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CBC
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- CBC
At age 69, Inuk artist Shirley Moorhouse is having a moment
"This is the ensemble of the lady who has everything," Shirley Moorhouse says, reaching for an opulent seal skin apron, which is pinned to the wall of her Happy Valley-Goose Bay studio. The 69-year-old Inuk artist is one of 30 artists on the long list for the 2025 Sobey Art Award. With a top prize of $100,000, it's among the most prestigious art awards in the country. "It's a full seal skin cut out in ulu shapes on the bottom. It's lined on the top with rabbit skin," she explains. "I made a seal skin oven glove that was lined with rabbit. And a little silver claw, which is absolutely useless." A handbag, a wine goblet and a pair of high heels — adorned with seal and rabbit skin — complete the look, Moorhouse says, along with the "most useless crown in the whole wide world." Lined with seal skin, this crown bears spikes made of barbecue skewers, all dipped in blue, black and silver beads. "I like lushness, you know," said Moorhouse. "Lushness and fullness and happiness and sparkles." In fact, Moorhouse seems to sparkle with joy — especially as her art career continues to take off. Moorhouse's solo exhibition, "ᐃᔨ -Eyes" is opening at The Rooms in St. John's on Tuesday. The exhibition is a retrospective, celebrating 30 years of her work. "To have one of your pieces shown at The Rooms is, you know, marvellous enough for me, but to have a solo exhibition in the main hall over the summer season when it's going to be busiest, and then to have publication after that, it's unreal," she said. That publication, Moorhouse explains, is an upcoming book showcasing her art, which is geared toward general and academic audiences. Her piece Canadian Sovereignty of the Northern Lights is also slated for display at the National Gallery of Canada this October. Moorhouse said she's blown away by all of the recognition. "The Sobey long list is just like a pot of gold a leprechaun left for me," she said. And although she's surprised by the sudden momentum of her art career, Moorhouse said that as an artist in Nunatsiavut, who worked for years to make inroads with artistic institutions, this also feels like a true moment of reconciliation. "Through this path, I'm coming up to 70 years old now," Moorhouse said. "A whole lot of streams, a whole lot of rivulets, [are] all finely braided into this particular time." Back to school at 65 Moorhouse was just a baby, blinking in her crib, when the first seed of her upcoming exhibition was planted. She said her grandmother took one look at her and called her ijiik, the Inuktitut word for "eyes." "I thought it meant originally about the shape of my eyes, but later I came to know it meant more," she said. "My eyes are grabbing the history around me, recording it, and I try to record it in any way possible that I can." As a child, Moorhouse said she kept busy creating, colouring and reading. But school was a challenge, and she ultimately dropped out of high school. Later, Moorhouse completed her high school diploma. Opportunity knocked in 1995, when the Labrador College — now known as the College of the North Atlantic in Happy Valley-Goose Bay — ran a two-year diploma course in heritage crafts. For her first project, Moorhouse created her very first wall hanging. That piece caught the eye of Mi'kmaq artist Jerry Evans, who was working on a book about Indigenous artists in the province at the time. Over the years, Moorhouse continued creating, writing poetry, producing more of her distinctive, renowned wall hangings, and occasionally exhibiting her work. But her career kicked into high gear a couple of years ago, when she pursued her master's degree in fine arts at Memorial University's Grenfell campus in Corner Brook. "I figured, well, I got to do something different. It was just my 65th birthday," she said. Heading back to school in her 60s wasn't exactly easy. Moorhouse had to get used to all the latest technology. But the inclusive Grenfell fine arts program was "just amazing," she said. "If I can do it, so can you," she said. Recognition a 'sign of reconciliation' for Indigenous artists Moorhouse looks around her studio, full of gratitude. This space is a recent development, secured through a grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. A ledge beneath her window holds enough space for "the acres and the mileage and the poundable of beads" used in her work. The windows are draped in shimmering, sheer tulle, resembling "gossamer thoughts, or gossamer colours caught in thoughts." Moorhouse said things have certainly changed for Nunatsiavut artists during her lifetime. When she began creating art, there was no recognition or help from the provincial and federal governments. She also says Inuit history was "basically ignored" in school curriculums, and Indigenous artists had to fight for space in artistic institutions. "Coming into The Rooms now as an Indigenous artist at my age, you know, it's a very satisfying period in my life. I'm more than satisfied. I'm grateful every day," she said. "The Indigenous people of Newfoundland and Labrador are finally getting recognition within the institutions that should have included us in the first place." With each new piece, Moorhouse said, she's also carrying on Inuit traditions her own family practiced for survival. "Now, you know, a couple of generations later, here I am doing it as art," she said. "Which is absolutely wonderful."
