Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Happy International Dance Day!



photo by Heather Patey

Attached is the report from the Dance Heritage Think Tank, held in St. John's in February 2009. The Think Tank committee (Kristin Harris Walsh, Dale Jarvis, Calla Lachance and Colleen Quigley) is providing this report to interested parties in dance, education, government and media for their information and action.

Please forward this report to anyone else you might be interested, and we look forward to the implementation of the recommendations generated from the Think Tank.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Dale Jarvis or Kristin Harris Walsh

Download the Dance Heritage Think Tank report at:
http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/media/2714/dancethinktank.pdf

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Collecting Community Memories Workshop

Wednesday, May 6
SABRI office, West Street, St. Anthony, NL
(old Bank of Nova Scotia Building)
1-4 pm

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) or what some call “Living Heritage” encompasses many traditions, practices and customs. These include the stories we tell, the holidays we commemorate, the family events we celebrate, our community gatherings, our knowledge of our natural spaces, how we treat sickness, the foods we eat, our holidays, beliefs and cultural practices. Many of us sing songs or tell stories; some of us know about fishing grounds or berry picking spots; others know about curing illnesses. These are things our communities identify as valuable. They are the memories which are passed on from person to person, from generation to generation.

But are those stories still being passed on? And if not, what can we do about it?

Join Dale Jarvis, folklorist, author and Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer from the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, for a free afternoon workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), collecting community stories and the St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc (SABRI) Oral History project!

For more information on the SABRI oral history project, contact Kathleen Tucker

Workshop Leader:

Dale Jarvis is a folklorist, researcher, and author, who has been working for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) since 1996. In April 2008, he took on the role of Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, one of only two provincially funded, full-time folklorist positions in Canada.

Dale has a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology/Archaeology from Trent University (Peterborough) and an MA in Folklore from Memorial University. He is past president of the Newfoundland Historic Trust, and the author of two popular books on Newfoundland and Labrador folklore, and a third book of world ghost stories for young adult readers.

Traditional Wooden Boats - Recording Our Heritage


The Wooden Boat Museum INVITES YOU TO HELP US preserve the traditional working boats of our Province.
LEARN A PROFESSIONAL APPROACH TO FIELD DOCUMENTATION

Our two part program includes a ONE DAY CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION to the elements of field work followed by a
series of TWO DAY PRACTICAL EXERCISES fully documenting boats at selected sites around the Province.

Traditional Small Boats
Introduction - Regional working boats to be found around the coastline of our Province.
Kevin McAleese – Curator, The Rooms

Anatomy of a Boat
Seeing wooden boat structure with a critical eye. Characteristics and craftsmanship.
Aidan Penton – Master Boatbuilder, Fogo Island

Lifting Lines
A practical guide to capturing the shape or hull form of a boat in the field
Bruce Whitelaw – Naval Architect, WBMNL

Digital Photography
A practical guide to achieving museum quality digital photographs in the field.
Jerry Pocius – Research Professor, MUN

Tape Recorded Interviews
A practical guide to successful tape recorded interviews in the field.
Dale Jarvis – Folklorist, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

ONE DAY
St. John’s
Saturday, May 16
8:45 AM

$35
Registration Fee
Lunch included

Location
Industrial Seminar Room
Marine Institute
155 Ridge Road

for INFORMATION contact
Bruce Whitelaw
709 722 7337
bruce.whitelaw@mi.mun.ca

or
Bev King (WBMNL)
709 583 2070
bkingheritage@gmail.com

"The first day in St. John's is an introduction to field documentation and an opportunity to begin establishing a standard for capturing data on our traditional wooden boats in an orderly way," says Beverly King of the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador. "The hope is to encourage people from around the Province to come together for a day. Then in the weeks to come there would be a further two days in "the field" practising the skills introduced."

"The sites of these practical sessions are to be determined by the participants of day one and the identification of boats to be documented," says King. "We intend to hold about a half dozen practical sessions dotted around the Province with only a subset of those attending the introduction participating in any one practical exercise. So, everyone gets the common introduction in St. John's and then goes back home and practices (with the assistance of a number of the presenters of day one who will travel out to the sites for a couple of days)."

http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/media/2711/promo_may16.pdf

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Call for papers - Canadian Museums Association Conference 2010

Call for Papers
Canadian Museums Association National Conference 2010
Evolving Boundaries: Linking People, Place & Meaning
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
May 10-15, 2010


As we grapple with the impact of the global economic crisis, it is even more critical that museums deliver meaningful visitor experiences.

Traditionally museums focused on collecting and presenting the “tangible”, whether these were works of art, natural history specimens or cultural artifacts. Increasingly, we have included an understanding of the “intangibles” of traditional knowledge and cultural practice as essential to a full spectrum of content and experience. This conference will feature exemplary work in human and natural history museums and art galleries that fulfill our traditional mandates.

There will also be a community museums stream of sessions. As a highlight of the 2010 conference, we will be placing a special focus on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), providing a forum for discussion of practical approaches by which museums can creatively link people and place to collections in order to inspire meaning.

Key themes/topics:
The conference will be built around the following themes:

1) ICH: Incorporating ICH into the core museum functions — collecting, research, programming & exhibition. Exemplary projects and their impact on museum audiences.

2) Best practices: New technologies, new partners, new approaches to programming, new organizational models. Innovations that improve the effectiveness of our work.

3) Sustainability: New strategies to help museums to do more with less. New paradigms for securing new resources.

