Award-winning singer-songwriter Missy Knott from Curve Lake First Nation and Cobourg-based poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist Meredith K. Hoogendam (Katie/Merkat) will be featured at the Art Gallery of Northumberland on Thursday, November 17th, for the gallery’s Spotlight Series 4 annual arts education fundraiser.
This is the second instalment of the fourth Spotlight Series, which brings together music, multimedia, poetry, performance, and the visual arts. The series returned in June as an in-person event featuring Port Hope musician and award-winning author Ted Staunton and Quinte Symphony concertmaster and touring violinist, fiddler, and composer David Shewchuk.
“The return of Spotlight Series to an in-person event in June was such a success and everyone who attended could feel a real sort of invigoration in the room,” says Olinda Casimiro, executive director of the Art Gallery of Northumberland, in a media release. “The Art Gallery of Northumberland is excited to welcome our fall instalment with two extremely talented performers.”
Missy Knott (Singing Wild Rice Girl) is an award-winning singer-songwriter known for her rich vocal tone and blend of country, pop, and folk, whose 2021 single “Our Song Acoustic” made it to #3 on the Indigenous Music Countdown on Sirius XM. She is also a mother, business owner, educational assistant, and active member of Curve Lake First Nation. In 2018, Knott founded her Wild Rice Records label in Nogojiwanong-Peterborough and then accepted jobs as an afternoon drive and weekend live radio personality at ELMNT FM in Ottawa and Toronto.
Meredith K. Hoogendam (Katie/Merkat) is a published poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Cobourg. She has also been a high school teacher and a local community radio host and producer. She holds B.A.s in English, Communicationsl and Education and an M.A. in English and Film Studies. Folklore, feminism, archetype, and the natural world informs her work, which has appeared in publications across the U.S. and Canada including Room Magazine, Geez Magazine, Mutha and catapult, and more.
At November 17th Spotlight Series 4 event, both Knott and Hoogendam will transform a one-hour ‘blank slate’ into a unique presentation of their story, passion, and process. There will be an intermission between the performers and an interactive question-and-answer session with the audience at the end.
Tickets are $25 (including HST) and are available now at eventbrite.ca/e/448728277357. All funds raised from the event will go towards specialized arts education community programming for children, adults, and seniors.
Light catering and refreshments will be included. Organizers say health and safety precautions will be implemented and ask those who do not feel well to stay home.
The Art Gallery of Northumberland is located on the third floor of Victoria Hall at 55 King Street West in Cobourg.
