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Buffy St Marie: Carry it On. FREE SCREENING
April 19, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
7:30pm, April 19. FREE (door at 7)
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: CARRY IT ON is a feature documentary about Buffy Sainte-Marie. Innovator, musician, songwriter, performer, activist, philanthropist, and educator, Buffy’s career spans over sixty years and includes countless milestones: she became famous by writing the anti-war anthem “Universal Soldier”; made one of the first electronic albums in 1969; was the first Indigenous person to win an Academy Award (in 1983 for “Up Where We Belong”); made the first album over the internet in 1991; and became the oldest person ever to win the Polaris Music Prize in 2015. Buffy was also the first person to breastfeed on TV (on Sesame Street) and was named “Best New Artist” the year the Beatles came to America. And she wrote the love song that Elvis made famous, “When It’s Time For You To Go”.
So why is Buffy Sainte-Marie not a household name?
Buffy’s music was suppressed by two Presidential administrations. She used her fame and platform to speak out about issues affecting Native Americans during her appearances on TV and Radio, hoping that if people heard, they would help. This led to her being blacklisted from American radio.
A prolific and unique songwriter, Buffy has been covered and sampled by everyone from Elvis and Barbra Streisand to Courtney Love and Kanye West.
But what is it like to be ahead of your time as an artist and a person? How do you stay motivated and not succumb to frustration and anger? This film examines those questions while offering a retrospective on Buffy’s unique life and career, utilizing archival material (some never seen before) and cinematic recreations. The film also looks ahead at what’s next for this trailblazing icon, sharing Buffy’s unique message and approach to life: “Sometimes you have to carry the medicine a while before people are ready for it.” The film will examine not only Buffy’s medicine, but if the world is now ready for it.
With her full participation and firsthand accounts, Buffy guides the narrative while friends, colleagues, community members, and industry professionals provide context and perspective. With exclusive access to her life on the road and at home, the film also offers a behind-the-scenes look at Buffy’s 2021 North American tour (in the midst of a global pandemic as the world was coming together, briefly, for the first time in almost two years to hear live music), shedding light on an artist who, at 81, is still thriving, creating, and evolving in every area of her life, helping the world to ripen a little more every day.
Directed by Madison Thomas
Learn More About…
Artist In Residence Activities & Outreach
Artist in Residence activities include artist talks, studio tours, interactive events, and more.
Founded in 2001, in a partnership with Parks Canada, the KIAC Artist in Residence Program has welcomed over 300 talented artists, musicians and filmmakers to Dawson City from all regions of Canada and around the world. Our alumni include Sobey Art Award nominees, Western Canada Music Award winners, and prize-winning filmmakers from film festivals across the globe.
Check out the current Artists in Residence
Film Events
Film activities include film screenings, film selections, and more.
KIAC is proud to host an exciting roster of film screenings and film-related events throughout the year, such as the 48 Hour Film Challenge and Dawson City International Short Film Festival, numerous workshops, and other opportunities.
Exhibitions
Exhibition activities include gallery viewing hours, exhibition openings, artist talks, calls for submissions, and more.
ODD Gallery
The ODD Gallery, located in the Dënäkär Zho / KIAC building, presents a wide array of outreach programming including artist talks, openings, lectures, screenings, youth programs and other special events. Gallery programming fosters professionalism and appreciation of regional visual arts practice, and provides the community with exposure and access to a diverse range of contemporary visual arts practices and theories in a remote, northern setting.
Check out the current exhibition
Kids & Youth Programs
Kids & youth activities include: music lessons, art classes, dance classes, book readings, toddler classes, after-school programs.
Year-Round Programming
Kids and Youth (toddler to teen) programming ranges from music lessons (vocals, piano) to dance class (ballet, hip hop, and more), to hands-on workshops (pottery, screen-printing, animation and more) and is offered regularly throughout the year. KIAC strives to subsidize Kids & Youth programs as much as possible via grants and funding. Programming ranges from free Drop-Ins to registered weekly programs.
Youth Art Enrichment
Youth Art Enrichment is an annual four-day art program for Yukon youth hosted by the Klondike Institute of Art & Culture in Dawson City. Artistically-inclined youth ages 14 – 18 travel from across the Yukon to take part in intensive workshops led by professional artists. Students choose one of three mediums to study for the duration of the program, learning new skills, techniques, and ways to creatively make artwork for the world to see. The mediums change every year: we have offered printmaking, animation, painting, carving, stained glass, illustration, improv, and much more over the last two decades.
Learn more about Youth Art Enrichment
Performing Arts
Performing arts activities include: concerts, theatre and dance performances, open mics, radio broadcasts, special events, and more.
KIAC presents a year-round professional performing arts series in the beautiful second floor Ballroom that actively engages our community and provides inspiring performance opportunities for international, national, and regional artists in many disciplines. Our diverse programming includes jazz, classical, folk & roots, experimental, dance, theatre, and more.
Workshops
Workshops include: weekly drop-ins, registered programs, weekend workshops, and more.
KIAC presents a year-round schedule of educational opportunities ranging from drop in programs (pottery, screenprinting, seniors painting, concert band), to registered workshops (dance, music, film, visual art, craft, textiles, etc), to professional development opportunities for artists (grant writing, artwork documentation, etc).
Learn more about registration, upcoming courses, and outreach activities.