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Megan Folden

Showcase or Sell Travel Grant Helps Knottily Fibrearts Thrive at Fringe Fest

August 27, 2024 by Megan Folden

Jill Siever was a successful grant recipient of our Showcase or Sell Travel Grant for her participation in the Saskatoon Fringe Festival, where she was able to sell her work.

Jill Siever of Knottily Fibrearts loves to create. “If it’s handmade, that’s what I do.”Jill Siever - Knottily Fibrearts

Whether it’s knitting, sewing, crocheting, or beading, it doesn’t matter. Getting to sell her creations to happy customers at tradeshows, craft sales, and festivals brings joy to Siever’s heart.

As a local business in small-town Saskatchewan, it can be hard for companies like Knottily Fibrearts to market and sell their products to a wider audience. When Siever came across the Showcase or Sell Travel Grant from Creative Saskatchewan, she was thrilled. “It’s really expensive to travel to a ten-day festival. Especially for a small startup business,” she says.

The opportunity to attend and sell her products at the Saskatoon Fringe Festival was a game changer. Siever was blown away. “I met lots of people, made lots of sales, and did lots of networking,” she says. “The atmosphere was just incredible.”

Though applying for grants can sometimes seem intimidating, Siever had a lot of help through the process. “Being able to work back and forth with Creative Saskatchewan really helped,” she says. “With their support, it was a really positive experience. They went above and beyond throughout the whole process to make it easier on me.”

In addition to helping Siever succeed in Saskatoon, the money she spent on lodging, dining, and payroll stayed and flowed throughout the province.

With such a positive experience behind her, Siever has since applied for another grant from Creative Saskatchewan and is excited for the future.

Jill Siever - Knottily Fibrearts - landscape
Jill Siever – Knottily Fibrearts

Filed Under: Showcase or Sell Travel

Market Accelerator Program Helps Van De Woestyne Grow in Whistler

August 27, 2024 by Megan Folden

Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne is telling an important story.

Tuktoyaktuk, an Inuvialuit hamlet in the Northwest Territories, is on track to be the first Canadian community forced to relocate due to coastal erosion. Van De Woestyne’s film, On the Edge, is a documentary that follows a team of scientists as they work alongside the community to study the erosion and find mitigation strategies.

Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne
Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne

Van De Woestyne was able to pitch On the Edge at the Whistler Film Festival 23 as part of the Saskatchewan Market Accelerator, a new, unique program funded by Creative Saskatchewan in partnership with the Whistler Film Festival. She applied for funding to attend the festival after seeing an ad on Facebook and wanted to take advantage of the great networking and mentorship opportunities the festival had to offer.

One of just six producers selected to take part, Van De Woestyne enjoyed many networking opportunities, allowing her to connect with like-minded filmmakers and industry experts. “I was able to pitch my project to various broadcasters and executive producers, fostering potential collaborations,” she says.

“Attending the Whistler Film Festival has significantly supported my career as a filmmaker,” Van De Woestyne points out. “The festival provided a platform not only for showcasing my work but also for gaining invaluable insights from industry leaders. The feedback I received has significantly shaped the direction of my project, making it more impactful and refined.”

Being selected for this opportunity has helped move the needle forward in Van De Woestyne’s career. The support from Creative Saskatchewan has helped bridge the gap between On The Edge‘s development and realization.

Filed Under: Other

Sound Recording Grant Helps Close Talker Release Fourth Album

August 27, 2024 by Megan Folden

Chris Morien was a successful recipient of our Sound Recording Grant (LP stream) for Close Talker’s “The Sprawl”.

Close Talker, an indie rock band from Saskatoon, just keeps building momentum. The band has gained the attention and praise of notable publications such as NPR, Billboard, Clash, Spin, Q Magazine, and Consequence of Sound.

With their fourth album, “The Sprawl” in pre-production, Close Talker’s Chris Morien applied for a Sound Recording Grant (LP stream) to produce and promote the project. “Our goal was to create an album we are proud of and music that people can appreciate and connect with,” says Morien.Close Talker

Close Talker has always explored ideas around growing up and how our lives shift over the years. There are references to time and change across their entire catalogue. Finding love, losing it again, making friends, getting married, rejecting your past self, and having kids are all themes that etch their way into Close Talker’s writing style as they attempt to understand their identity.

Inspired by Close Talker’s time leaving home for the first time and touring Europe, “The Sprawl” builds on these themes. There are numerous references in the album lyrics to elements including cathedrals, saints, and European cities.

“The Sprawl” was released on March 22, 2024, and while the full impact of the album will be realized over the next few years, Close Talker has already realized many positive outcomes from it. With the few singles already released, the band has seen support on streaming platforms, with editorial placements such as Spotify’s Indie All Stars, and Fresh Finds: Indie, along with Apple Music’s “Today’s Indie Rock,” in addition to airplay on SiriusXM ‘The Verge’ and CBC Radio 3.

