castles in the sky

From the Marquise de Rambouillet's fabled 'chambre bleue' to the mystical muskoka island evoked by Lucy Maud Montgomery and Phebe Florence Miller's Newfoundland outport salon of the same name....to a new series of monthly presentations and conversations on the role of women in the production and dissemination of culture throughout history

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Writing Sheilagh's Brush: Making the Invisible Visible


WRITING SHEILAGH'S BRUSH:
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE


The last Blue Castle event of this season! Author
Maura Hanrahan shares the writing process behind her award-winning first novel, Sheilagh's Brush.

Note: Location is different from our usual location!

Monday, April 23 at 8 pm
Sally Davis Seminar Room (SN4087)
Memorial University

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Pin the Tale on the Witch


The Blue Castle presents:

PIN THE TALE ON THE WITCH

Tuesday, March 6 at 8 pm at The Ship


Barbara Rieti, author of Strange Terrain: The Fairy World in Newfoundland and Making Witches: Newfoundland Traditions of Spells and Counterspells will discuss her work on narrative and belief about witches and the bewitched - real people in twentieth-century Newfoundland.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Women's Respect, Women's Rights

On November 15, The Blue Castle welcomes MUN doctoral student and Trudeau fellow, Leila Qashu. Leila will discuss Ateetee, a musical conflict resolution ritual undertaken by Arsi Oromo women in Ethiopia. Although these women are excluded from many male spaces, activities and political decisions, they secure and assert their power by creating their own social spaces and by interacting with the male social order through such media as musical conflict resolution rituals. Leila will explain the ritual through stories, musical, video and pictorial examples from her fieldwork.

Leila Qashu is a doctoral candidate in Ethnomusicology at MUN. She has studied and worked in Canada, Africa and Europe. Outside her studies, Leila plays viola in the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.


Women's Respect, Women's Rights
Ateetee, a vernacular conflict resolution ritual

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 at 8 pm
The Ship (265 Duckworth Street)





Monday, March 14, 2011

Fast Talk about Body Image

The Blue Castle welcomes St. John's artist, Pam Hall, for an unrehearsed, interactive multi-vocal community reading of part of her long term performance activism project around re-writing the female body.

Over 150 women from across North America have offered their insights into the phrase, "I feel beautiful when..." Join us in reading their words while also contributing your own!


Fast Talk about Body Image
Tuesday, April 26 at 8 pm !!!NOTE DATE CHANGE!!!
The Ship (265 Duckworth Street)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Je me souviens: memories of an expatriate anglophone, montréalaise, québecoise exiled in Canada

MUN students, faculty and community members present a public reading of Lorena Gales acclaimed dramatic monologue, Je me souviens, an autobiographical meditation on nation, language, identity, and the complexities of belonging. Challenging, provocative, thoughtful and intimate, this Governor General’s Award nominated play is also a love song for Québec. This is also our opportunity to remember Lorena Gale, a formidable Canadian actor and writer who died in Vancouver in June 2009, aged 53.

Tuesday, March 8 at 8 pm
The Ship (265 Duckworth Street)

Monday, March 22, 2010

To Marguerite....

The Blue Castle and St. John’s Status of Women Council present:

To Marguerite...
A collaborative fundraising concert in support of Marguerite’s Place


Why listen to Johann, Georg, Frideric or Sebastian when you can join us instead for an evening with Anna, Elisabeth, a princess, a duchess and a few widows? Enjoy splendid, sophisticated and sensuous 18th century music for flute and harpsichord by...

Anna Bon di Venezia, an Italian composer born to Russian parents. This musical wunderkind disappeared from historical records as soon as she married. Her works are original and sophisticated.

Elisabeth de la Guerre, née Jacquet, was highly regarded by the French court and by her peers for her remarkable playing and variety of compositions.

Anna Amalia, Princess of Prussia, the younger sister of Frederick the Great, for whom her work was no doubt composed.

The program also includes compositions by men whose music was engraved, published and supported by women ...

A sonata for flute by Michel Blavet, dedicated to his patron La Duchesse de Bouillon.

A work by Jean-Marie Leclair, engraved by his wife, Louise Roussel,, dedicated to Madame la Princesse D’Orange and sold by Madame Boivin..

This benefit concert for Marguerite’s Place features Sonja Boon, baroque flute, and Mary O’Keeffe, harpsichord. Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Women's Studies at Memorial University, Sonja Boon is also an accomplished early musician whose professional career has included eight years as soloist and principal flutist with the Portland Baroque Orchestra (Oregon, USA). She was Artistic Director of The Burney Ensemble from 1998-2005. Harpsichordist Mary O'Keeffe performs in solo and chamber music recitals, and has appeared as soloist with the NSO Sinfonia. She is a cofounder of the Hot Earth Ensemble, a group dedicated primarily to presenting concerts of music of the 17th and 18th centuries.

All proceeds from this concert will go to Marguerite’s Place, a new facility which will offer supportive housing and affordable, fully accessible programming in a women-centred environment. This facility is named in memory of Marguerite Dyson, a friend and volunteer.

To Marguerite...
Friday, April 23 at 8 pm
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (entrance on Cornwall Crescent)
Admission: $20 general, $10 student, $50 (with $30 tax receipt)
Tickets: St. John’s Women’s Centre (Tel: 753-0220), The Travel Bug (155 Water) or at the door.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Forgetting...but not Forgotten

For the past year, Megan Morrison, from MUN's Department of Women's Studies, has woven in and out of conversation with and about women living with late-stage dementia. As a researcher, she had to step out of her comfort zone in order ot hear and see what was being communicated. Over time, she learned to express herself through art, music and writing. Over time, these women learned to express themselves in whatever ways they can. Without relying on words, these five elderly women have taught Megan about who they are. Through story and song, she will share this experience with us.

Perhaps you will find yourself within the stories...or wanting to share your own.

Forgetting...but not Forgotten
Tuesday, March 9 at 8 pm
The Ship (265 Duckworth Street)


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Coming up in April:

To Marguerite....
A collaborative fundraising concert presented in conjunction with the St. John's Status of Women Council in support of Marguerite's Place

Why listen to Johann, Georg, Frideric or Sebastian...when you can join us instead for an evening with Anna, Elisabeth, the Duchess and a few widows? Sonja Boon (baroque flute) and Mary O'Keeffe (harpsichord) whisk you away to the eighteenth century for a program of music written, engraved, published and supported by women.

All proceeds from this concert will go to Marguerite's Place.

To Marguerite...
Friday, April 23 at 8 pm
St. Mary the Virgin Church (entrance on Cornwall Crescent)
Tickets: $20 (general), $10 (student), $50 (with $30 tax receipt)
Available at: St. John's Women's Centre (150 Lemarchant), The Travel Bug (155 Water Street) or at the door.

For more information about the concert call: 737-2551.