Our Video collage

The End

AAAAH, the end!

This 2010 tour was a success. Five great artists, that all got along without incident, taught over 375 workshops in 15 towns over the course of 26 days. With 6000 kilometers travelled in our SCES Tour Van, and well over 5000 students and faculty affected, the most important aspect of the Cultural Exchange was met.

I had the pleasure of getting to know the four terrific artists on this tour - Melissa Nygren, Carol Morin, Kelly- Anne Riess and Evans Bamwesigye- and was thrilled to see how each of them grew as artists. I feel very fortunate to have spent the six weeks with them, and now consider them my friends.

I think it's safe to say that every one of us will walk away with our own special memories - weather bombs and Kandahar included. We each had a favourite school, class, community or incident, and will take these memories with us into the future.

Below is one of MY favourite memories:

So long everybody, until next year.

Learning through the Arts

As a tour, we have come into the middle regions of Saskatchewan, and dove deep into their farming communities.

This time around we had a visit in Cudworth , Rosetown, Melfort and Outlook. Spending a few days in each place allowed us to really get to know the community. I would say that the townsfolk got to know us as well.

As a habit of curiosity we spend our off-time exploring, walking, chatting, and shopping in these places we visit. There is a fantastic antique shop in Rosetown filled with music and trinkets. There is also a great pizza place to have lunch, and my favourite coffee place that I've been to on this tour, all found on Main Street.

The city of Melfort was very friendly and outgoing. The people there were eager to tell me all the things that were happening in their community. We had the privilege of staying at a farmhouse just outside of town with the leaves in their most colourful phases. Our homestead was breathtaking and quiet and the family there treated us to a spectacular dinner. Thank you to Desirae and Craig for their open home.

The town of Cudworth is found in amongst lakes and fields. The school and staff are friendly and we were a hit. I think the Exchange will be coming back to this town for years to come.

Downtown Cudworth is full of hardworking people and little kids running to the candy store. It really is like another time.

Lastly, Outlook is a town with a big treasure—the Sky Bridge. It spans the South Saskatchewan River and takes about 20 minutes to walk across. One of the teachers at the elementary school showed us this treasure and we got a couple of great shots.

Some communities never get too exposed to the arts, and, for many, professional artists are a myth. As we spend time with these people, the myth gets debunked, and the importance of art is shown and felt. In a world where intolerance and repression of emotional expression can run rampant, especially in insular communities, the pure unguarded enjoyment of art is essential. I am so proud to be with these artists as we show people that art is not only important to one’s growth, but is an important part of our human experience.

Kandahar and back.

I have to tell you all that, as a tour, we really have been to a lot of random places in Saskatchewan.

We have traveled through Turtleford, Sagehill, Prince Albert, Shellbrook, Shell Lake, Eldon, and Ruddell. We have seen sights and people of Saskatchewan spread across vast dipping valleys, patchwork plains and snaking rivers.

We have crossed the North and South Saskatchewan River, stopped alongside Canada's largest saline lake, big quill lake and even a giant turtle.

As I continue my artistic trek around Saskatchewan from Alvena to Zealandia, I have only one question how many of you have been to Kandahar Saskatchewan?

Hello World!

Hello world,

Ah yes, I wanted to look back at our previous week, as it was our longest. We started back on the road, with our first stop in Kelvington.

Kelvington is a beautiful town with a lot going for it. Beside the usual industry and farming the landscape and surrounding lakes make it an ideal place to raise a family. If they could find a way to clean up the lake that is situated in the townsite, they would have a year-round resource for fun and relaxation. We were very privileged to stay at a bed&breakfast in the community. The school was welcoming and eager for us to take over - we were obviously a treat for the kids - and staff that said they look forward to our visit every year.

Here is the place we stayed at.

For the rest of the week was spent within about 40min of Regina. Our first stop was Balgonie.

Being so close to Regina, similar to White City beside it, Balgonie is busting at the seams. The School is beautiful and the students/staff are outstanding to teach and work with.

The population in this area has grown so much and so fast that our classes were huge.

I was in the main hallway and Carol was in the Cafeteria.

The same thing happened where I grew up. We had to have portables brought in until a more permanent structure was built.

I can see why people want to move into this community.
The state of the art equipment, the obvious money spent on

resources, and the modern townsite make this an attractive place to live.

We spent two days in Balgonie.

The last place we went for our long week was Lumsden. Like Balgonie, Lumsden is just outside Regina and it is also a very popular place to live.

Aesthetically beautiful with its community nestled in a picturesque valley, it has all the modern conveniences without losing its small town charm. It is, in my mind, one of the most beautiful places on our tour. Lumsden has two schools in their town. A highschool and an elementary. We taught for the little one this time around.

Population is growing at an alarming rate for this community, and we, again, had large classes.

We had a long week this week, not so much in terms of just travel, but cumulative days teaching. I had dental surgery in the midst of this week as well so, needless to say, we have all enjoyed the much needed Thanksgiving weekend.

Next week Cudworth and Rosetown!

The Juice

Here we are in my current hometown of Moose Jaw. I am so happy with the school and our fantastic artists. There has been an indelible mark left by the Cultural Exchange in this community.

We have a short week this week, with just 2 schools in the southern region of Saskatchewan. Lindale School, which is in Moose Jaw, and Milestone School in Milestone, SK.

I have a natural bias toward the Arts. Being a professional artist myself, and teaching these kinds of workshops, I get to see first hand the impact we have on the students and faculty. Every teaching day, I have students that approach me asking questions about how they can learn more. This proves to me that this exposure to arts, for these students, has given them another world to explore. With so many great artists coming from Saskatchewan, I only feel blessed to know that I have been able to share in those precious first steps.

