Please note that the Beading Your Story workshop is now full, but you can still leave us your contact information under “Waitlist” and we will contact you if there are cancellations. Thank you!!
Dates:
February 15, February 22, February 29 and March 7
Theatre Wakefield is thrilled to be presenting a second series of storytelling workshops, BEADING YOUR STORY, with Indigenous artist Louise Profeit-Leblanc over four weeks in February!
The invitation comes through multi-disciplinary artists and facilitators Iris Kiewiet and Destini Broom who, along with Ginnifer Menominee, designed and realized the first phase of their Spirit Beading project in November 2022 for STO Union’s OUT LOUD Festival.
In this next phase, Louise will bring a stronger storytelling aspect to the project: participants will circle around a canvas frame, hearing stories from Louise and learning how to share their own – while engaging their hearts and hands in a piece of beading art that is shared with many others.
Louise is a master storyteller as well as an accomplished visual artist. Her way of working is to “accompany participants on their journey,” rather than “teach.” Western culture tends to value the written word over the Indigenous oral tradition; this series of workshops will show the power and strength of the Indigenous traditions and ways of being in the world.
These two-hour, weekly workshops are free and open to everyone 15+ but you must register in advance to participate. The classes are cumulative, and you are asked to sign up for the full four-week series. If you’d like to come but can only make one or two dates, please contact us directly to be placed on a waiting list.
Biographies
Louise Profeit-Leblanc “Tsé Itzoh”
Louise is a member of the Nacho N’yak Dun First Nation of Mayo, in Northeastern Yukon. She is a mother, grandmother and a Story-Keeper. She presently lives in Wakefield, Quebec with her husband Bob.
She holds her stories close to her heart and knows that they have a way of healing what needs to be healed. With separation and loneliness for her homeland and family when she first moved south, she states, “My people’s stories were always with me and when I shared them with my friends and colleagues, I would be transported back home!”
Louise comes from a long line of traditional storytellers and her repertoire consists of ancient traditional stories relative to her homeland and also her own bundle of personal stories, of growing up in her homeland.
Her stories depict how the land was made, how her people lived there and how they survived for thousands of years. Many of these stories make reference to how everything in nature exists in balance but more importantly the stories depict morals and teachings of how we can all learn to live harmoniously with each other, while caring for the land, the water, and all living things.
Iris Kiewiet is a visual artist and illustrator living in Wakefield QC. With a Bachelor of Illustration from the Arts Academy Minerva in The Netherlands, she started her a career as an illustrator for Dutch newspapers and magazines. Her artistic practice developed when creating large acrylic paintings, and Kiewiet had several art exhibitions before immigrating to Canada in 2006. In social practice initiatives, the relationship to the land and one another are a focus, where process and dialogue are invited. Recent projects include: a mural for the Stroke Rehabilitation Program at Elisabeth Bruyère Hospital in Ottawa; Spirit Beading, a community beading workshop for OUT LOUD by STO Union at the Centre Wakefield La Pêche; a mural at the Wakefield Spring that was painted on location as part of Up Close or Nearby, a project through Place des Artistes de Farrellton (PAF); and multiple art projects for schools through ELAN’s ArtistsInspire grants, and independently.
Destini Broom is a creative facilitator of mixed heritage, including Mi’kmaq from Gesgapegiag First Nation, Ukrainian-Hungarian and French. With a degree in Fine Arts and a background in writing, design and holistic well-being, she has been exploring the intersection of thought and expression with energetic connection, and the resulting creative influence it has on the environment. As a facilitator, she has been working with groups and circles, deepening in relational understanding and providing a bridge between the familiar and the unfamiliar.
In registering, attendees are confirming their commitment to attend all four workshops (barring unforeseen circumstances).
