NAC unveils full Prairie Scene lineup

The National Arts Centre has released the full lineup for Prairie Scene, a multidisciplinary art festival in the National Capital Region.

The new events revealed Monday include an art gallery crawl, a multimedia performance by Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin, a play based on the life of Joni Mitchell and a performance by blues-rock trio Wide Mouth Mason.

"The National Arts Centre is very proud to be producing Prairie Scene and to act as a catalyst for the performing arts in Canada," NAC President and CEO Peter Herrndorf said in a written release.

"We offer a warm, open-arms welcome to the artists of Saskatchewan and Manitoba."

Prairie Scene is the fifth in a series of national festivals produced by the NAC that showcases the wealth of arts and culture in different regions of the country. Previous festivals include Atlantic Scene, Alberta Scene, Quebec Scene and BC Scene.

The festival, this year devoted to acts from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, will feature more than 500 artists and 80 events. The festival will include music, theatre, dance, visual and media arts, literature, film and culinary arts.

Prairie Scene is the largest gathering of Prairie artists ever assembled outside of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

"We know we have wonderful artists here," said Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.

"This festival is a tremendous opportunity for artists to receive both national and international attention through the presenters program, and we wish them well as they walk on stage and receive the applause from the whole country."

Prairie Scene aims to feature established artists, including Colin James and Brent Butt, and give audiences an opportunity to discover up-and-coming artists within the Saskatchewan and Manitoba arts scene.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with the National Arts Centre in this, our fifth Scene festival together," said Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.

"CBC/Radio-Canada takes a lot of pride in the role it plays showcasing the huge talent that this country has to offer. And what better time to be doing this than as we prepare to mark the 75th anniversary of Canada's national public broadcaster."

Sponsor controversy

Prairie Scene drew criticism earlier this year when a group of artists banded together to protest the fact oil and gas giant Enbridge was a major sponsor of the festival.

Prairie Artists Against Enbridge sent an email to the NAC denouncing the company's role.

"As Canada's foremost showcase for the performing arts, the National Arts Centre should choose sponsors that help to promote its values as an innovator in community programming. Partnering with Enbridge Pipelines tarnishes that image with the company's disastrous environmental record," read the letter, signed by dozens of local musicians including Manitoba punk rockers Propagandhi, alt-rockers The Weakerthans and Winnipeg's Troy Westwood.

The letter was also endorsed by several NGOs, including the Sierra Club Prairie, Corporate Ethics International and the Polaris Institute.

However, an NAC spokesperson said at the time it would nearly impossible to pull off an event of this scale without public and private partnerships.

Prairie Scene is scheduled for April 26 to May 8, 2011, throughout the National Capital Region.