Postponed - In Conversation


Date: Jun 20
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Where: Theatre

A conversation with environmental artist, Marlene Creates and art educator, Anne Pickard, followed by an engaging question-and-answer.

Marlene is an accomplished and beloved artist who has helped build the arts community in our province since the 1980s. Among many honours, Marlene was invested into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2021, and was the recipient of the 2019 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for “Lifetime Artistic Achievement”.

Underlying all Marlene’s work has been an interest in place—not as a geographical location but as a process that involves layers of memory, multiple narratives, ecology, language, politics, emotions, and both scientific and vernacular knowledge. For the past 22 years she has worked with one specific place—the six-acre patch of old-growth boreal forest where she lives in Portugal Cove.

This is a free program but tickets are required.  Reserve your free ticket online or by calling (709)-757-8090.

Events & Programs

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Get to know the artifacts and material culture from The Rooms Collections better through drawing. This new weekly series is designed for creatives who want to sketch independently and draw from a unique collection of artifacts and objects from our six vaults.

Each session of Drawing from Our Collections will feature a new curated selection of artifacts and material culture from our extensive archives, art gallery, and museum vaults. It will be a rare opportunity to observe and draw from items that are not usually accessible to the public.

This series is for those comfortable with drawing independently in a supportive and engaging environment. Bring your sketchbook and pencils and join us for a creative adventure that will deepen your connection to art and history.

4 sessions: October 29, November 5, 12, and 19 from 2 – 4 pm

Cost: $80 plus HST for 4 sessions. 10% discount for Rooms members. OR can be purchased individually for $20 plus HST per session.

Suitable for ages 15 and up. Spaces are limited. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.

Prefer an evening time slot? There is also a 6:30 – 8:30 pm session offered.

6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Tour

Peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador

Stroll across land and sea, and through time, to meet the peoples who have made Newfoundland and Labrador home for the past 9,000 years.

Each tour is approximately 30 – 40 minutes and is included in the cost of admission. Free for Rooms members.

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Get to know the artifacts and material culture from The Rooms Collections better through drawing. This new weekly series is designed for creatives who want to sketch independently and draw from a unique collection of artifacts and objects from our six vaults.

Each session of Drawing from Our Collections will feature a new curated selection of artifacts and material culture from our extensive archives, art gallery, and museum vaults. It will be a rare opportunity to observe and draw from items that are not usually accessible to the public. Prepare to gain valuable knowledge about our collections along with others who are keen to draw, sketch, and learn.

This series is for those comfortable with drawing independently in a supportive and engaging environment. Bring your sketchbook and pencils and join us for a creative adventure that will deepen your connection to art and history.

4 sessions: October 29, November 5, 12, and 19 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Cost: $80 plus HST for 4 sessions. 10% discount for Rooms members. OR can be purchased individually for $20 plus HST per session.

Spaces are limited. Suitable for ages 15 and up. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.

Prefer an afternoon time slot? There is also a 2 – 4 pm session offered.

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Celebrating the release of two anticipated works of non-fiction from Breakwater Books, join authors Debbie McGee and Jen Winsor in conversation about the ups and downs of writing about personal relationships and representing real life in print. Debbie McGee’s intimate memoir Cautiously Pessimistic is one woman’s personal account of her husband’s death and what it means to die in the public eye. Jen Winsor’s collection Ship Moms tells the beautiful, complicated, behind-the-scenes stories of the lust, love, and pregnancy of cruise ship crew members and the babies they brought into the world.

This is a free event but a ticket is required. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.

Presented in partnership with Breakwater Books. Books will be available for sale in The Rooms Giftshop on Level 1.

About the Authors:

Debbie McGee made her first film in Vancouver in 1983, and her last film in St. John’s in 2013. In between those markers, she worked as a writer and director of short dramas and NFB documentaries before joining the Media Unit at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador as Producer/Director. She has been an active volunteer with arts organizations throughout her career, serving on many boards, juries, and councils. Debbie is a mother and a grandmother. She lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with her adorable puppy, Cammie.

Jen Winsor is an arts administrator who has worked in the Newfoundland and Labrador arts scene for almost 20 years, focusing on music and literature. Jen left the province to travel with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Arts and Entertainment Division, but her plans were cut short when she got pregnant, with a crew member 12 years younger than her. Returning to her home province, she happily became the Executive Director of WritersNL. When she’s not lost in a book or typing up funding applications, you’ll find her hiking the East Coast Trail, enjoying a drag show, or experiencing some live music. Jen lives in St. John’s with her son, Gabriel, and his Brazilian dad, Luiz.