Island View, Ep. 6: 27th Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour, National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
Channel: Life on Gabriola TV
Date: 2023-10-07

Episode 6 of Island View, our current affairs show for Gabriola Island, recaps two recent segments from Life on Gabriola TV. First, Theresa O'Leary previews this weekend's 27th Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour with Carol Fergusson of the Gabriola Arts Council. Then, we visit the Sept. 30th National Day for Truth & Reconciliation event at the Gabriola Museum. Details below.

Life on Gabriola TV is generously sponsored by:
The Gabriola Arts Council https://artsgabriola.ca/
The Haven, Gabriola Island https://haven.ca/

Segments:
01:19: The 27th Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour is  underway this weekend on Gabriola Island, so Life on Gabriola TV's Theresa O’Leary sat down to chat about the important arts event with Carol Fergusson, Executive Director of the Gabriola Arts Council.

There are 58 artists and 65 studios involved in the longstanding event. Some of the artists -- “diehards” -- have been on every single tour since it began.

Fergusson says it’s a special time of year. “In September and October, it gets really frenzied and you can feel the creativity in the air as artists are painting and sculpting and transforming their studios in preparation for visitors.” She adds that the annual event is important economically for the artists. “Last year, they reported sales of over 150 thousand dollars so that’s significant when you spread it over 55 to 57 studios.”

She agrees the tour provides a large portion of an artist's annual income although as far as she knows no one relies on it completely. In 2011, the Canada Council did a study and discovered that Gabriola Island was 9th in the country in terms of having the most professional artists, which was defined as earning a living from their art. Fergusson says, “I’d say it’s probably higher today because we've had quite an influx of professional artists during Covid, people getting out of the city and liking the idea of island life.”

The GAC Executive Director then provides a guide to how to approach the tour, given the number of studios and the variety and range of art to choose from. She explains that reviewing the guide is the best place to start, at https://theartsongabriola.ca, then find a map and attend Tour Central on opening night, where you pick the studios you will visit after viewing samples of all the art included in the long-weekend event.

Generally 2,000-2,500 people attend the tour, many from the big island (Vancouver Island), especially Victoria and Sooke where there is a concentration of art lovers who buy art.

Fergusson acknowledged that there are concerns about the current economic situation and whether that will affect visitors and sales this year, but overall they are hopeful. She shares some of her experience working with the Gabriola Arts Council since 2020 and meeting and engaging with artists, and admits it’s had an impact; “It changed me coming here."

21:44: Life on Gabriola TV visits the September 30th event at the Gabriola Museum marking the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. Museum President Joan Merrifield welcomes the large crowd along with T'Souke Elder and Gabriola resident Ardyth Cooper. Snuneymuxw Elder Geraldine Manson introduces herself and speaks of the day as one of remembering but also understanding how we can support those “who still struggle out there.”

She introduces Patrick Aleck, whose traditional name is Xwaluputhut and who is a Chemainus First Nation (Stz'uminus) & Penelakut Nation Singer.
At 29:03, Aleck sings a song called "We Are Excited You've Come Home," dedicated both to residential school survivors as well as children who found a home in the spirit world.

At 38:29, Manson speaks movingly of her time in a residential school. Then Aleck leads others in a number of songs, and Manson leads the singing of the “Women’s Warrior Song.”

At 01:13:58, Frank Moher interviews Lisa Webster, who is of Mohawk/Deleware/Scottish descent and currently a resident on Gabriola. Lisa speaks of the meaning of the day for her personally, and how we can work with Snuneymuxw to make “Gabriola a more traditional place for Snuneymuxw and in a way that everyone’s comfortable with.”

Geraldine Manson’s new book, “Snuneymuxw Mulstimuxw: Sacred Place Names, their Travels, and Stories,” which was launched at the event, can be purchased from https://strongnations.com.

Special thanks to the Gabriola Historical and Museum Society for hosting the proceedings, and to Geraldine Manson and Patrick Aleck for permission to record their presentations.