National Arts Centre Announces First Projects to Receive National Creation Fund Investments
June 14, 2018 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre today announced the first nine projects that will be receiving investments totaling $1.4 million from the National Creation Fund, a new initiative that supports the development of bold and ambitious Canadian work in music, theatre, dance and inter-disciplinary performing arts.
The projects are:
- Eve 2050 (Van Grimde Corps Secrets, Montreal)
- The Full Light of Day (Electric Company Theatre, Vancouver)
- The Hockey Sweater: A Musical (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Montreal)
- Mînowin (Dancers of Damelahamid, Vancouver)
- Le reste vous le connaissez par le cinéma (Carte Blanche, Québec)
- The Storyville Mosquito (Kid Koala, Montreal)
- Treemonisha (Volcano Theatre, Toronto)
- Unikkaaqtuat (The 7 Fingers, Montreal, Artcirq, Igloolik and Taqqut Productions, Iqaluit)
- who we are in the dark (Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Toronto)
These nine projects are led by some of the country’s finest writers, directors, choreographers, composers and performers. The Fund’s investment will allow these artists to enhance the development process for their projects in a number of ways, including additional workshops, technical residencies, expanded creative teams and casts, and the integration of new technology.
“Canadian artists from across the country have told us time and again that they lack the time and resources that are necessary for making truly ambitious new work,” said Heather Moore, Artistic Producer of the National Creation Fund. “Too often, new work is rushed to the stage before it is ready. The National Creation Fund is about investing in the creation process, giving new work the time and resources it needs so that it can achieve its potential, resonate with audiences, and be presented widely beyond its premiere.”
“who we are in the dark is a work of unprecedented scale and potential impact for my company. This tremendous investment by the National Creation Fund provides crucial financing for a technical residency, scheduled one month before we premiere the work. It is impossible to imagine how we could have prepared for the world premiere and five-city Canadian tour without this residency, and without this incredible support from the National Arts Centre.” Peggy Baker, choreographer
"Here at Artcirq, we have been dreaming for a very long time about a show that is at the same level as shows down south. And now, we are coming! We feel the same way as when we leave our community to go hunting: scared and excited." Terry Uyarak and Guillaume Saladin, Co-Artistic Directors, Artcirq
“Mînowin will look to our beginnings, our ability to connect time and space to strengthen our practices and identities. The gifts that our past Elders left behind are the seeds that sprouted the revitalization of our art form. The piece will explore the moments where we reconnect with one another, moments that bring new life into our artistic practices, and places of renewal for each generation.” Margaret Grenier, Executive and Artistic Director, Dancers of Damelahamid
"Without the support of the National Creation Fund, we would never have been able to pull together an artistic team of this size. It also makes it possible to create a set design that matches the ambition of the text, and gives us a month of additional development and rehearsal time in an actual theatre, which is absolutely exceptional." Christian Lapointe, Artistic Director, Carte Blanche
THE PROJECTS
Eve 2050
Conceived and directed by Isabelle Van Grimde, Eve 2050 is a triptych that combines dance and digital technologies to draw a multi-layered portrait of Eve in 2050. The work includes an interactive web series, a performative installation, and a stage production.
The Full Light of Day
The Full Light of Day is a provocative live film / theatre experiment for the stage which looks crucial choices facing Canadians today - how to live, love and die in a world in transition. Bold characters, bracing text, wit, and suspense all mix together in this new script by award-winning artist Daniel Brooks. Daniel joins forces with Electric Company Theatre founding artist and director Kim Collier in this new work for Canadian stages and beyond.
The Hockey Sweater: A Musical
Based on the classic Canadian short story by author Roch Carrier, The Hockey Sweater: A Musical premiered in Montreal last fall to great acclaim. The cast of 17 includes eight young actors who sing, dance and skate their way through the production. The creative team led by Emil Sher, Jonathan Munro and Donna Feore is now getting back together to redevelop elements of the show as it continues on its path to becoming an enduring family musical for the country, and beyond.
Mînowin
Directed and choreographed by Margaret Grenier, Mînowin is a new dance work from one of the country’s leading Indigenous companies. The piece integrates narrative, motion, song, performance and multi-media design to immerse the audience in a narrative that illustrates moments of connection, understanding and renewal.
Le reste vous le connaissez par le cinéma
Writer and director Christian Lapointe has translated Martin Crimp’s play The Rest Will Be Familiar to You from the Cinema, a radical re-working of Euripides’ The Phoenician Women. The play features a large cast that will take part in an extended creative residency before the production’s premiere in Montreal this fall.