CBC
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
20th anniversary exhibit shows designers' decade-long vision for The Rooms
Its beige bricks are meant to represent the barrens, while its roof is described as 'dogberry red.' Curator Mireille Eagan describes how the designers of The Rooms aimed to incorporate Newfoundland and Labrador culture into every aspect of the building.
CBC
18-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Oklahoma students tried out curling with Olympic gold medallist Jamie Korab while stuck in St. John's
A group of eighth graders from Tulsa, Okla. headed for Dublin, Ireland ended up stuck in St. John's for two days — and made the most of their surprise stopover with a curling lesson from an Olympic gold medallist. The students had two days of sightseeing and exploring, and even got to try out an iconic Canadian sport with Waterford Valley MHA and Olympic champion curler Jamie Korab. "It's kind of interesting that we landed in a place that has a lot of Irish culture," said Jenks Middle School principal Nick Brown. "So we're really looking at it as a bonus." The group also received chocolates and a personal letter from Premier Andrew Furey welcoming them to the province. The troupe visited Cape Spear, The Rooms and the Basilica in St. John's, making the most out of their pit stop. They were headed to Dublin to study science and agriculture but ended up experiencing a few bumps in the road, leaving Tulsa on the morning of Feb. 12. A delay in Chicago led them to miss their next flight. When they finally got on a plane headed to Dublin on Thursday, it had to land in St. John's for a medical emergency. Luckily, EF Educational Tours Canada, a student travel company, stepped in and was able to get local tour guide Michael Holden to bring the students around on Friday. Their stay was extended by another day after their Saturday morning flight was cancelled due to high winds — another novel experience for the preteens. "We're from the southern part of the United States, so we don't really have weather like this," said Brown. "[The] kids are making snowballs and throwing them at each other." Brown said he was impressed and grateful for Newfoundland's hospitality during their 48-hour stay. "This will be something that these kids will remember the rest of their lives," he said. Trying out curling When Korab heard about the stranded eighth graders, he pulled some strings and got the kids on the ice. "People are stranded here, let's show them a good time," said Korab. "Rather than having them hang around a hotel room, give them an experience they've never had, and maybe [they'll] go back to Oklahoma City and Tulsa and say, 'Hey, we tried curling and it was about a lot of fun.'" Learning how to play curling was an exciting new experience for the students, said Brown. "There may be an Olympic curler from Jenks, Oklahoma in our future that we don't even know about," he said. For students Gretta Richardson, Isabel Englebrecht and Zeke Catterson, getting to try out curling was their favourite activity in Newfoundland. "It was really cool and exciting, [but] it was really hard to put that rock out," said Englebrecht. While Englebrecht said she knew about Newfoundland from the musical Come From Away, the others said they hadn't heard of the province before. "I didn't know it existed," said Catterson. While they missed out on a few days in Dublin and had to spend hours in an airport, the students were pleased with the opportunity to experience another country on their trip. "It's actually like, really beautiful.... If I hadn't gone here, I would have never like known how pretty it was," said Catterson. The group was able to fly out of St. John's successfully Sunday morning.
