New Brunswick

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Source: About

An interesting artspace in Ireland.

And from France comes the Hennessy prize
“Tuesday, 17 November 2015, one artist will be announced as the winner of the Hennessy Portrait Prize 2015 and will receive a prize of €15,000. The winning artist will also be awarded a commission worth €5,000 to produce a portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection. ”

Well sure France is still Artsy. Check it out!

Meanwhile … Back in New Brunswick, Canada
…
“Across a variety of metrics, the profile of the New Brunswick arts and cultural workforce at present is not as strong as elsewhere
in the country. From an employment as
well as an economic output perspective, New Brunswick’s arts and cultural sector is stagnating while it has been expanding in the rest of Canada. The province’s artists and cultural workers are highly educated; however, their careers are characterized
by part-time employment and lower than average wages. The workforce is also aging faster than the rest of the country as many younger artists move out to develop their careers elsewhere.”
– artslinknb.com

Hmmmm … Ok not to get too excited or anything … But … Been thinking about why … For years now … Well decades actually one power after another has tried to starve out the arts of New Brunswick … Especially those in Chaleur Bay …
Has to do with … Well maybe … Hypothesis? How do you say that in French? … As I was saying … There is this thing … Well not a thing really but something called bio-power … Then that really big other thing in France called cultural freedom …

Maybe gov is afraid artists in Chaleur Bay NB will create our own “La Demeure du Chaos” here … HMMMM I’m thinking we already have a good beginning with all those car dealerships along St Peter. Well of course you don’t understand, George. That is what makes local culture so unique … So interesting

Maybe … I have an idea George. Seeing that New Brunswick artists are in such dire need … Look around you all this beautiful coastline and what did gov do? Built ugly big monstrous heavy industry is what they did … Figured if they got rid of artists and doled out welfare to the compliant then nobody would be left around to complain.

Separation? Is someone talking separation? Not that I’ve heard. Then again I mostly only understand English.

Well you know George with the education and job opportunities around these parts … Mais je fait UN effort

Well WHOOOOO do you suppose gov is afraid … Well if Chaleur Bay … were to separate then we would qualify as a developing country and maybe culture-rich places like Paris France and Dublin Ireland and … Well there must be many places in the world with a few artists to spare … Maybe they would send us culture aid for artists and we’d be happy to have them here.
Oh they would love Chaleur Bay, especially during spring and summer.
Well as a matter of fact I do have an art space I’d be willing to share.

Advertisement

SO … Tell me again

Tell me again
Will you please
I am but
A lazy artist
—————————————————————–
We interrupt to bring you …. The following
This is an unpaid non-political advertisement.

Invest in good.

Get a good job
——————————————————————-

Not worth $10,000 a year
Thank you
O Canada

Join the festivities?

The celebrations?

Get together with artists?

Celebrate culture days?

Celebrations cost money

Not much left …

$10,000 hardly pays the bills.

Fade into the background?

Where is my pride … Is that the question?

Fade out like a dignified senior is expected to do?

Not on your life, O Canada.

O Canada, you gave me this bed upon which I am expected to retire.

Now take a good look.

 

So O Canada you think artists are worth nothing?

So … To all those good capitalists who have been living off of the creativity of artists for my lifetime … What can I say?

I remember one woman, years ago in Bathurst … Some say she sailed away on a love boat … I have no idea. What I do know is that she stole my work. Yes I know those are harsh words but it is the truth. She stole my design which was a drawing of a cornucopia which was to have been used on a menu. I was paid only for the menu design. What she did was to take my drawing and build her whole marketing campaign around it. She even had the drawing copied onto a large sign made to hang outside her very successful high end gourmet dining room. I was never paid for this extended use of my drawing.

What can I say about the young man who was starting up a consulting business in Bathurst back in the 1970s.  He asked me to design a brochure. I worked many long hours and presented him with a professional camera-ready copy.  He disappeared and I was never paid.  Commercial art, some say is a cut-throat business.  I agree and I guess that is why I closed down my small business shortly thereafter.

Then there was the good Christian woman whose Bible I repaired. She too disappeared and I was never paid. And there were all those other fine folks who complained that I asked more than five or ten dollars to repair a book that might take hours of work. There was also the hand-tooled leather guitar strap that  was  never paid for.

Then there was the super smooth talking Bathurst salesman who had this brilliant idea for something or other involving a picture of a baby which he asked me to do. Well, yes I did it,  gave it to him … OK … One more mistake.  I never saw my drawing again. Need I say that I never saw a cent of money.

I suppose all this might be discounted by saying that I am not a competent business person.  I don’t pretend to be. I am an artist.

So why did I not get out and get a “Real Job” all those years ago?  I tried … For years and years.  My government was no help there either.

