Director hopes new arts documentary will change the way people look at northern communities

Director Andria Stephens hopes to change the narrative about northern Manitoba with her new documentary, We Are Artists of the North.

"I live here, I know this story," Stephens said. "Now we can show it on video."

The 38-minute piece, a collaboration of people from northern hubs like Flin Flon, Churchill, Thompson and The Pas, looks at what different artists do in the northern part of the province and how their art has impacted their lives.

The documentary features artists from Norway House, Thompson and The Pas who work in digital, musical and culinary mediums.

Amanda Grieves of Thompson, originally from Bunibonibee Cree Nation (Oxford House, Man.), is one of the artists featured in the documentary.

Grieves, who designs ribbon skirts and jingle dresses, appreciates the opportunity to show people what northern Manitoba has to offer artistically.

"I hope it attracts people that don't know about us here in the north," she said. 

"I hope it draws the people in, and opens more opportunities for other people to come out and showcase their creativity."

Grieves' work has been seen both locally and elsewhere in the province — she has designed skirts for events in the community and will have a dress featured in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.

"Last Sept. 30, I made a jingle dress for my daughter Carolyn, and it was orange and then it had a teepee," she said. "And it was chosen to be displayed at the human rights museum."

Grieves is a self-taught designer who has been creating skirts and dresses professionally for about four years.

"I was gifted a sewing machine," she said. "I wasn't sure what to do with this sewing machine, right, so I just started making ribbon skirts."

The first ribbon skirt Grieves made was while she was at the University College of the North, and she finished it by hand.

"I made my own because I would also always see my grandmother making her own ribbons," she said.

Shortly after she made it, she wore it to a ceremony where an elder helped her appreciate her accomplishment.

"She says to me, 'Why aren't you with the other ladies?' And I said, 'Well, I'm kind of shy because my ribbon skirt isn't the prettiest,'" Grieves said.

"Then she says, 'Oh, this ribbon skirt is meant for today, its purpose is for you to wear it today.' So I wore it with pride."

Grieves personalizes every skirt she makes for someone, even the ones she donates.

"I let them pick their own colours," she said. "All of them have a story behind them."

Grieves' latest skirt was created in honour of her 16-year-old niece who died of cancer.

"She was 16 and the colour purple represents strength," she said.

"It is also one of the colours of the ribbons [for] cancer awareness, right. So I put it in purple, because she picked purple to be her fabric colour."

Director Stephens, who is originally from Calgary, said artists like Grieves can be undervalued.

"There's artists that don't even consider what they do art," she said.

Stephens, who is a musician, has lived in Thompson for nine years and is the owner of Mall of the Arts, which hosts performances and workshops for artists.

Mall of the Arts and the documentary were both born out of her frustration that northern artists didn't have a means to feature or be recognized for their work.

"There was no outlet, there was no art store, there was no art space," she said. "There wasn't really anything central, where you could see the artists of northern Manitoba."

Discussions with artists she met through the mall led to creating the documentary.

"Just meeting a lot of the artists here and seeing their humility really was touching," Stephens said.

She wanted to give them a voice.

"I think that it kind of speaks them into existence, and they can acknowledge that what they're doing is artistic, and it's valuable. And I want the world to know that too."

Sequel soon?

Stephens hopes to make a second documentary, but that will require some patience as she plans for shooting and seeks additional funding.

"Our documentarian lives in The Pas, and he would come down and film, right. So there's only so many times a year that a busy photographer and a person that has their own thing going on in The Pas [can] make the travel here to do that."

Artists are already set for the next documentary, with dancers and writers featured and a heavier focus on the music scene.

Stephens wants people to walk away from the first documentary knowing about the beauty of northern Manitoba and the diversity of its art scene.

"We have a very highly Indigenous population that have very traditional and unique and creative arts," she said. "Then we have the people that move here that also adds to the community.

"I want to expose all of that because I feel like it's beautiful."