The Arts Board of Saskatchewan is a real champion, to have provided the opportunity for us artists to get into these schools. Some communities on this tour don't even have arts programs available to their students, so we are the only experience many of these students will have with Drama, Dance, Writing, Song Writing, and Visual Arts.

The Artist Van

Don't worry. We're artists.

I wanted to tell you about our van we are traveling around in, it’s tailor-made. With the logos on the side, our bold artist faces through the windows, the loud proud beeping coming from the underbelly, signaling to everyone that we are reversing; we've been turning heads.

I think our van should be equipped with some kind of cape.

As it is now, a white 15 passenger van, with multicoloured graphics, is our chariot. The lettering on the van is placed in a way that only artists could justify.It is our lair, our bubble, and our highway retreat.

I will upload some photos of things we have seen as the tour unfolds.

For now if you see us coming, or hear us reversing, don't worry, we're artists, we mean you no harm.

Our tour so far!

Well, here we are--the first week of our tour. As the artists, we were picked up in Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon. We all had a deep curiosity about how this first week would go.

We have been very impressed with the generosity of the schools and the communities we've visited. I personally love the landscape of Paradise Hill with the deciduous trees changing colour, the winding roads and the beauty of the North.

The first night we were all split up and taken to separate billets and fed a home-cooked meal.

The people I stayed with had fresh fish and garden vegetables. I am sure the sentiment is universal when I say that, after such a long drive ( 7.5 hours ), we appreciated it.

The kids on our first day were from Paradise Hill. From what I saw, everyone had a great time.

There was a local reporter that came and took some photos for her publication as well as interviewed some of the artists.

On our second day we arrived in Spiritwood, a very charming community with a great burgeoning arts program in their school.

I had some of the funniest Grade 7-8s. We spent most of our workshop laughing.

Next, the artists were teaching high school students. This shift in gears was handled with ease by our professional

artists. The kids impressed us all with their creativity and ability to express themselves.

We have now arrived in La Ronge, and we are staying at the Waterbase Inn on the lake.

Churchill School is a school that I have taught in before and really enjoyed.

We spend two days in La Ronge so we all have a chance to explore the area over the next day.

I will tell more tomorrow.

Introducing the SCES Workshop Tour Artists for 2010

Melissa Nygren - Music Facilitator

Melissa Nygren has been playing the guitar since 1996 and has been teaching since 2005. As a singer/songwriter she has had the pleasure of touring across Canada and overseas. She has released 4 albums with her two bands and continues to write, record and perform. Melissa now runs her own company, Prairie Songstress Music, which delivers her own brand of guitar, voice, and songwriting training. This intelligent and experienced prairie songstress has never hesitated to spread her music in a journey that’s taken her from the back porch to big stages in more than a decade of writing, performing, and collaborating.

Kelly-Anne Riess - Writer Facilitator

Kelly-Anne Riess is a poet based in Regina. She is the author of the poetry collection To End a Conversation, which has been featured on CBC Radio and on The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor. Her work has been published in literary journals across Canada, and, recently, she was shortlisted for a Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award, a YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award, and a Regina Mayor’s Art Award. Riess also works as a freelance journalist, having written for many newspapers and magazines, including the Globe and Mail and Canadian Geographic. She has traveled across North America, working on documentaries that have aired worldwide on networks such as the A&E Biography Channel, History Television, and CBC. Riess was the lead writer on the bestselling Saskatchewan Book of Everything.




Leon Willey was born in Vancouver, BC, and is now living in Mortlach, Saskatchewan. Leon has performed throughout Canada. Credits include Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Persephone Theatre, Arts Club Theatre, Gateway Theatre, Chemainus Theatre, and many more. Leon’s favourites are: The Full Monty in Vancouver and Saskatoon, Ain’t We Got Fun in Moose Jaw, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes and William Smith in Murder on the Nile on Vancouver Island, Bobby Strong in Urinetown, Jessie Award winner for Best Production in Vancouver, Johnny in Johnny Zed: The Musical (Saskatchewan Playwrights Festival). Most recently Leon performed alongside his wife Krista in a school show for children in Saskatchewan, Who is Mrs. Wilson?, as Mickey. Leon has toured twice with the Cultural Exchange Workshop Tours.

Evans Bamwesigye - Dance Facilitator

Evans brings with him a rich heritage of East African traditional dances fused with a glaze of hip-hop. Born in the undulating hills of western Uganda, Evans has enamoured both small and large audiences. With a charisma that never dims, he teaches not only the melange of dances but combines it with drumming lessons and cascading clapping native to the East African region. He has taught students from Japan, Europe, North America, and Southern Africa. His workshop sessions are rife with enthusiasm and the effect lives on long long after the sessions. He currently lives in Saskatoon where he takes part in a multiplicity of cultural events.

Carol Morin - Visual Arts Facilitator

Carol is currently employed at the CBC as a broadcaster but is looking forward to touring the province sharing her creative excitement with Saskatchewan youth. Her workshop will incorporate both the visual arts and the art of storytelling, depending on the age of the students involved. She plans to use the mediums of paint, paper, and found objects to show how texture can be incorporated into visual arts. Carol comes to the troupe with a broad experience in the arts, most recently she was selected to receive a Saskatchewan Arts Board grant to develop illustrations for one of her children’s books.

Workshop Tour Blog 2010

The Cultural Exchange is proud to present this year's Workshop Tour Troupe to schools across Saskatchewan. The troupe features multi-talented, multi-skilled Saskatchewan artists. They will be focusing on specific skills as they present their workshops to the youth of Saskatchewan. Participating schools and students will be invited to describe their responses to the various workshops presented in their schools on the blog. For more information on this program please contact Margaret Fry at 306.780.9494, email mfry@sasktel.net, or go to www.sces.ca and click on Workshop Tour.
Here's to another exciting year!