The Storyville Mosquito
Kid Koala, the world-renowned DJ, producer, performer and graphic novelist, brings his creative talents to an innovative new stage performance. Using puppets, miniature sets, multiple cameras and screens, a team of performers, foley artists and technicians will bring to life the story of a young mosquito who leaves his small town to seek fame and fortune in the big city.
Treemonisha
Volcano Theatre, in association with the Moveable Beast Collective, has brought together an international creative team to reinvent the ground-breaking opera Treemonisha by legendary ragtime composer Scott Joplin. With a new libretto, orchestration and arrangement, the opera’s themes of feminism and politics have been extended and updated, deepening the work’s impact and restoring Joplin’s voice to its rightful place as central to a North American Black Classical canon.
Unikkaaqtuat
Led by The 7 Fingers, Artcirq and Taqqut Productions, Unikkaaqtuat is a major multidisciplinary production blending circus arts, music, theatre, and video projection. Inspired by Inuit founding myths and illustrated by the world-renowned artist Germaine Arnaktauyok, this unprecedented creation will highlight the Inuit people, their traditions, and vision for the future, through a collaborative and mutually respectful process bringing Inuit and non-Inuit artists together.
who we are in the dark
Choreographed by acclaimed Canadian dance artist Peggy Baker, who we are in the dark offers the immediacy of daring contemporary dance, supercharged live music, and sophisticated design elements from artists working with pigment, projection and light. Peggy’s largest project to date features seven outstanding dancers and live music performed by Arcade Fire’s Sarah Neufeld and Jeremy Gara.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL CREATION FUND
Through the National Creation Fund, the NAC helps Canadian performing artists achieve the kind of national and international success they have long deserved. By providing a source of venture capital, the National Creation Fund will give new work by Canadian artists and arts organizations a far better chance to succeed. The Fund will invest up to $3 million in 15 to 20 projects a year, and an announcement about the next round of projects supported by the National Creation Fund will take place in the fall of 2018.
The National Creation Fund selects projects led by Canadian creators that have a strong artistic team, strong producing and presenting partners, and the potential for national and international impact. The National Creation Fund invests in research and development, workshopping and residencies of significant new works. It also invests in new works that have had a first run, but that need to go “back into the lab” before they can be remounted and showcased successfully.
THE NAC FOUNDATION’S CREATION CAMPAIGN
The National Creation Fund is fuelled by funds raised from generous donors across the country who responded to the National Arts Centre Foundation’s Creation Campaign, announced on October 28, 2016. With a lead gift from Winnipeg philanthropist Gail Asper, the campaign exceeded its $25 million goal.
The National Arts Centre Foundation, which is led by CEO Jayne Watson, would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their generous contributions to the Creation Campaign, supporting the creation of new works of theatre, music and dance in collaboration with artists and arts organizations across the country: Gail Asper, O.C., O.M., LL.D., & Michael Paterson, The Azrieli Foundation, Kimberley Bozak & Philip Deck, Bonnie & John Buhler, Alice & Grant Burton, The Canavan Family Foundation, The Right Honourable/Le très honorable Joe Clark, P.C./C.P., C.C., A.O.E., & Maureen McTeer, Michel Collette, Barbara Crook & Dan Greenberg, Danbe Foundation, Thomas d’Aquino & Susan Peterson d’Aquino, Ian & Kiki Delaney, Amoryn Engel, Mohammed A. Faris, Susan Glass & Arni Thorsteinson, Shirley Greenberg, C.M., Reesa Greenberg, The Dianne & Irving Kipnes Foundation, Dr. Kanta Marwah, Janice & Earle O’Born, Gail O’Brien, LL.D. & David O’Brien, O.C., Onex Corporation, Power Corporation of/du Canada, The Alan & Roula Rossy Family Foundation, John & Jennifer Ruddy, Dasha Shenkman OBE, Hon RCM, Phil & Eli Taylor, Donald Walcot, Gary Zed, and the countless other Canadians who contributed.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE
The National Arts Centre collaborates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, and acts as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across the country. A home for Canada’s most creative artists, the NAC strives to be artistically adventurous in each of its programming streams – the NAC Orchestra, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance and NAC Presents. The organization is at the forefront of youth and educational activities, offering artist training, programs for children and youth, and resources for teachers in communities across Canada. The NAC is also a pioneer in new media, using technology to teach students and young artists around the globe, by creating top-rated podcasts, and providing a wide range of NAC Orchestra concerts on demand. The NAC is the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in Canada, and one of the largest in the world.
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