Lawnya Vawnya 14 Weird and Wired
DAY THREE JUNE 7, 2024
Hi! Welcome to the third day of Lawnya Vawnya 14! Check out the extended newsletter, featuring Andrew Sampson’s Weather Review here on our substack!
M’LK DINTHO WORKSHOP - THURSDAY AFTERNOON AT EASTERN EDGE
Kutlwano and Lele lead a beautiful workshop on Thursday afternoon on Dintho, a collective archive of digital material culture. Upon entering the space, which was immediately calming with its candles and soft music, Kutlwano started the workshop with an embodied practice by asking participants to try breathing exercises and move through the room in different, experimental ways (walk sideways, sway your arms). At the heart of this practice and archive seemed to be the call to dismantle the Western ideological binary between the material and the immaterial. In this case, the act of archiving objects was preceded by a fun process. First, participants were asked to story objects that they were handed by others: how might this ceramic cat or pleather glasses case that they’ve never seen play into their lives, in that moment? Later, people were asked to explain and map the context and importance, or “material cycles” of the objects they brought, and finally, everyone learned how to scan their objects digitally and add them to the Dintho project, which is archived online. Through this process, objects became subject to non-prioritizing representations, and slid laterally into the realm of wayfaring: a way to negotiate a path rather than acting out the script of its predecessor. The result felt psychedelic, generative, and kind, serving as an important reminder to consider how to move through the world in thoughtful and relational ways.
-Aley Waterman
WAUBGESHIG RICE + VALMY @ FIRST LIGHT CENTER
Yesterday evening, people gathered at The First Light Center to hear Newfoundland-based folk musician Valmy perform with a full band followed by a reading from award-winning journalist and author Waubgeshig Rice.
Valmy’s crystal clear voice was given room to soar beneath the high vaulted ceiling of the former church. She was accompanied by a group of seven talented musicians, some of whom switched instruments multiple times throughout the set, resulting in a rich, full sound that filled the room. Valmy’s contemplative lyrics invoked a sense of exploratory interiority that felt especially appropriate for a day drenched in fog, something about the insulting quality of fog lends itself to the kind of quiet reflection described in songs like “Paper Intentions”.
Valmy’s performance felt full of genuine emotion, for her final number she invited the audience to join her in singing the word “home” in the chorus of “I take it to the water” and you could feel in their response that the crowd had been moved by the performance.
Rice read from his new novel, Moon of the Turning Leaves, the sequel to his national best-seller, Moon of the Crusted Snow. Both novels follow characters from a small Anishinaabe community in the aftermath of a world changing black-out. Rice described the books as “anti-dystopian” novels because they are interested, not in the horror of a post-apocalyptic reality, but in imagining circumstances that might lead to a more just future where people experience a stronger sense of community and an understanding of shared values. He read a beautiful and unsettling passage from the opening of Moon of the Turning Leaves, in which a young woman goes fishing and returns with a catch that is all smaller than expected - suggesting a possible dwindling of resources. After an immersive reading, local author Sharon Bala joined Rice on stage and asked a number of interesting questions about the process of tackling a sequel - Rice was warm and funny as he offered insightful thoughts on his writing practice.
There will be another opportunity to hear Rice speak on the panel “Discussions on Navigating Genre as Art Creators and Consumers” at 4:00pm this afternoon at the Alt Hotel.
-Eva Crocker
DAMI | NL LATIN BAND | AQUAKULTURE | HOST MISTY MANIFEST
Charming host Misty Manifest got onstage to welcome the first act, Dami, but due to some initial technical difficulties, festival programming coordinator extraordinaire Sarah Harris entertained the room for a few mins while the band figured it out, which was funny and good. No fear, as sunglasses-clad Dami got it going before long, and graced the room with a commanding, chilled out set of afro-beat and afro-swing goodness, truly locking in the vibes. Next up was NL Latin Band, which was a real treat. A giant band (I tried to count. How many were there? 9 of them?), who truly brought the sunshine and had the room dancing. The instrumentation was unparalleled here, as were the four front-stage singers, whose infectious energy took over the room and you’d swear we hadn’t had fog and rain for like 3 weeks or whatever. Aquakulture, who headlined the show, played last, giving a time-bending performance of silky ambient instrumentals met with core-shifting beats and gorgeous vocals by Lance Sampson that veered between rap, soul, and storytelling. Mostly I was mesmerized and unable to take notes due to this, but I did write down “this is what real love feels like”. Is it possible to laugh and cry at once? I’m not sure as I’m not much of a crier (need more therapy), but I’m convinced that if it is, Aquakulture could make me do it.
-Aley Waterman
LAWNYA VAWNYA WEATHER REVIEW #1
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2024: FOUR STARS OUT OF FIVE
****
It's June in the rest of the world but in Newfoundland, we're still a half-hour and two months behind, trapped in an eternal April of the mind.
I landed at 10AM and all my friends apologized immediately: "Sorry about the weather" As if they called Eddie Sheer at NTV and put in the hit themselves.
For a week or so, I'm told there was no sun. Spirits were low. One acquaintance told me they'd had enough, were sick of watching IG stories from friends on the mainland with captions like "patio szn" and moving to Montreal for good. They're bringing their entire record collection with them -- so you know it's serious.
I drove downtown to get my festival pass. I watched the fog roll through the narrows and then turned the corner to Baird's Lane and suddenly there was my old friend Michelle (LV Tech Director par-excellence) running towards me, jumping into my arms.
It wasn't quite sunshine, but it would tide me over for a little while. I'd be gone in a week, and so I'd endure the grey for a little bit longer, as a treat.
I think it was around 2 or 3PM when the day took a turn. I looked outside, from my perch in the lobby of the Alt Hotel, and there it was ... once again.
The sun was back. It had never been so back. It was back like Backstreet was back. Again. And so was I.
I'd stay here forever if I could.
-Andrew Sampson