Now I am a senior … Yes boring, I agree … and my government feels that I should be able to live on under $800.00 a month.

 

You did what O Canada?

You supported your Artists?  That would be an outrageous lie.

“Arts in Canada
Status of the Artist in Canada
An Update on the 30th Anniversary of the UNESCO

Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist

Prepared with the generous support of
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal

September 2010

Author: Garry Neil, Neil Craig Associates Quebec research: Guillaume Sirois
Canada responded to the UNESCO Recommendation by creating the Siren‐Gélinas Task Force on the Status of the Artist which reported in August 1986. The 37 recommendations urged action by all levels of government on taxation, copyright, collective bargaining rights, payment of professional rates by governments and their agencies, social benefits, health and safety provisions, education, training and freedom of expression.

In response to the Siren‐Gélinas Report4, the federal government appointed an Advisory Committee on the Status of the Artist, comprised of artists and officials from associations and

the federal Status of the Artist Act, which was proclaimed into law in June 1992.

Part 1 of the Act outlines important principles, including: “The Government of Canada hereby recognizes:

(a) the importance of the contribution of the artists to the cultural, social, economic and

political enrichment of Canada;

(b) the importance to Canadian society of conferring on artists a status that reflects their

primary role in developing and enhancing Canada’s artistic and cultural life, and in

sustaining Canada’s quality of life;

(c) the role of the artist, in particular to express the diverse nature of the Canadian way of

life and the individual and collective aspirations of Canadians;

(d) to propose measures, based on research and studies, to improve the professional

working conditions of artists….”

THIS IS SOME KIND OF A BAD JOKE?

Ahhhhhh yes is that what they mean by lip service? Say one thing for official records but do the exact opposite?

“Part 1 also enables the creation of the Canadian Council on the Status of the Artist as a vehicle to give voice to the concerns of the artistic community and to recommend appropriate action by the government. ”

“While a temporary Council was appointed in 1991, its appointment was never confirmed by the Governor‐in‐Council as required by the Act. It effectively ceased to function in 1996, roughly a year after the substantive provisions of the Act were implemented. As reported below, the Council was eliminated in 2010. ”

Source

Click to access StatusoftheArtistReport1126101-Copy.pdf

A Couple O’ Guys

Well you know
How it is
—————————————————————–
We interrupt to bring you …. The following
This is an unpaid non-political advertisement.

Invest in good.

Get a good job
——————————————————————-

Guys like to hang out
Here we have them
Just a couple-o-guys
Having a conversation
Sculpture by Margaret Sharon Olscamp
C’est moi by the way.

Sculpture two figures by Margaret Sharon Olscamp

Here are a couple of guys hanging out having a conversation … Well that is what guys do don’t you know?

 

 

meanwhile … At the studio in Bathurst during culture days so-called … September 25 and 26 ( well Sunday is my day of rest) Maggie works away at the Art

Sculpture by Margaret Sharon Olscamp

Artpiece by Margaret Sharon Olscamp
Indie artist with studio at 212 St Andrew St Bathurst, NB Canada

Bathurst New Brunswick Canada

Health and Wealth appear to be popular topics of discussion these days.

So … Let’s talk about Health and Wealth in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada

“INCOME AND SOCIAL STATUS: If money can’t buy health, it certainly can contribute to our well-being because housing, diet, clothing and living conditions depend on our income and our place in society.”

Is Bathurst a Healthy Community?

WHAT DOES A HEALTHY COMMUNITY OR ORGANIZATION LOOK LIKE?
Source: http://www.macsnb.ca
It is a place where everybody works together to improve their quality of life. A Healthy Community/Organization has human resources (all its members from the youngest to the oldest, city employees, decision makers…), economic resources (industries, companies, businesses…) and physical resources (water, air, soil, roads, parks, buildings, industrial plants…) to be proud of and that are used to improve health, the quality of life and the collective well-being.

A Healthy Community/Organization is a place where:

• Individuals are in good health;

• People have drinking water, food, and good housing;

• Everybody feels safe;

• Citizens participate in making decisions that concern them;

• People have access to adequate health services;

• People use both public and private services;

• Young people want to stay

• There are numerous support groups that work together;

• Cultural activities are important and reinforce people’s sense of belonging;

• Economic activities are important and varied (RQVVS, 2004).

Does Bathurst look like that?

Visit the MACS-NB web-site http://www.macsnb.ca to discover more …

Mouvement Acadien des Communautés en Santé du Nouveau-Brunswick (MACS-NB)

220 Boulevard St-Pierre West, Room 215, Caraquet, New Brunswick E1W 1A5

Telephone: 506-727-5667 Fax: 506-727-0899 macsnb@nb.sympatico.ca

Thank you MACS-NB for this information:

The Determinants of Health

BIOLOGY AND GENETIC ENDOWMENT: This is how you acquire your mother’s nose or your father’s eyes. The genetic baggage from your parents can have as much impact on your state of health as your previous medical history.

