A group is nothing more than some number of individuals working together on a common goal.
Whether it's construction, medicine, business, government, or even family, the sum is greater than the parts when work is underway. Culture is no different, and teams of artists are banding together in Prince George to forge these stronger bonds of collaboration.
The two main organizers are B.C. Culture Days personnel and the staff and membership of the Prince George Community Arts Council. The event is called Stone Soup which they jointly called "a series of free creative networking and collaboration events," happening in participating communities all over the province. This is Prince George's version.
"This is based on the fable of stone soup," said arts council executive director Sean Farrell. "That's the old story about hungry travellers who start making a soup with a pot of water and a stone, inviting the curiosity of local villagers. At first the villagers think they're being foolish - who can make soup out of a single stone? - but one by one villagers begin to offer their own little ingredients to add to the mix, and it builds, creating a delicious soup for the whole village to enjoy together. Individually they had only a little bit of food, but together they made a feast for the community to share. This collaborative approach is what the Stone Soup event is all about."
The arts council is already a coalition of people, and many of them represent coalitions of other people. The council's membership is made up of scores of individual artists and artisans, plus nearly 50 associations, societies, businesses and guilds that serve the local arts and culture profile of the region - groups like Theatre NorthWest, Topaz Bead Gallery, Prince George Community Foundation, Yalenka Ukranian Danceers' Society, Exploration Place, Prince George Potters' Guild, Enchainement Dance Centre, Artists' Workshop, to name only a few.
B.C. Culture Days is a provincial body that calls together artists and other cultural contributors for special events and presentations all across B.C. focused on the three-day period of Sept. 29 to
Oct. 1. Last year, more than 60 communities set up in excess of 650 events all over the province.
Stone Soup is partially intended to get the conversation building and ideas flowing in those B.C. communities so Culture Days get the biggest bang possible.
"Stone Soup will give local community members the chance to connect with other potential Culture Days event registrants to expand their network, find new collaborators, share resources, and brainstorm ideas for creative projects together," said Nazanin Shoja, the manager of B.C. Culture Days. "Everyone is welcome, including individual artists (amateur and professional), arts organizations, cultural groups, heritage workers, local businesses, BIAs, media, venue managers, presenters, volunteers, and other arts and culture enthusiasts. Events will feature presentations by local artists and activities geared towards building creative partnerships."
In Prince George, the keynote local artist will be Christina Watts. She is a working artist, but also the proprietor of display and brokering company Ridge Side Art, with an online and hardcopy presence, which is also cloistered in Groop Gallery downtown where two other artists have their commercial spaces.
B.C. Culture Days staff will also be on hand, along with the arts council's people plugged into the deepest corners of the arts scene of the region.
"I think modern culture is becoming all the more aware - reawakened - about what the creative process is all about," said Farrell.
"Where our food comes from and how it leads to amazing meals, where our wood comes from and how that leads to high-quality forest products, that is all becoming more and more important to people. As people try to make good decisions about personal purchases and the shape of communities, it drills down to the creative process. People are looking at that as a way of healing and fixing parts of society we are realizing are unhealthy or unethical - the things that have gone wrong in mass-production society. What's separating us these days is the love or originality and the love of local makers versus the love of cheap products and bargains. We are starting to veer away from listening to big, impersonal voices and listening to artists and artisans and local tradespeople. It is about recognizing process and appreciating the people who drive that process."
The Stone Soup networking and inspiration event happens Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. at Studio 2880 (2880 15th Avenue). It is free of charge to attend. For more information, email Shoja at [email protected].
