Recent Speakers Series Talks
Here is just a sampling of recent 'Listen & Lunch' and 'Meet the Artist' talks. Make sure to drop in often to see our latest offerings!

Meet the Artist:
Journalist Kate Wallace

This series of encounters with the artists among us will allow you to meet the people who enrich our lives and define our culture. We welcome Telegraph Journal arts columnist, Kate Wallace for a talk about her work on the front lines of news in the arts & entertainment world.

We're so pleased to congratulate Kate for winning the Gold Award for Arts and Entertainment Reporting, announced at the Atlantic Journalism Awards gala event in Halifax on May 8th. (She is also nominated for a National Newspaper Award for the same work, her feature on local legendary artist, Fred Ross.)

Kate Wallace: Interviewed Under the Cupola

1 - What is your first memory of being creative?
Hmm, that’s a tough one – I can barely remember what I had for lunch. I guess it might be finger-painting in kindergarten: I remember wearing an old dress shirt of my dad’s backwards as a smock. For years his office was decorated with a framed green-and-yellow finger painting of mine, which is probably why that comes to mind.

2 - How did your artistry grow?
I would never call what I do artistry, although there are certainly writers I consider artists of the highest order. I think of journalism more as a craft. We all learn to write in school, of course, but, unlike math or chemistry, it was the thing that came naturally to me. I always liked writing essays. By the time I got to university I prided myself on creating dense, academic writing full of big, obscure words. I guess I thought it made me look smart. Journalism has been largely a process of unloading that impulse, of striving towards a style that is clean and lean – “tighter and brighter,” as one of my journalism professors said. One of the great challenges – and thrills – of arts reporting is using simple words and direct language to express big, abstract ideas.

3 - What influences were there along the way?
Parents who read to me a lot as a kid; nurturing teachers, especially in elementary school and Mrs. Devitt, my Grade 12 English teacher, who really pushed me to write. My sister Jackie is a great writer and reader whose views on writing I highly respect – and that are often very different from mine.

4 - Have there been local influences that have enabled you to grow as a writer?
I cannot give Mark Leger and Janet Scott, two of the founders of here newspaper, enough credit. They gave me my first writing gig even though I had no experience or education – I had no business getting that job! Mark is a thoughtful, generous editor – and a gentle one, too. He is my first, and most important, mentor.

5 - Are there other influences?
Great writers. I feel a desire to read that is almost compulsive: I’ll even read the labels on shampoo bottles in the shower (although that is decidedly not great literature!). The influence of other writers is aspirational – I love reading someone else’s work and thinking, ‘I wish I’d written that.’ Of course, much of what I read, I know I could not hope to have created, it’s so, so good.

6 - What has been the most profound experience for you as a writer?
Writing has transformed my feelings about my hometown, Saint John, and my home province, for that matter. When I graduated from high school, I couldn’t get out of New Brunswick fast enough – I never thought I would live here as an adult. I saw it as small, conservative, boring, dirty, cold and bland – which aren’t entirely unfair assessments. There’s more than that to this place, though, and the chance to write about N.B. has revealed it as a complicated, fascinating corner of the world populated by intriguing people doing interesting things – and mostly without any attention. Writing about them has given me a much richer appreciation of where I’m from.

Tweens, teens, parents and grandparents alike - come enjoy a literary & musical treat! As part of our literary arts programming, Saint John Arts Centre is proud to host a reading sure to delight kids of all ages by author and illustrator extraordinaire George Fry, as he treats us to a taste of his amazing ‘Jeremy Books’ on Saturday, May 1st at 2pm. Just in time for afternoon tea (or coffee or punch & goodies!), sit back and enjoy with the whole family.

These richly-illustrated fantasy tales follow the growing-up of Jeremy Fenton, a young lad who discovers all kinds of mysterious secrets about himself though the progress of his adventures.
His exploits take him both back in time and through space to all kinds of intriguing locations such as Mexico, India, England and others, meeting up with such amazing characters as Shakespeare and the spirit of King Arthur. A theme of environmentalism is woven through Jeremy’s adventures as his mission is the preservation of the planet.

Musical interludes will be provided by a jazz trio of Saint John High’s IB Music program emerging young talents!

Saturday, May 1/2010 • 2pm • FREE!

Click here to read more about George and his amazing artistry at his website here...

Historian & author Harold Wright presents: The Foulis family - 225+ years of contribution to the Arts in Scotland and Saint John.

This audio-visual presentation will look at several arts fields...book publishing, art galleries and painting and drawing, music, and photography. This date was selected as it is the birthday of Robert Foulis, the inventor of the world's first steam fog whistle.

Bring along your lunch (we'll provide the coffee & tea) and enjoy a lunchtime talk!

Wednesday, May 5/2010, 12pm - FREE

Meet the Artist:
Valerie Biebuyck
Fine Art Photography: My Simple Secrets
Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 12pm

Valerie Biebuyck began taking photographs with her Brownie camera when she was six but she began her love affair with art photography when she was twenty and inherited a vintage Asahi Pentax camera from a sweetheart. She learned how to use the light meter, adjust apertures and fit different lenses while experimenting with the depth of field, colours and the contrast between light and shadow. She spent many years training her eyes to recognise the many inspiring possibilities in simple and complex forms that she captured through her camera.

