Call for interviews: Share your stories about Hurricane Janet

June 4, 2015June 5, 20152 Comments

Fresh Milk‘s latest international residents, Saada Branker and Powys Dewhurst, share the project they will be working on while on the platform, commemorating and documenting the upcoming 60^th anniversary of Hurricane Janet’s landfall in Barbados on September 22, 2015. You can read about their connection to Barbados here, and see below for more information on how to get involved and share your stories about the hurricane:

Rebuilding as part of recovery: Workers in Barbados band together to rebuild stronger homes after thousands of people lost their houses to Hurricane Janet on September 22, 1955. PHOTO: UK National Archives/Flickr

The Project

Saada describes it this way: “We are in beautiful Barbados to record, gather and preserve a collective remembering of Hurricane Janet for generations to come.”

She and Powys believe the hurricane’s Category 3-landfall on September 22, 1955, and the subsequent rebuilding throughout Barbados, are worth telling and worth documenting as part of world history for generations to come. With the help of Fresh Milk and ArtsEtc, they will capture memories of Bajans living in the Caribbean blended with those memories of Bajans living in eastern Canada. What they collect will be an array of details to be shared by website on September 22 this year. Their work will lead up to a short documentary film to be released in celebration of Barbados independence in November 2016.

Saada and Powys at Centre island, Toronto. Photo Credit: Kara Springer

Throughout June, Saada and Powys will be making contact with Bajans in the country asking: “What do you remember about Hurricane Janet in Barbados?” They’d be honoured to share in an exchange of your memories.

Days to be interviewed at Fresh Milk (please choose one):

Friday, June 12, 2015 from: 10-1pm
Saturday, June 13, 2015 from: 1pm-6pm
Sunday, June 14, 2015 from: 1pm-6pm

If you or someone you know has a connection to Hurricane Janet and would want to contribute those memories to Saada’s and Powys’ collection, please contact them at: hurricanejanet2015@gmail.com or call 246.845.2975 to RSVP on any of the available dates. Do leave a message with your contact info. They’ll be happy to call back to arrange a day and time for a sit-down talk about this defining moment in Caribbean history.

Thais Francis’ Residency – Week 2 Blog Post

June 1, 2015June 8, 2015Leave a comment

Trinidad-born, Brooklyn based multi-disciplinary performance artist and writer, and current artist in the Fresh Milk International Residency Programme, Thais Francis shares her second blog post documenting her activities in Barbados. This week she writes about the joy she experiences when engaging with narratives that address the uncomfortable issues of real life, and her new obsession with Chefette! Read more below:

I’ve been here for 2 weeks, and already I have a lot of stories. A lot of which are completely unrelated to art, but as an artist, the experience of life inherently affects my perspective, and the things I create.

My script. This story is really heavy (I may have to lighten up a bit). I’ve noticed a trend in the things that I write; they’re all incredibly dramatic. Probably because in real life, I’m the opposite, there is no drama here (mostly). I mean, my biggest issue is the store not carrying my bikini size (like, I can’t possibly flex on the beach in last summer’s swimsuit!) Joking. I’m way deeper than that, but yes, that’s why I enjoy telling stories that deal with real life uncomfortable issues because my personal narrative is so different. I want to use this script to help and inspire people and show they aren’t alone with their secrets. I’m well on my way to finishing, if I focus enough, I’ll be done maybe within the next week-but I don’t want to pressure myself. I’m working on that, because pressure further cements my “quarter life identity crisis”.

It’s interesting, the idea of writing a story, seeing things in your mind and then amassing a group of individuals to support it (which is a whole other process).I’ve been taking tiny steps. This is going to be an awesome movie.

When I returned to Workman’s primary school, the students rushed to me with arms wide open and choruses of “Ms. Thais!” resounded. It was AMAZING. They even remembered the dance that we made up together- they practiced! I love them so much. One day when I’m large and in charge, I’m gonna Oprah a school or two, and provide the kiddies with so much love, resources and creativity.

Dominique (who was interning here at the studio) and I walked to Chefette (Barbados’ version of KFC/Burger King/ Pizza Hut), which is my new favorite thing. I’M NOT EVEN ASHAMED to say I’ve been eating fast food (ok, a little ashamed). Anyway we cut through the field to get back to the studio. I had to limbo under the electrical wires to get through!

