Smithers and the surrounding area is jam packed full of talent. It’s hard to describe simply what kind of talent. Some places seem to produce a specific type but in this area we seem to have all kinds.
Some forms, such as sport, are perhaps more easily seen. In the athletic arena, that talent is not limited to one sport.
In the artistic venue, we have the same issue. We have fantastic music. We have wonderful art of all kinds.
We also have delightful forms of dance. Not just jumping up and down like many of us did as youngsters but creative, innovative forms that make jaws drop and observers gasp.
Such is the case with Miriam Colvin. Colvin is the recipient of a recent award from the BC Arts Council.
Colvin is currently working on a project entitled The River. It is a collaborative investigation led by three artists involving dance, song and interdisciplinary performance.
“We plan for it to take place on the banks of the ‘Ksan (Skeena) and Wetzin’kwa (Bulkley) rivers in 2020,” she said.
“I am pleased that the BC Arts Council is supporting arts by and for the people of our northern rural communities living on Wetsuwet’en territory,” she added.
Colvin’s art has been shaped by the area in which she lives. She loves the land and the cultural diversity of the rural scene. She works hard to integrate the many forms of dance into the community with the different types of dancers, visual artists, puppet masters, musicians and people who just love to move.
Here is someone who has a passion for all forms of improvisation and shared handiwork.
At the present time, Colvin indicated that she is reeling from the deaths of a close personal friend and the loss of an elder.
Since the project is deeply connected to the land, people and their customs, The River project is on hold as the communities recover from these losses.