The winner of the 2022 Guest Curatorship at the Words & Music Show was Ceta Gabriel.
The show, titled Choosing Joy, occurred Friday, October 28, 2022.
The curatorship, a component of QWF’s new “Fresh Pages” initiative, is designed to help an aspiring literary artist who is Black, Indigenous, or a person of colour develop skills in creating and curating literary other arts events. The selected candidate receives a modest honorarium and a free one-year membership in QWF.
The selected candidate works with Ian Ferrier, long-time curator of the QWF Words & Music Show, to curate their own literary, musical, and performance event, from defining the event-to-be to selecting and inviting performers, gathering bios and other info, writing press releases and structuring and presenting a live show. The show typically presents poets, writers, performers, and musicians, and in the past has branched out to include, circus artists, magicians and comics from time to time. The guest curator can create a theme-based presentation or a simple variety show.
The guest curator is selected by QWF’s Words & Music Committee.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must live in Quebec and be Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour.
- Applicants should have already demonstrated an interest in presenting either their own work in public presentations or in creating a literary, musical or other arts event.
- There is no age or publication requirement.
- Candidates who have already curated more than three public events, or who work for an event creation agency or company, are not eligible.
Timeline:
- Call for applications: April 20, 2022
- Deadline for applications: June 30, 2022
- Notification of results: mid-July 2022
- Public show: Fall 2022
Your Mentor
Ian Ferrier created and has been curating the QWF’s Words & Music Show for more than twenty years, and the Mile End Poets’ Festival for ten. He is a writer, performer and musician, and curator, is author of multiple poetry collections and records including Quel est ce lieu, Bear Dreams, Coming and Going and Exploding Head Man. In 2009 he was awarded the Golden Beret, the League of Canadian Poets award for outstanding contributions to spoken word poetry. He has curated over 250 shows and performed in over 500.
2022 Program
Ceta Gabriel was the Guest Curator in 2022
2021 Program
Avleen Kaur Mokha, also known by her creative alias Mirabel, was the Guest Curator in 2021
2020 Program
Prakash Krishnan was the Guest Curator in 2020