The Wretched of the Earth – #CCF

May 27, 2015June 2, 2020Leave a comment

This week Ronald Williams has written a review about Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth; a book that addresses the complex role violence plays in decolonisation. He describes Fanon’s stance on colonisation as being reversible only through extreme force. For him, it feels particularly personal given the recent surge in police brutality aimed at Black youths in the United States of America.

Read this latest addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews, look out for our #CCF responses and see the great material we have available at Fresh Milk!

Fresh Milk welcomes Saada Branker and Powys Dewhurst to the platform

May 27, 2015August 5, 20151 Comment

Fresh Milk is pleased to welcome our next artists-in-residence Saada Branker and Powys Dewhurst who will be joining us from June 1 to June 26. The two will spend their time collecting sights of the island and stories from locals about Hurricane Janet which hit Barbados on September 22, 1955. What they gather will be part of a multi-media project and short film presenting an exchange of Bajan and Bajan-Canadian memories about Janet and recovery.

Saada and Powys at Centre island, Toronto. Photo Credit: Kara Springer

About Saada Branker

Saada Branker is a writer and copy editor born in Montreal. There she grew up hearing stories from her Barbadian parents about their childhood years in St. George. Now living in Toronto, she has worked on various media projects. Saada is a Ryerson University journalism graduate with a BA in Political Science from Concordia University. Her passion for writing and journalism led to opportunities in broadcast news (CBC Newsworld), newsprint (Globe and Mail, Eye Weekly, Toronto Sun), magazines (Sway Magazine, AMOI, Numb, Word). Through Saada STYLO, her home-based copyediting business, she works with emerging writers.

Her recent copyediting projects include, BYOB: The Unapologetic Guide to Being Your Own Boss by Gloria Roheim (2013) and Game Face: The Art of Giving Interviews by Bodine Williams (Fall 2015).

About Powys Dewhurst

Powys Dewhurst is a filmmaker and content producer based in Canada who also holds British and Caribbean citizenship. He was born in Dominica and grew up in Barbados from age 7 to 16 in Fontabelle, Clapham Heights and Chelsea Road. His passion for film and media began in Barbados as a preteen. As a child he spent inordinate amounts of time at Roodals Drive In and Accra Beach, and after hours would liberate old comic strips from the offices of both the Nation and The Advocate newspapers.

He has filmed in East Africa which took him beneath the plains of Mount Kilimanjaro and in 2010 he was chosen by the Canadian Government, Cirque du Soleil and Canadian Heritage to have his work as one to represent Canada at World Expo 2010 in China, which saw 73 million international visitors. His work has screened at film festivals in Chicago, Toronto, Durban South Africa, Trinidad, Texas, Kenya, Brazil, England and elsewhere. He is currently producing and developing several works including Storm, Crazy Dies and Larger Than Life.

Powys recently wrapped up as a content producer at a Bell Media presented media summit in Canada bringing in notable speakers and media companies like Vice Media, Chris Hadfield, Superchannel, CBC, TIFF, eONE, Globe and Mail, and the biggest hit Canadian TV shows.

Fresh Milk welcomes latest intern Dominique Hunter

May 26, 2015June 10, 2015Leave a comment

Fresh Milk is pleased to welcome our latest intern and recent graduate from the Barbados Community College, Dominique Hunter. During a two week course she will be assisting Director of Fresh Milk Annalee Davis and Assistant to Director Katherine Kennedy in an administrative capacity, as well as facilitating a smooth transition for current artist in residence Thais Francis.

Photo by Monochrome

About Dominique Hunter

Dominique Hunter was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1987. She received a Diploma in Fine Art from the E.R. Burrowes School of Art in 2007 and was awarded Best Graduating Student and Best Painter. Later that year she was invited to join the Guyana Women Artists’ Association. Her work has subsequently been exhibited at a number of exhibitions hosted by the association.

Hunter won the silver and bronze medals in Castellani House’s 7th and 8th Biennial National Drawing Competition (2008 and 2010 respectively). In 2010 two of her drawings were also featured as part of the National Gallery’s Republic Anniversary exhibition. Her first solo exhibition titled Introspection was also held at the National Gallery of Art, Castellani House in 2010. She has worked as a layout artist and Arts columnist at the Guyana Times Inc. newspaper and a graphic artist at Xclaim Media Inc. In December of 2014 she was awarded second place with a silver medal at the Guyana Visual Arts Competition.

Hunter recently graduated from the Barbados Community College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and was presented with the Lesley’s Legacy Foundation Award for most outstanding work in the portfolio exhibition.