Saint John Arts Centre celebrates Heritage Week with a Talk on local sports hero, Charles Gorman, world speed skating champion. From 12-1PM, join us with your lunch (we'll provide the coffee and tea) and listen to local historian and writer, Harold Wright in his talk titled, 'Charles Gorman, more than just a legend.' This is the 60th anniversary of the death of Charles Gorman and the presentation will include an audio-visual presentation that will offer highlights of his career, his background and also, a general history of skating and speed skating in Saint John.

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, 12-1pm

Of her new show, Sue says, "This exhibition comes out of my experience with the Beyond Words show and is about the exploration that I have been involved in for many years. My work is exploring the connections in life; the spiritual and material worlds, humans as part of nature, intimately supported by the natural world. Inner and outer worlds are constantly informing and confirming. I find an experience in nature inspiring me and I begin a piece. They are like meditations for me, often layers of paintings moving through emotions to come to the place I'm taken to.”

Creatively and carefully, this recent work depicts a layering of restful colour, portraying an intersection of depicted horizon and the sense of life above and below. Metaphorically, it allows the viewer to arrive at a transformation that is arresting and peaceful that is effectively fulfilling as it lifts the inner spirit and awakens the senses.

Please join us for an artist talk with photographer Greg Klassen, whose exhbit, In-Between is currently showing in the Library Gallery (Nov. 6 - Dec. 31, 2009)

"In-Between - is a collaborative effort between myself and my favorite model, my daughter Morgan. In this work we explore two related subjects. We probe our reactions to human-made “constructed” environments, especially those that have ‘outlived’ their usefulness and have been either abandoned or ‘set aside’.

I feel such structures - no longer participating in our everyday ‘reality’ - provide a kind of liminal environment, a transition point between the “here” and some other level of consciousness. We also explore the interactions among ourselves and other people with respect to our reactions. Particularly important in this context has been the differential responses in the dual contexts of gender and age differences (specifically across the liminal phase defined as puberty) as interpreted through photographic ‘constructed multiple exposures’."

SJAC is proud to host a special Remembrance Day presentation organized by local author and historian Harold Wright.

From Harold: "Please join us on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 as we commemorate the men and women of the greater Saint John area who have served their country during times of war and peace.

Since there are no First World War veterans still living, letters to "mom" will be read. These letters were from Gunner Rawland Gandy, 6th Siege Battery.

The World War Two veteran is Cpl. Arthur Pottle, 1st Special Service Force, who served in Italy and Western Europe.

Lance Corporal Sonny Garnett, 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment of Canada), served in Korea as a peacekeper after the war.

The Afghanistan War veteran is Bombadier Greg Jones, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment. Bdr. Jones served in Afghanistan from March to October 2009.

It is interesting to note that three of the veterans all served with the same militia unit, today known as the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (The Loyal Company). These are Gandy, Pottle and Jones.

As this is also the centennial year of the first flight of an aeroplane in Canada, an Air Force 'letter to mom' will be read. This letter was written by LAC Jack Brannan, 414 Squadron, RCAF.

There will also be military music and videos shown."

Please bring along your lunch and join us in saluting our service men and women.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009, noon-1pm

Tuesday, October 27, 2009, noon

Using recycled wood, Philip presents a series of larger than life seedpods that are sculpted from varieties such as the beautiful ash with its lovely grain patterns; yellow birch known for its warm colours and in contrast, rock maple where supreme hardiness takes on a look of its own.

With this work, Philip Savage conveys a passion that places the viewer in his world. It is one where we understand that there can be a “harmonious relationship to the design or ‘sculpture’ of the landscape itself.”

“The purpose of this exhibition is to provide the observer an intimate glance at the origins of the life forms that we as humans are entirely dependent upon and yet seem to abuse, manipulate and take for granted. I like to think that the observer of these sculptures can escape briefly into a personified community of seeds; curious tentative, anxious and exuberant as they emerge for a short, sweet time in the grandeur of the elements."

Bring along your lunch and enjoy coffee & tea as Philip guides us on an exploration of this amazing exhibition.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, noon

Wednesday, October 14, 2009, noon-1pm

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - noon-1pm

Back by popular demand! Harold Wright, local historian and author, continues his Exploration Series in the Library Gallery; Harold offers his incredible wealth of knowledge and the connection of Captain Jimmy Wade, BEM and the CJW Millidgeville Airport.

Bring along your lunch and enjoy coffee & tea.

Tuesday, August 25th, 12-1pm

Nate Guimond will discuss his current exhibit of sensitive portraits and whimsical cartoons, 'I Think in Black and White & I Dream in Colour', now showing in the Rotunda Gallery.

Bring along your lunch and enjoy coffee & tea.

Wednesday, August 26th, 12-1pm

David Reeves, CSPWC, SCA, will give an artist's talk and demo from 4pm-6pm during the Gallery Hop. Recently, the artist introduced the current Soceity of Canadian Artists exhibit that was presented to the public in an opening reception on Friday, July 10th.  In his presentation, David, who is a featured artist in the SCA Roots Exhibit, will choose a subject and use his own paintings to discuss various approaches to subject and value design, composition, and other techniques.
 
David will also demonstrate and talk about developing texture by combining watercolour and acrylic techniques. With technique, he will demonstrate the effectiveness of using mixed media methods in obtaining unique rock-like and other textures using an acrylic gesso underpainting on watercolour board and applying watercolour paint washes. A demonstration will also take place using textured Japanese washi paper and using this application over the painting to define other textures.

Friday, August 21th, 4-6pm - During the Uptown Gallery Hop