Delilah Terriak Saunders, Thomas Niles, and Ann Helga Denny

Delilah Terriak Saunders, Thomas Niles and Ann Helga Denny will create a reality-based intergenerational, multidisciplinary dramatic readings performance, based on the complex, real life stories of youth who are part of Inuit, Metis and First Nations communities. They will tell these stories through exploration of how music, oral storytelling, visual storytelling, natural settings, dance, spoken word and drama can all intersect to create artistic experiences that bring the emotional truth of the stories alive. The project is called "Oopik", which is the word for Owl in Inuktitut. Owl is Delilah's spirit animal, and it is an animal who symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings.

The team of three artists-in-residence will interview older Indigenous people about what their experiences were like growing up in Nova Scotia. Specifically, talking about connection to the land. Then they will interview younger Indigenous people, to be able to compare and contrast the experiences of younger generations. They plan on holding music and theatre workshops at Radstorm. They will showcase their multi-media performance piece at an open house at The Deanery in Ship Harbour, NS.

Delilah Saunders is an artist, activist and author. She has been highly involved in the political and grassroots efforts for a federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women has encompassed Delilah Saunders’ life after the murder of her sister, Loretta Saunders, in February 2014. Since then, it became her duty to educate the public and create change through various mediums.

Ann Denny is a social entrepreneur, writer, classically trained vocalist, intellectual, comedian, and theatrical artist. In 2012 she co-founded Youth Art Connection, a registered charity helping to create supportive conditions for youth artists in Nova Scotia to grow as engaged artists and citizens. She creates collaborative music and drama pieces with artist led organizations such as Circus of the Normal.

Thomas Niles is an actor, theatre practitioner and theatre instructor who is interested in working in creating social justice theatre work. He also has worked with Zuppa theatre in Halifax and has experience teaching drama for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.

Year of residency

2016

Based in

Kijipuktuk /Halifax, NS

Type of project

performance

workshop