestake, Artist – William Kentridge, Publisher – David Krut, Collaborative Master Printer – Jillian Ross, Printers – Roxy Kaczmarek and Kim-Lee Loggenberg.

“William doesn’t have representation in Canada itself, there isn’t a specific gallery that works on his behalf in the Canadian market. And so with the close relationship to the Kentridge studio (Jillian and William have been making prints together since 2006), and in depth knowledge of Kentridge’s prints specifically, we are able to present ourselves experts on William’s prints.” If you would like a link to the specific body of prints that were made whilst in SA link to Studio Life Gravures on their website here.

However, their business aspirations don’t end there. They’re in the process of partnering with other Canadian artists like Wally Dion and Russna Kaur. For Copestake, having a collaborative print studio —and being one of the few studios doing this sort of work—is about filling a gap between artists and the broader market.

“So in those instances, an artist like Russna Kaur, who’s a painter and whose paintings will translate very well into print, would approach Jill (the master printer of JRP) or Jill would approach her and say, ‘Let’s work together and develop a body of prints in my studio.’ And so that person would be invited into the studio and they would work together over a period of weeks to produce hand-printed editioned artworks available to a growing network of collectors.” This collaborative work allows artists to excel in a new medium as they don’t have to learn all technical aspects of printing but rather focus on the creativity of the visual presentation.

With so many things on the go, amidst a very expensive move across the world, Copestake says it was funding like that of Creative Saskatchewan that allowed Jillian Ross Print to get off the ground in a more calm way while also being promoted to new audiences and customers.

“That removes a lot of pressure from the project. Because you’re not spending all your time being ultra careful about what you’re spending. You can actually go out and do what is needed for the project.”

As the company grows, its owners are weighing what it might look like to hire assistants, to find different spaces where they can create work, and to enter into a new stage of business development. Still, Copestake says that their next move will largely revolve around what resources are available as they, like many artists, look to expand into newer opportunities that are even more collaborative.

“I think, especially in a place like Saskatchewan, where you are so isolated because of winter, that you need that kind of opportunity to socialize and interact with your community.”

By John Loeppky

If you’re looking to find out more about Jillian Ross Print, their products, or their past, present, and future collaborations, you can do so via their website. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Saskatchewan Queer Theatre Company Making International Impact

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The isolation created by COVID-19, especially in the early days, was a challenging environment for artists. Some cancelled tours, some holed themselves away to make albums, and some—like Saskatchewan’s own S.E. Grummett (they/them) —spent their days reworking a theatre show while stuck in Australia. A show, that thanks to Creative Saskatchewan’s grants, was able to be produced at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Scantily Glad Theatre - Creative Saskatchewan
Grumms

Grummett, known as Grumms, is the head of queer theatre company Scantily Glad Theatre. The show they were working on, called Something in the Water, began its life as part of an artist residency in Washington state before premiering at the 2019 Saskatoon Fringe. It’s a show, rooted in Grumms’ own lived experience, that has an ear-catching elevator pitch.

“It’s a show that’s inspired by my coming out as transgender, told through me turning into a giant squid monster with tentacle penises.”

That squid monster, Grumms says, is an opportunity for the audience to settle into an experience where they can chuckle at the absurdity of society’s expectations when it comes to gender binaries and expectations.

“We can all laugh at how ridiculous it is that my squid monster has to disguise itself as a masculine man, or put on a dress in high heels to try and get into the women’s bathroom. And I wanted to make something that was empowering and funny and accessible for everybody, and especially for queerdo weirdos in my audience.”

Travelling to Winnipeg or Regina, where the show toured in the runup to the Edinburgh festival, is one thing, but travelling across the world to the Edinburgh Fringe – the largest arts festival in the world – is another thing entirely. Grumms says that the funding provided by Creative Saskatchewan was foundational to the tour’s success.

“Sometimes when I would get overwhelmed during the beast that is Edinburgh, I would think back to the Regina shows and how sweet and wonderful they were. So the Tour Support grant helped us do that as well as paid for some of our travel expenses to get to Edinburgh.”

Scantily Glad Theatre - Creative Saskatchewan - Production
Production Still: Something in the Water

But that wasn’t the only funding Scantily Glad received. A Live Performing Arts Production grant allowed for more live video work to be integrated into the show, among some other changes, and the Market Export and Development grant allowed the company to hire a publicist, something that isn’t as needed on the Canadian fringe circuit according to Grumms, but is vital once you get to the UK.

“Artists were having a lot of trouble getting reviews, but thankfully, because we had a publicist, we got a lot of media coverage.”

Because audiences are spoiled for choice with over 4,000 different shows at the festival, the fact that Grumms and their team were able to sell-out close to 50% of their season is a tremendous accomplishment. Their time at the festival also meant that they could build a relationship with their venue, a relationship that looks to be paying off with future opportunities, as the company returns to Summerhall for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season with their new show, Creepy Boys.

Scantily Glad Theatre - Creative Saskatchewan - Tour Support
Production Still: Something in the Water

However, Something in the Water doesn’t just have a life as an adult-only show. Since that premiere in 2019, the show has also found another life with an adapted version for kids. That adapting process was supported by three local artists and is an endeavour that Grumms and their collaborators feel is vital for Saskatchewan kids to engage with.

“I do a lot of outreach when I tour to queer organizations in a city. And I would get back, ‘Oh, amazing, we have this youth group that’s like 10 to 17 that would love to come!’ And then I would have to turn them away because of the adult-content. So I was seeing such a need for queer youth programming specifically for, preteens and teens.”

Grumms also sees parallels between the discussions about transition, identity, and societal binaries present in their show and the general feeling of being young and trying to figure out their identity.

“I wanted to adapt this to a kid’s version because I think that the spirit of the show, and the puppets and the visuals and the story, all really translate to that sort of [feeling of] being 10 and being just excited and frightened by your changing body.”

As Grumms as their team build out more work, they’re seeing their hard work pay dividends and allowing for more ease in production.

“As a company, going to these bigger festivals means that we can stop touring and producing ourselves and being on the fringe…, and not have to scrape and claw as indie fringe artists all the time.”

By John Loeppky

Scantily Glad Theatre - Creative Saskatchewan - Something in the Water
Production Still: Something in the Water

If you’d like to find out more information about Grumms and Scantily Glad Theatre, including booking them for a performance opportunity, you can do so via their website.

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