Tony Eetak and Jamie Bell, two artists from the Arts Incubator who enjoy meeting in unusual places, are talking about art from a picnic table in the Exchange District.
Manitoba Fall and Winter Program to Focus on Storytelling and Publishing
We’re nearing the end of a highly productive summer! The past few months have been dedicated to building a robust new infrastructure to support our upcoming Fall and Winter Arts Incubator program. This summer also saw our team supporting programming across Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, Minnesota, and Nunavut. From live events to impactful presentations and new experimentation, it’s been a rewarding and productive season. Now, our attention is shifting toward the upcoming season, and everyone’s excited.
A Decade of Preparation
This year’s program will focus on capacity building and exploring urban oral histories in Winnipeg. For over a decade, our team has been training and preparing for this work. We’ve spent the last two years diligently collecting archival material and gathering a wealth of existing narratives from more than 16 years of prior projects.
“This is a project we’ve wanted to do for a very long time. We’ll be covering nearly three centuries of history, from the early HBC ships to today—a flow of stories across generations, from the northern shores of Hudson Bay to Manitoba and beyond,” said Jamie Bell, one of the Winnipeg-based interdisciplinary artists leading the program. “For years, we’ve been poking through archives across Canada and the U.S. and from Nunavut to Alaska. It’s been a long journey, and I think this is going to be a grand adventure. The stories we’re uncovering span almost three centuries, from the mid-1700s right up to the present.”
Re-tracing old fur trade routes, learning about historical supply chains, and visiting the places where those stories took place will be a core component of the program. It’s one of the most challenging projects the group has undertaken to date, and has involved years of training and preparation.
Publishing New Stories
“To support this upcoming season’s work, we actually had to develop some new infrastructure,” said Bell. “With much of that in place, the program will empower a new cohort of artists and storytellers to transform these stories into compelling public works. We’re especially looking forward to spending more time at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives here in Winnipeg, which is home to an incredible trove of historical records.”
The scope of the material is vast, ranging from detailed fur trade post journals and personal diaries to photographs, maps, and oral histories. Many of the records have not been examined for decades, offering a unique perspective on the intertwined histories of the HBC, Indigenous peoples, and the development of the Canadian North and West.
“The goal of our program is to move beyond simply accessing these archives and into the community,” Bell said. “Through mentorship and hands-on professional development, our participants will publish these stories across multiple platforms, including digital publications, podcasts, and new art installations. What’s really exciting, I think is how Manitoba has always been a focus point.”
We can’t wait to share the rich, diverse, and often-unheard stories that shape our city.
Stay tuned for updates on how you can get involved!
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