Session formats:

The 2010 Conference Committee will accept proposals for the following session formats:
• Panel: Consists of three or four speakers, who present for up to 20 minutes each, relative to the session theme;
facilitated by a moderator.
• Case study: Consists of one or two persons, usually from the same organization, and focuses on one actual situation,
program or project, the decision-making process involved, implementation, outcome(s), and lessons learned.
• Or something completely different? The 2010 welcomes original session formats! Please include a brief explanation
of your proposed format with your session proposal.
• Cross-disciplinary panels or presentations are particularly welcome.
Selection criteria:

Priority will be given to proposals that are relevant to the key themes (above), are clear and well developed, and confirm a commitment from the presenters to delivery of a high-quality, thought-provoking session.

Proposals will not be accepted if they appear to be a show and tell session or product/service endorsements.

Please note: The CMA is unable to provide speakers with travel funds, honorariums or allowances.

Submit your proposal, NO LATER than JUNE 1, 2009
Email: sramsden@museums.ca
Fax: 416-236-5557

Questions? Sue Ann Ramsden, 416-231-1251

Download the Call for Papers application form in pdf at:
http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/media/2708/callforpaperscma2010.pdf

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Newfies, Newfoundlanders and the Politics of Naming



This week's edition of The Scope has an intriguing discussion about the word "Newfie" and what it means in today's society. It includes commentary by people you've probably heard of like author Ray Guy and Kevin Blackmore, aka Buddy Wasisname, as well as by some you may not have heard of, like Mayor Priscilla Corcoran Mooney of Branch, and comic book artist Wallace Ryan.

You can follow the debate at:

http://thescope.ca/2009/04/newfie-e-mail-responses/

and here:

http://thescope.ca/2009/04/newfie-panel-discussion/


From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English

newfie n also newf, newfy BERREY (1942) 52, 385, 734 ~ 'New Foundland,' 'a Newfoundlander,' 'a Newfoundland seaman'; DC 1, 2 (1945-1958); O Sup2 (1942-). A native-born inhabitant of Newfoundland; NEWFOUNDLANDER; sometimes used locally in imitation of Americans and mainland Canadians. Also attrib, and comb newfyjohn(s): St John's.

1945 Atlantic Guardian Jan, p. 16 Then he found out that the 'Newfies,' as the islanders are sometimes called by one another and by the Americans, refer to supper as 'tea.' 1949 DULEY 11 Now he felt dispossessed, crowded on his own streets, mowed down by the ever-increasing numbers of dun-coloured, army vehicles. The strangers were strutting, becoming the 'big-shots,' They looked down their noses at the natives. They were disdainful of a hard old heritage. They began to call the towns-folk 'the Newfies' and like Queen Victoria, the Newfoundlanders were not amused. 1952 Atlantic Advocate Mar, p. 49 He is a strong advocate of the horse and waggon, home-made bread and 'Newfie screech.' 1976 Daily News 22 Jan, p. 3 Anyone who knows anything might be inclined to the conclusion that [he] is just another stunned Newf. 1978 WHALLEY 4 St John's, a mean ironbound slot for a navigator to find in foul weather or in bad visibility, yet a snug haven for so many ships in the long struggle with the dangers of the North Atlantic and 'the violence of the enemy' that 'Newfy-John's' was a name as much to be conjured with as the Murmansk Run or the Rose Garden. 1977 Evening Telegram 24 Nov, p. 8 The Crowsnest is mentioned often ... as an officers' club where the men spent many happy hours while docked in 'Newfyjohn,' the name [used] to refer to St John's.

Monday, April 13, 2009

ICH Update for April 2009 - Aboriginal Cultural Heritage


This month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update focusses on the province's aboriginal cultural heritage, and provides an overview of some of the recent projects started under Newfoundland and Labrador's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Some project include canoe making, oral history training, documentation of sealing traditions, and an Innu youth banner project. Also in this issue, notes from the Federation of Newfoundland Indians on Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge, and an invitation to the 2009 Miawpukek Traditional Powwow.

Download the newsletter here.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

New AFC Podcast Now Available


The American Folklife Center (AFC) launches its regular schedule of free podcasts with the first episode in the series, "Voices from the Days of Slavery: Stories, Songs, and Memories." Download the audio recording and a transcript of the program to your Ipod, other portable media player, or to your computer from the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/slavenarratives/index.html. You may choose to automatically download this and subsequent episodes via a free subscription from the Library's podcast website or through Apple Itunes.

This series features oral history interviews with African Americans who endured the hardships of the slave plantations and presents their first-person accounts of life during and after slavery. The series was produced by Guha Shankar and Jon Gold, AFC, and Lisa Carl, Professor, North Carolina Central University. All podcasts draw from the unique collections in the American Folklife Center Archives, one of the preeminent audio-visual repositories of national and international folklife, history and cultural expressions.

Monday, April 6, 2009

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the DAN CROWLEY AWARD


The Dan Crowley Award, offered by the Storytelling Section of the American Folklore Society, is a $200 prize for a graduate or undergraduate student essay dealing with some aspect of storytelling performance in formal or informal settings.

Submissions, which should not exceed 9000 words in length, should be e-mailed to jradner@american.edu as a Word or .pdf attachment *no later than June 1, 2009*. The cover message should include the title of the paper, as well as the author's name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, academic affiliation and year in program, and the name of the faculty member to whom the essay was submitted. Only the title, no identification of the author, should appear on the essay itself.

The prize winner will be notified by the end of August. The award will be formally presented at the business meeting of the Storytelling Section at the Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society in Boise, ID, October 21-24, 2009. For further information, please contact one of the section co-conveners: Jo Radneror Theresa Osborne.