Arts & Culture Activities

Poetry Downtown

The Poetry Downtown project is a partnership with Downtown Saskatoon and features poems from ten local poets displayed on the 3rd Avenue poster directories between 19th Street and 23rd Street in Downtown Saskatoon. The theme of the project is Kindness – acts of. Posters will be on display from the beginning of October to May 31, 2024.

Selected poets and their poem titles are: Bronwen McRae: Kindness, Danica Lorer: Treats, Danielle Richardson: In a Garden, Elaine Nieman: A Reflection on Kindness, Jaime Speed: Home, Josiah Nelson: Love Poem, Rita Bouvier: say it ki sî wâ ti sô win, Robert Benz: Anthem, Sonia McWilliams: Kindness, and Tyler Lee: Saviours.
Poetry Downtown was inspired by a challenge from Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada Louise Halfe encouraging municipalities to bring poetry to public places.
The public is encouraged to walk along 3rd Avenue and reflect on the poetry.

About the Poets:
Bronwen McRae is a Saskatchewan Lifer. Her work has appeared in several literary magazines including Room, The Prairie Journal, and The Ottawa Arts Review and in anthologies including Tamaracks: Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century, Apart, and Within These Lines, a collaboration of her poetry group The Obsessors. In addition to writing poetry, Bronwen enjoys writing for children and playing clarinet in the Saskatoon Community Jazz Band.

Danica Lorer has been struck by lightning, a moose, a rogue semi-tire, vehicles, and the odd strange idea. She is a storyteller, freelance writer, face and body painter, spoken word and page poet, and the host of Saskatoon's literary arts program 'Lit Happens'. She has had short stories and poems published in various literary magazines and anthologies. Her projects have been supported by SK Arts and the Canada Council.

Danielle Richardson (nee Altrogge) is a queer spoken word poet, Canadian national poetry slam champion, and community organizer from Saskatoon, SK. A graduate of the MFA in Writing program at the University of Saskatchewan, Richardson is an independent theatre creator, producing and writing Our Four Walls (Thigh-High Theatre,
MuD Collective, 2015) and Elemental (Live Five, Embrace Theatre, MuD Collective, 2019). Her writing can be found in untethered, oratorealis, isms, Folklore, and Poetry All Over the Floor. In 2020, Richardson, with three collaborators, published Prairie Girl Collective with Party Trick Press which was released as an audio album with American Radio Cassette in 2021. She lives with her spouse, child, and cat, in Saskatoon.

Elaine Nieman is an emerging writer who produced her first booklet of poetry, "Lyric Bouquet" in December of 2022. Her writing focuses on snapshots of quiet emotional moments in everyday life, which she crafts the old-fashioned way, at her trusty manual typewriter. Elaine was born and raised on Treaty 6 territory, home of the Métis people.

Jaime Speed (she/her) lives, works, and plays in Saskatchewan, Canada. Her work has been published in The Rat’s Ass Review, Hobo Camp Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, OyeDrum Magazine, Global Poemic, Psaltery & Lyre, Channel, New Feathers Anthology, The Wild Word, They Call Us, Eunoia Review, Flora Fiction, Neologism Poetry Journal, The Whorticulturalist, Setu Bilingual Journal, and The Pine Cone Review, along with collections by Ship Street Poetry, Gnashing Teeth Publications, White Stag Publishing, and Indie Blu(e) Publishing. Her prose poetry was selected for Best Small Fictions 2021 by Sonder Press. Find Jaime (and her poetry and other creative whims) on Instagram @jjspeed_r.

Josiah Nelson is an MFA in Writing student and sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan. His work has appeared (or is forthcoming) in Existere, Vast Chasm Magazine, Queen’s Quarterly, Hunger Mountain Review, and the Rumpus, among others. He placed third in Fractured Lit’s Monsters, Mystery, and Mayhem contest.

Rita Bouvier is a Métis writer, editor and retired educator. Her fourth book of poetry 'a beautiful rebellion' was released April 2023 by Thistledown Press. Rita’s poetry has appeared in literary anthologies and journals—print and online—musicals, and television productions, and has been translated into Spanish, German and Cree-Michif of her home community of sakitawak—Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, Canada situated on the historic trading and meeting grounds of Cree and Dene people (Treaty 10).

Robert Benz is a child of immigrants. He was born on Nakota territory, raised in Denendeh, and has spent most of his adult life on Cree and Métis land. He is an MFA in Creative Writing student at the University of Saskatchewan, and his work has appeared in The New Welsh Review and The Dalhousie Review. He has been a bush pilot, an actor, and, when budget allows, a wanderer.

Sonia McWilliams was born and raised in Saskatchewan and is proud of her prairie roots. She finds inspiration in the everyday, the mundane moments, stories of the past, hope for the future, as well as navigating a life with invisible disabilities. An aspiring poet and author, Sonia is working towards her first non-fiction book. When Sonia isn’t spending time with her husband and 5-year-old son, you can almost always find her with her rescue dog, Lily, or reading a good book in her hammock.

Tyler Lee (p.k.a. Skizza) is an emerging poet, songwriter, and hip-hop artist who was born and raised in Saskatoon. As a poet, he has participated in a variety of spoken word events and poetry slams throughout the city. As a songwriter and hip-hop artist, he has released several albums, including "Things I Found" which was recognized by SaskMusic as one of the Top Ten Saskatchewan Albums of 2020. He has collaborated with major Canadian artists including JUNO Award nominees Ghettosocks and D-Sisive. He has performed throughout the Prairie provinces, including showcasing at Winnipeg's Northern Touch Music Festival, Regina's Cathedral Village Arts Festival, and Medicine Hat's Alternative Waves Festival.

Bunkhouse Gallery Pop-Up Program

The Bunkhouse Gallery pop-up program provides gallery space to local emerging and established Saskatoon artists for public art exhibits on Saturdays and Sundays. The program takes place in the historic Bunkhouse at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo (SFFP&Z).

Applications are accepted on an on-going basis. Artists may book one weekend per month to a maximum of four weekends per year.

Priority will be given to artists from 2SLGBTQQIA+, BIPOC, people with disabilities, and other equity groups and/or artists who have taken part in the Bunkhouse Studios residency program and/or artists who want to exhibit work that is inspired by the SFFP&Z. Artwork displayed must be suitable for an all-ages civic facility.

For more information or to discuss your application contact:
Kathy Allen, Arts and Grant Consultant
306-975-3391, kathy.allen@saskatoon.ca

2023-24 Bunkhouse Gallery Information and Application Form

Participants in the Bunkhouse Gallery program are required to complete a follow-up form:

Bunkhouse Gallery Follow-Up Form

Upcoming Exhibitions

Space is available; no current bookings.

 

 

Saskatoon: Where the Art Is 

In the fall of 2019 the City of Saskatoon hosted the Creative City Network of Canada Summit. This three day conference for municipal cultural workers provided an opportunity for Saskatoon to share knowledge and highlight its dynamic arts and culture scene.  Saskatoon artist Andrei Feheregyhazi was selected to create a short animated film to promote this event.  His film, Saskatoon:  Where the Art Is, is sponsored by Saskatchewan's Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport and the City of Saskatoon.  The composition for the video was created by local musician, Dean Summach.

Researched and written by Saskatoon writer Regine Haensel in 2011, this booklet traces the development of arts and heritage in Saskatoon. A cultural timeline of milestone events is also included. 

 Creating Community: A Brief History of Arts and Culture in Saskatoon