GENDER: Men and women are prone to health problems or conditions that are specifically their own. And it goes even further- they have different ways of reacting to their problems, as well as treating and preventing them.

CULTURE: It is basically who we are, our identity, our language, our history, our beliefs and our values.

HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT: What is experienced during early childhood influences the development of the individual throughout his or her life. That is why a healthy environment and enriching learning experiences are so important.

SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORKS: In good times as well as bad, to socialize or simply to prevent loneliness we turn to family, friends, colleagues or the community. These networks must be built as early as possible and maintained throughout our lifetime.

EDUCATION AND LITERACY: The higher our level of education, the better the chances are to have interesting employment, a good income and a better quality of life.

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKING CONDITIONS: Do you have a job? Are you unemployed? Do you work too hard or not enough? Are you stressed at work or are you appreciated? Working conditions affect your health whether they are good or bad.

8. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS: These are social conditions that promote wellness stability, acceptance of differences, inclusion, the sense of security, family and community solidarity.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS: Our health is affected by the quality of everything that surrounds us such as the air, water, global warming, housing, the workplace and even the road conditions and street lighting.

PERSONAL HEALTH PRACTICES AND COPING SKILLS: Making healthy choices (nourishing food, physical activity, mental health and fighting addictions) helps our ability to cope with the pace of every day life.

HEALTH SERVICES:Each one of us is responsible for promoting and maintaining our own health. However,we would all like to have quick access to quality services in our own language as close to home as possible.

INCOME AND SOCIAL STATUS: If money can’t buy health, it certainly can contribute to our well-being because housing, diet, clothing and living conditions depend on our income and our place in society.

The source of most of this information is:

PRACTICAL GUIDE to help implement the Healthy Communities Organizations approach; Nathalie Boivin, Ph.D., author; An initiative of the Mouvement Acadien des Communautés en Santé du Nouveau- Brunswick inc., in collaboration with the Réseau-action Communautaire de la Société Santé et Mieux-être en français du Nouveau-Brunswick.

Source URL http://www.macsnb.ca/publication/129/file/Building%20Healthy%20Comm.pdf

See for yourself
http://www.bathurst.ca/accommodations.php

Hockey Rules

Now I really have nothing against hockey except when the rules of hockey begin to take over other aspects of our cultural life.

There really is a collision of culture going on and hockey appears to have won.
Dig, dig, dig. Get out there and win. Kill the B——s. We’ve all heard it, haven’t we?

And there is the money. As far as I can recall, I’ve never heard of a free hockey game. After all, hockey players expect to be paid … Well paid.
M
Ice time … That has to be paid for too. Is that why so little ice-time is given over to public skating? Is this because many people cannot afford skates and ice-time or is it because hockey-players have become so much more important than non-hockey people who might skate for the enjoyment, the fresh air or the exercise.

Hockey rules? In more ways than we would have imagined a generation or so ago, hockey rules our society. No matter what, we are expected to belong to some team or other and loyalty to that team is paramount. Scheming within the team is OK if it helps you win. Rules are made to be broken as long as what goes on within the team stays with the team. It is seen to be perfectly alright to ignore or even ostracize any independent person who has no team behind them.

And the ostracized person hasn’t a hope in h— of getting a foot in the door of opportunity that is guarded by all those well-paid teams so determined to win at all costs.

Finally … An opportunity … The Pan American Games …

https://t.e2ma.net/click/e3rig/uv4j9i/enjdqb

And they say it’s “open to all New Brunswick artists”

ALL?
Sing? Play an instrument? Juggle balls? Walk on stilts? Swallow fiery swords?

Hmmm … Team approval?
Hey George! Get over here willya! Tell me … What exactly do you suppose is meant by professional?

……………..
Ya … Well me and George …
Well we’re a team
Don’t you know …
A bit of a motly crew
Who else?
Any artist
Who wants to join us.
Leader?
No leader
We’re all equal.
Not much time
Until March 15
Suppose we’ll make it?

…………….

Who decides who is and is not a New Brunswick artist?
The jurors will pass judgement?
And who are the jurors?
http://artsnb.ca/site/en/juries/
Hmmm unnamed huh?
Must we join NBArts to find out?
OK … How much?

Waste of time and energy?
You think so too George?
Yah … I guess I do know
How these things work
An opportunity is written into some budget.
Those on the inside
Are passed the approved list
Of pre-approved candidates
Then the criteria …
Well that is written to describe
In almost exact terms
The Chosen One …
Who will then be
Juried and found to be the winner
Is that it George?
Is that how these things work?

