2011 Lecture - Arts Everywhere

We were so pleased to welcome Madeleine Redfern to Guelph as the keynote speaker in 2011. As a champion for the betterment of life in the North, Ms. Redfern brought a discussion of Aboriginal rights and collective action to the Guelph Lecture — a theme that has carried through a number of the past lectures.

View the 2011 Program PDF

Essays

Exploration—of Ideas—in the North

Originally published November 2011

by Dr. Thomas S. Axworthy

To improve public policy in the Circumpolar Arctic, the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies at the Munk School of…

All Essays

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Highlights

Our keynote lecture for the 2011 Guelph Lecture on Being Canadian was delivered by Madeleine Redfern. Born in Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit) in 1967, Redfern was elected Mayor of Iqaluit on December 13th, 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria in conjunction with the Akitsiraq Law School. Following graduation, Redfern served as the first Inuk law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, under Justice Louise Charron. An outspoken member of the Iqaluit community as a social justice advocate and businessperson, Redfern has dedicated much of her 20-year career to advocating for the needs and values of Inuit and aboriginal peoples. Her work and passion has taken her to varied roles within both non-governmental and government sectors, in Northern and Southern Canada. Redfern is a founding member of the Wabano Aboriginal Health Centre and a past president of Tungasuvvingat Inuit Community Centre, both in Ottawa; a co-ordinator with Iqaluit Restorative Justice; a former secretary-treasurer of the Inuit Non-Profit Housing Corporation; and the Inuit representative on Kagita Mikam, an Ontario-based centre for aboriginal employment. Recently, Redfern served as executive director with the Qikitani Truth Commission, an Inuit-led initiative focused on documenting Northern events between 1950 and 1965 through oral history. Redfern strives to be engaged with her community as a candid advocate for access to health, educational, and social resources in the North. She interacts readily and honestly with media and her constituents, often communicating through social networking sites such as Twitter.

Few Canadian authors have experienced the instant recognition that Michael Helm saw with his first novel (and, indeed, his first published work) The Projectionist, and its Giller Prize Nomination in 1997. The nomination placed Helm in the company of literary superstars such as Mordecai Richler and Carol Shields—a likening he would prove to live up to with the 2004 Rogers Writers’ Trust- and Commonwealth Prize-nominated In The Place of Last Things, and with the 2010 Cities of Refuge. Helm has earned critical acclaim for his finely-crafted and deliberate prose, attributes that he impresses upon students as a professor in the Department of English at York University. Heavily involved with the North American literary community, Helm emphasizes the role of creative writing as an effective means of communication.

Jane Bunnett is doubtlessly one of Canada’s most intriguing and respected jazz performers. Classically trained on flute and soprano saxophone, Bunnett rapidly developed an international fan base following her artistic awakening to Afro-Cuban music in the early 1980s. Her adventurous style and technical skill have earned her numerous Juno and Grammy nominations, as well as an honorary Doctorate from Queen’s University. Bunnett was also made an officer of the Order of Canada in 2004. In addition to touring tirelessly, Bunnett can be heard on more than 15 albums over the past 20 years as either a soloist or collaborator. Her most recent work, 2011’s Cuban Rhapsody earned laudatory reviews from the Afro-Cuban community and critics alike.

Our emcee for 2011 was Guelph-based producer, composer, remixer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew McPherson. McPherson has worked with a plethora of artists over his decades-long career, including Vieux Farka Touré, Real World artists Dub Colossus and Syriana, Kiran Ahluwalia, Philosopher Kings, Delhi 2 Dublin, Stephen Fearing, Kate Schutt, Transglobal Underground, Jane Siberry and The Rankins. He is also the brains behind world fusion project Eccodek (2009 Juno nominees and two-time Canadian Music Award winner). Andrew has released three solo albums, with 2010’s Lefty Singer being voted a top-10 release by CBC’s Fresh Air. His original soundtrack collaboration with Eccodek’s Deliveryboy for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (Metropolis Re:Scored) continues to be showcased at film festivals across Canada. Eccodek released their first live recording, Living for Live, in 2012, followed by a studio release called Singing in Tongues. Andrew also maintains a busy life as a professional voice actor, having been the network announcer for Discovery Channel and voicing countless ad campaigns throughout Canada and the U.S.

Essays

Exploration—of Ideas—in the North

Originally published November 2011

Highlights