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| Northern Dreams Quilt number 4 (of 6) hand dyed fabrics by Judy Martin, unique blocks with various surface treatments by members of the northern Ontario community, machine pieced, hand quilted, 2000-2001, bed-sized. |
Judy Martin attended the closing ceremony of Art for All Ways, Thirty Years of Myths and Mirrors at the Art Gallery of Subury on Friday October 11. The exhibition included examples of the many projects produced by the community arts organization based in Sudbury, Myths and Mirrors.
Myths and Mirrors is 30 years old! 30 years! That’s a long time. To put that into perspective, the current Artistic Directors, selina and ER, weren’t even born when we started Myths in 1996.
30 years. That is especially a very long time for such a marginal, odd, little arts organization…. Myths is not a gallery, a theatre, a museum, we don’t fit any established arts formula. Myths has to constantly be re-inventing itself, which can be exhausting; but can also be exhilarating.
Because Myths is not re-inventing itself from nothing. Myths always has an underlying aspirational goal: that another world is possible.
And so Myths’ role has been to create small but meaningful spaces for people to explore those possibilities. Through creativity and art. By creating art together. Together with other people who are marginal, oppositional, aspirational. For 30 years, Myths has been re-inventing itself, through the visions of the different artistic directors, Tanya Ball, Sarah King Gold, Jesse Brady, Cora Rae Silk, and now selina Stoos and ER; re-inventing itself through the hundreds of artists who have shared and shaped these spaces, and of course through the thousands of people who have participated and created together with us. But key to everything, Myths is always re-inventing itself in response to the social and political shifts that are shaping our world.
When we started Myths and Mirrors in 1996, Mike Harris’ conservative government had just been elected in Ontario on a vicious poor bashing campaign. Basically promising to make the poor suffer, and they definitely did that with the approval of the majority of Ontario’s. It was a master class in cruelty and scapegoating. Soon their authoritarian policies had resulted in the murder of Ojibwa protester Dudley George in Ipperwash, and predictably their draconian welfare policies led to the death of Kimberly Rogers here in Sudbury. In response to Kimberly’s death, Myths joined with others to form the Justice With Dignity committee to hold our government accountable. On 9/11, twenty five years ago today, we were having a meeting of the Justice with Dignity committee when the twin towers were hit; thus began the American “war on terror” featuring torture, hatred and and more deaths. The world felt ugly and chaotic and in many ways, these times started to lay the groundwork for the extreme levels of poverty and inequality, the authoritarianism and fascism that are being normalized in the world today.
And for all those 30 years, Myths has always been responding with creative and meaningful projects, events, spaces that allowed people the opportunity to process their fear, anger, as well as their hopes and dreams, through connection, creativity and art. Myths has worked with people of all ages, backgrounds, but usually people who are marginalized; call centre workers, people who live on the streets, sex workers, 2SLGBTQ+ folk, youth, Blacks,Indigenous, People of Colour, disabled people, all of us struggling to create a more just, equitable and beautiful world together.
Looking over the installations of this exhibit, so beautifully curated and presented by Cora and Ra’anna, gives us a sense of the depth and power of Myths’ work. And a glimpse into the stories that each artwork represents.
The Show of Hands video from 1997 provides an overview of the extensive engagement and participation that happens in Myth’s projects.
The Northern Dreams Quilt project quilt is a beautiful reflection of months of travelling throughout North Eastern Ontario with the amazing artist Judy Martin, talking to hundreds of women about their hopes and dreams for the upcoming new millennium.
The Harvest Dreams and Beans Parade featuring the giant dreamcatcher holding the dreams of the children and residents of the Flour Mill and Donovan.
The Be-Longing photography project that involved downtown street people and youth and lets us see the world through their eyes.
The Arm Her installation is a raw manifestation of one of Myths’ most intense and powerful projects with local sex workers, led by Sarah King Gold.
The Respect mural in the YMCA parking lot, first designed and created by local youth under the guidance of Lori Bergh, then redesigned by unhoused people in Memorial Park under the inspiration of Cora Rae Silk.
There are so many people who gave so much, there so many stories. The thousands of posters and art works for demonstrations, for events, the murals, the puppets, the stiltwalkers, the masks, the fire sculptures, the debates, the arguments, those amazing Ah-Hah! moments when the group knows we’ve created something incredible. The Who’s the Fool? conferences exploring propaganda and alternative media. The Myths and Mirrors logo, designed by Alan Asher. The zines,…. the silk screens, the street theatre….so so much.
And of course the heartbreaks: the time that the public art works created by children were vandalized; the shock of losing all our giant puppets and most of our masks to a hungry mouse infestation at Victory Park…. so much lost.
But here we have Myths’ new beautiful giant puppet, the Nanasphere; once again, Myths is re-inventing itself.
Yes, 30 years is a long time.. When we started Myths, I had some kind of muddled vision that we would save the world, that through hard reflection and sharing and inspiration and creation, we would manifest that other world.
Instead, we are currently living in a world that few of us imagined was possible. Entire sectors of our population have been discarded into a life of abject poverty, addiction and despair while the rest of us scroll through images of a genocide happening in real time. A madman is ripping apart the fraying institutions of democracy and justice south of our border, while our governments react by amping up a war economy.
No, Myths didn’t magically change the world for the better. But together we did create opportunities for connection, for laughter, for meaning, and yes, for art. Art really has been our antidote to despair. The fact that we are still here is a testament to our resolve, and I would say to our need for the kind of spaces that Myths creates. We are surrounded with just a few of the art works that symbolize people’s commitment to finding a better path forward, to shaping a world that is kind, just and beautiful. A world that is still possible.
I can get teary thinking of selina and ER, who themselves are not even 30 years old, re-inventing Myths once again to meet the challenges of these times. I do get teary having my 19 year old granddaughter Madeleine here with me today to celebrate this exhibit and this anniversary. Finally, I am so grateful to all the thousands of people who shared and created with Myths over 30 years, I am grateful to the Art Gallery of Sudbury for this exhibit that acknowledges and celebrates those years, and I am really looking forward to seeing what comes next for Myths and Mirrors Community Arts. Thank you. Laurie McGauley
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