Why?
Why do they bother
With a competition
Well after all George
This is a Democracy
It must be seen
That equal opportunity
Is open to everyone.

Wellllll … Maybe maybe not
But that’s the way it is
Has been for a long long time
Nothing new under the Western Sun
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/%7Eafilreis/50s/blacklist.html

The Motley Crew?
No George, not the band
I mean my team.
Can’t produce a show without a team
Found a list
They just might do
That is
If any are still alive
http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Category:Hollywood_blacklist

Look George …
More friends we might meet
http://www.geni.com/projects/The-Hollywood-Blacklist/16955

Whaddya mean … You don’t think the Blacklist is so bad.
George, are we talking about the same sort of Blacklist
https://blcklst.com/#bl_opportunities

I thought not …

The chosen and the unchosen … Is that what the battle has become, George?
https://blcklst.com/#bl_opportunities

Think double-speak will work, do you George? Change the term Blacklist from it’s original meaning … Cause confusion so it becomes easier to ignore someone who complains about being blacklisted or even marginalized.

Take the word “closure”. Bet that onw makes you feel warm and fuzzy, huh George? Think again … Never mind … That’s another issue.

More doublespeak? Ahhhhh … Here’s an example of doublespeaking into existance the ultimate “goodcop”Blacklist
http://www.protectyourdata.ca/check-the-status-of-your-device-in-canada/

So getting back to the original meaning of “Blacklist” … could that Hollywood 10 type Blacklisting happen in Canada as it has in the United States? What do I think?

Hmmm … I guess we’ll never be allowed to know, will we?
https://blcklst.com/#bl_opportunities

Suppose that was what my friend meant when she called a certain someone a bad bad man? Did He do this?

Surely George … Not now … Not in the 21st Century … It cannot still be happening … Do you think?
No comment huh? Guess I might ask an expert http://www.historians.org/

……………………..

OK George … I’m willing to give in … Go with the flow … Quit rowing upstream …
Thinking about a team is what I’m doing.

You really can’t do much on your own.

One problem George … How do I get the right team?

For example here is what looks like an impressive list of names to drop …

Yes, George, I’m just about at the point of desperation to do a bit of name-dropping.

That is just the problem …

All we have here is basically a list of names and associations and such … no contact information, no proof that the whole thing isn’t a tangle of fluff meant to impress … Who was that fellow who almost became French President … You know the one with the 10 or so bed-girlies …

Yes … him … or whoever it was was who replaced him at his bank … You know, George … I think it controls all the money in the world. Sorry, George. Forget what they call it.
Hmmmm … So you don’t know any of these folks either?

http://www.microfinanceconference.ca/mobi/speakers.html

Is It Too Late?

Is it already too late?

Have all the artists moved away or given up completely?

Is that why, year after year, our area is pretty much overlooked by those colourful New Brunswick tourism publications?

I am still here and I’m hosting an artist festival in May. Anybody who is interested is invited to become involved.

There is no big slush fund. So far there are no paying jobs, and no luscious contracts. For the last six months there has been mostly just me working as an unpaid volunteer.

After fifty years of experience as a local artist I am taking this opportunity to invite the community to become involved in building something out of almost nothing.

The Artist Festival Headquarters is located at the art centre at 212 St. Andrew St. Bathurst, New Brunswick until at least the end of May. The door will be open every Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 3:00 and people are cordially invited to drop in and ask about free registration for the festival.

By the end of May I should know how much support the Chaleur community has for art and artists.

Thank You

I want to send a warm Thank You to all the wonderful friends and supporters who have been faithfully voting for me every day on Aviva. It is good to know how much support there is for artists in our community.

During the month of November I will be busy working on writing a novel. CLICK HERE if you are interested.

If you wish order my book at the special price of $20.00, please contact me through the contact link at http://www.chaleurbay.com.

Thank you for your support.

A Special thank you to Aimee who has been especially encouraging. In order to help me she has taken precious time out away from writing her second novel.

Thank you Bathurst and Sackville friends of past and present, Dolores, Lyn, Gail and Dianne for being the first to respond to my new personal artist page HERE.and here I am

So as I take on the challange of writing my first novel, thank you in advance for your continuing support.

Now what will this novel be, one might wonder … Will the author be writing one of those modern one foot in the grave semi-sorta-what used to be called gothic romance? Will it be a shot at singularity? Will she perhaps indulge in a bordeline bio because being a first-time novelist, even at her advanced age, she lacks the experience of writing about anything outside her closed little life? If it is to be that final genre, will she reveal the reason why finally, after all these years she decided to forgo slick professionalism and pimp herself on FB?
Who knows …