“We are thankful to be a part of a community and province that prioritizes and supports the arts within our diverse and vast culture,” states Morien. “It’s truly a pleasure and a privilege for us to take part in.”

Filed Under: Music

Marketing Grant Fuels Billingsley’s Expanding Audience

August 27, 2024 by Megan Folden

Alyssa Billingsley received a Marketing Grant (Micro Stream) in 2022 to create high-quality marketing materials for her artistic work and services.

Alyssa Billingsley does a little bit of everything.

The multi-talented creator is an alumna of Grant MacEwan’s Theatre Arts program in Edmonton, École de Clown et Comédie Physique Francine Côté in Montréal, and the Manitoulin Conservatory of Creation and Performance.Alyssa Billingsley landscape

In 2022, Billingsley applied for a Market and Export Development Grant (now referred to as the Marketing Grant) from Creative Saskatchewan to create high-quality marketing materials to promote her diverse artistic work and services. Included in these materials was a professional-grade video of her singing used as an audition submission for regional theatres. “Actors now primarily market themselves through audition self-tapes and digital content,” Billingsley says. “This grant enabled me to produce professional-grade marketing materials essential for this new era.”

The impact of the grant is evident — Billingsley’s social media following grew significantly and she’s busier than ever. Her marketing efforts have increased her visibility and opened doors to new creative collaborations and opportunities in the theatre and music scenes. “The support from Creative Saskatchewan has been invaluable,” she reflects. “It has allowed me to elevate my work and reach new audiences.”

Billingsley’s experience and education can be seen on full display through her latest solo show, Identity Crisis, a dark physical comedy combining music, clown, and elements of neobouffon. The show received four stars in both the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and Winnipeg Free Press and has been described as “terrifyingly whimsical” and “Beckett in cosplay.”

Filed Under: Marketing

Saskatchewan Committed to Telling its Stories

August 26, 2024 by Megan Folden

Creative Saskatchewan is a proud sponsor of the Saskatchewan Book Awards.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved with the Saskatchewan Book Awards throughout its 31-year history, our province has shown a commitment to telling its stories.

“The Saskatchewan Book Awards are a very valuable peer assessment of a publisher’s work, telling Saskatchewan stories, sharing work of Saskatchewan authors, but it’s also a great marketing tool,” says Heather Nickel, past president of SaskBooks and owner of Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing.Saskatchewan Book Awards winner

Nickel points out there is a direct correlation between book sales and success in the awards. “Marketing becomes easier when a book has won an award,” she says. “Our book awards have an excellent reputation nationwide for discerning titles that readers will want to read.”

The Saskatchewan Book Awards is run by a working board. This board puts on a gala every year, assesses criteria for awards, and makes sure as many genres as possible are represented in the awards. “There aren’t many provincial book awards that have as inclusive a variety of recognition and awards as the Sask Book Awards,” Nickel says.

Creative Saskatchewan has been a proud Saskatchewan Book Award sponsor for the Publishing Award since 2020. The sponsorship amount of $5,000 annually goes towards a $2,000 prize to the award recipient while the remaining $3,000 is dedicated to support administration costs and the hosting of the annual award ceremony.

The award is presented annually to the Saskatchewan publisher of the best book, based on literary or artistic value, the quality of editing, book design, production, and content. Past winners have included local publishers such as Radiant Press and the University of Regina Press.

Filed Under: Book Publishing

Froese Makes Most of Medalta International Artists in Residence Program

August 26, 2024 by Megan Folden

Rob Froese was a successful grant recipient of our Craft & Visual Arts Production Grant for his ceramic tableware and sculpture production.

Saskatoon’s Rob Froese, a contemporary ceramic artist, isn’t afraid of hard work. He went into his time at the Medalta International Artists in Residence program in Medicine Hat with the goal of creating 750 pieces in just four months.Rob Froese Ceramics

Using electric, gas, and salt/soda atmospheric kilns, Froese made a variety of ceramic pieces in Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District.

Froese sells his work at events in Saskatchewan, through consignment sales at galleries across Canada and in gallery exhibitions in Japan. A Craft and Visual Arts Production Grant assisted him in meeting many upfront costs, allowing him to focus solely on creating during his time at Medalta.

“The help with costs associated with accommodation, food, materials, and business expenses meant I could apply myself completely to studio work and produce work very efficiently,” says Froese.

Froese also found he benefited simply by applying for the grant. When filling out the application, he had to budget all aspects of the work session in advance, which helped him see his production costs more clearly.Ceramics on a table

Filed Under: Craft & Visual Arts

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