The Skidegate Project (2002-2005)
The Skidegate Project
2002-2005
About
The Skidegate Project began in 2002 when Karen Jamieson undertook a process of creative collaboration with the Haida community of Skidegate, a village of about 900 people on Haida Gwaii. The focus of the collaboration was to create a dance memorial for Percy Gladstone, a Haida elder who was very close to Karen Jamieson in her formative years and a strong influence in her development. It was a 3 year process of intense cultural dialogue.
In January 2005, this 3 year project culminated in a performance event titled Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance, presented at the annual clan dinner of the Kaahdaas Gaah K’iiguwaay, Raven Wolf clan of Tanu. About 50 people participated as performers, and another 15 or so as translators, advisors, researchers, and artists.
See the link below for a full chronology and evolution of the project:
The Skidegate Project Report by Natalie Macfarlane
Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance, 2005
The Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance is an extension and development of The Skidegate Project. It was performed at the Museum of Anthropology as an off-site event for the 2005 Dancing on the Edge Festival, produced by the Firehall Arts Center, and was a three way partnership between the Karen Jamieson Dance company, the Museum Of Anthropology, and the Festival. It was a meeting of postmodern dance and traditional Haida dance with contemporary compositions from Haida composer Vern Williams and western composer John Korsrud. There is story telling on many levels, including the story of the creation of this work. The performance involved 19 dancers from Skidegate, between 5 and 8 urban Haida dancers, and one modern dancer.
More information about the Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance (2005) can be found here.
“Letter to Skidegate” - 2005
Letter to Skidegate (2004) is a documentary film showing the creation process and impetus behind The Skidegate Project. The film was created by Tanya Collinson and Karen Jamieson as part of Documenting Engagement Institute – a program that invited nine artists from across Canada to come together and discuss and document community engaged arts practices. Through this process, artists were introduced to digital video technologies in an intense two week studio environment with the mentorship of Vancouver media artists experienced in community engaged artistic practice. Letter to Skidegate was produced in partnership with Pacific Cinematheque and Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.
Watch the full film here.
“The Recollector” – 2009
The Skidegate Project Documentary – created with Tanya Collinson, Haida videographer and editor, and filmmaker Ken Smith, this project serves as a record of the events of a three year poetic journey to find Percy Gladstone's spirit. The film shows how the quest was approached and achieved, as well as the performances in Skidegate and Vancouver.
It is a documentary of the process of a dance artist collaborating with a community of Skidegate to create an expression of spirit and spirit of place, to create a dance/performance to honour Haida Elder, Percy Gladstone, and where two different cultures met to achieve this.
Watch the full film here.