Notes for Spring

Gary Sidney Johnson speaks to delegates at Haa Shagóon Hídi.

We just finished co-hosting over 150 of our colleagues from across the country to Whitehorse and Carcross as part of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres annual conference. It was a week filled with conversations and connections that we hope will ripple beyond the beautiful visits.

As we take a bit of a slower May, here’s the notes for our welcome to delegates and introduction of Minister Gehmair.

The theme was Shifting Grounds, chosen special for a Yukon spring.

Notes for PACT opening

Thanks Brad [Lepp] for that introduction and thanks to John Fingland for that welcome and those stories.

We’re thrilled that you’re visiting and hopeful that insights and connections made in the next 4 days ripple through your work in the future.

In seasons of change – like spring in the Yukon – some things open up, water is visible and the daylight grows. 

Also we watch for floods and landslides. 

The warmth melts the snow, revealing free flowing rivers and the dog shit – all of which was there before but newly noticed. 

Some of us mourn the daily ski, the joy of a snowmobile on a frozen lake or seeing the stars, crisp and clear, at a reasonable hour.

Still, with a knot of impatience and faith, we stare at trees and branches, looking for the budding of leaves. 

We walk mindfully – making sure to protect the small and tenacious wild flowers breaking through 

Honouring their beautiful – short lived, but essential – contribution to the planet and my sanity.

We also, up here, this time of year, look at current partnerships and take a moment to consider the future. Was this “just” a winter fling – a relationship that helped split the wood and kept the bed warm during the hard time – but will not serve in the long days of summer? Or is it an all-season kind thing that can withstand the inevitable changes in the light and climate?

A process full of dread and potential.

We, even in this room, will meet those changes in different ways – 

Perhaps as theatre makers, no matter our role in that process, rooted in place and time, we are able – in ways that screens cannot – to meet those changes over seasons and years and be a part of thriving territories. 

Not because we all do things the same way, but because we continue to deepen our relations with those closest and welcome new ties and new meanings.

One of the privileges of being here is to live in a place where the connection between arts, creativity and the quality of life is extra clear. 

This connection is in each of our communities and homes – but here – with a population of about half a southern city ward – there’s no mistaking the need and potential for arts and culture to be at the heart of community.

We don’t have to agree on everything – but in a place like this, we cannot escape the beauty and challenge of our interdependence. Over this conference we hope the context and conditions of this place help create the connections and renew our spirit for the year ahead.

We are lucky to be somewhere that culture is recognized across political party divisions and it’s our pleasure to introduce the Minister of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture, the Hon. Jen Gehmair