Niagara artists invited to emerge from Soil

Matthew Hadley
Issue date: 1/20/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Music festivals, visual art showcases, dramatic arts festivals - they all have their place. Sometimes they even combine a couple aspects to add appeal, but rarely are arts festivals so inclusive.

In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival is aiming to combat this trend in their inaugural year by planning the festival to include every imaginable form of art, the only thing standing in their way is the applicants.

The festival is accepting applications from all local artists to showcase their talents in this year's festival, taking place from April 17-24, with a showcase performance at Brock's Sean O'Sullivan Theatre on April 23. The deadline for applications is Jan. 30, while visual artists have until Feb. 23.

In the Soil was founded by a collective of local artist companies in the wake of a similar festival, Niagara Weave.

"Last February, I got chatting with Annie Wilson, Administrative Director with Suitcase in Point Theatre Company and local singer/songwriter Joe Lapinski with YUMMY Recording at one of the Centre's events," said Sara Palmieri, Sales and Marketing Manager for the Brock University Centre for the Arts.

"We collectively were all very interested in reviving Niagara Weave and wanted to produce a juried local arts showcase. Deb Slade, the Centre's Director, wholeheartedly agreed and we immediately chose a date for the showcase to happen in the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre and In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival was born."

After meetings to plan the event, the coordinators, which now includes Jordy Yack of Pulse Niagara, realized that one day would not be enough to host the vast talent of the Niagara Region. Thus, they planned the weeklong event across St. Catharines to showcase the 60 acts anticipated to perform.

Palmieri is also quick to rebut any claims that In the Soil is a competition. The goal, she says, is to further an artistic community. The jury, who judge the applications, exists to ensure the event will showcase Niagara thoroughly, while still ensuring quality.

"The showcase will add to the concept of it being more collegial in that it is giving an opportunity for artists to showcase their talent," said Palmieri.

"How the jury works is essentially they will go through all the submissions and determine if the act is appropriate, or essentially up to snuff, to be shown in public - if they have enough experience, regardless of if it's professional or amateur, to go to a venue. There are multiple venues, so [the jury will mainly be] programming the event."
Not all applicants will be required to audition. Those of whom have made a name for themselves, or whose applications prove they're talented enough to perform, will be slotted without audition. While the audition may scare some applicants, the goal is to include all of the artists who submit work.

"We're giving an opportunity for up-and-coming [acts] to play on stage next to professional artists," said Palmieri. "I think it's going to allow for more of a community-minded spirit in that we're allowing all types of acts to perform with all different other types of acts all around St. Catharines.

"We might have some people who are performing the showcase at Brock who would never even think they'd be up at Brock; they're used to playing the Merchant Ale House or Strega's, smaller venues, and vice versa in regards to some classical acts or jazz acts - bringing them downtown and exposing them to a different audience. It's just getting people to think outside the box and explore new work that's being offered in Niagara with the hopes that they will continue to support [the artists] after the showcase."

The event, though in its inaugural year, has already secured a spot at the Centre for the Arts in April of next year, ensuring that this will quickly become an annual event.

So hurry up, artists, and get those applications ready. If you're concerned you're not necessarily cut for this festival, Palmieri has some advice for how to stand out.

"Create something for the festival specifically," she said. "If you're a band that's been doing what you've been doing for a long time, maybe you want to write some music where you [were] inspired by the Niagara Region. We're encouraging new work, we're encouraging, obviously, original work. There's a really good variety of different arts backgrounds here. I think we're really reaching out to all aspects of art … We really want to put things together that might not be together normally on one stage."

Applications and more information on In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival can be found at www.inthesoil.on.ca.