Sâkêwêwak First Nations Artists’ Collective is featuring its annual Storytellers Festival from Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, coinciding with Indigenous Storytelling Month. The festival has been running for over a decade and invites multidisciplinary Indigenous artists to share their art, music, poetry, language, talks and dances with the Regina community. This year’s festival will be primarily virtual, with some in-person events later in the year.
First-time attendee Kloie Webber looks forward to Indigenous artists having a space to speak about their work.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing this event and getting to see all the different Indigenous artists’ work and stories. I think I’m excited to be in an Indigenous space to learn and reconnect to my roots as an Indigenous person through art and listening to the stories that will be shared,” Webber said.
“Although this will be my first year, I think my favourite part will be the experience of learning through listening and creating,” said Webber. “Art is a way to heal, and that is so important for us.”
The festival will feature workshops, discussions, and a Sâkêwêwak Members Exhibit at the Lobby Gallery at The Regina Performing Arts Centre. Artists include Jason Baerg, a Metis visual artist and music producer, and Katherine Boyer, a Metis artist who works with sculpting, print-making, and beadwork. Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett, a Metis artist primarily creating mixed media acrylic paintings and textured Metis beadwork, and Stephanie Pangowish, an Anishinaabekwe artist, educator, singer, beader, and stand-up comedian are also featured.
Holly Aubichon, the Administrative Director of Sakewewak, says that planning this years festival was a unique experience.
“This is my first time planning a festival and my first year in this position. It was really fun and exciting to think about planning and programming, but with COVID and everything it was really stressful,” Aubichon said.
Last years festival was postponed from February to November because of the rise of COVID cases in Saskatchewan. This years events will be in a “1.0 and 2.0” style, with 1.0 being the online events happening during the week of Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, and the 2.0 being in-person events planned to occur in June.
“I’m excited for comedy night, it’s going to be an all-womens comedy show that will happen in the 2.0 festival in June,” Aubichon said. “For the 1.0, I’m really excited for the conversations with Katherine Boyer about how we can create and pass down pieces of art, whether its traditional or contemporary, it talks about taking something you’ve made in the past and making it something for the future.”
Festival-attendee Taylor Kequahtooway is looking forward to the events as well.
“I’m really excited for the workshop with Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett and to learn more about her artistic process and everything. I also do beadwork so I’m looking forward to learning from her,” Kequahtooway said.
Webber and Kequahtooway stressed the societal value and necessity of Indigenous festivals.
“My favourite part of festivals showcasing Indigenous art and storytellings is the representation of our people in art and histories,” Webber said. “We learn through oral history, we heal through our art. To see our Indigenous artists and storytellers being recognized for what they create and do is inspiring and beautiful.”
“I think it’s really important to create spaces for Indigenous artists to come together and share their work and thrive. So much of our history is washed away, I think festivals like this are needed to retain our history and teachings,” said Kequahtooway.
Find more information about the Storytellers Festival here
To learn more about Sâkêwêwak First Nations Artists’ Collective, check out their website.
