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Artist, Writer DavidWoods awarded 2016Harry Jerome Award
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s multi-disciplinary artist and organization leader David Woods has beenhonoured with the 2016 Harry Jerome Award for Arts and Entertainment by the Black Businessand Professional Association of Toronto (BBPA). This is recognition of Woods lifelong workarticulating and presenting African Nova Scotian and African Canadian history and culture inpoetry, plays, painting, storytelling, acting, curating, and organization leadership; as well as hiscontributions to Canadian drama, poetry and visual art.
David Woods was born in Trinidad in 1959 and immigrated to Dartmouth in 1972 with his parentsand four siblings. He attended Dalhousie University (1977-80) initially planning to study law, but asummer spent working with children from Preston at a cultural summer camp in Truro transformedWoods. After the camp ended many of the children insisted Woods visit them in their homecommunities in Cherry Brook, East Preston and North Preston. Woods did and was embraced bythe children’s families and soon became part of the fabric of the Preston communities. Woodstutored students, got young people involved in drama, and created organizations like Youth onThe Move, but most of all he found a home for his creative talents.
Woods was well read in Black history and culture at an early age and he saw much in Preston’shistory and culture that was unrecognized and uncelebrated. There were the residual antebellumAmerican south cultural practices: the ‘Gullah talk’ and nicknaming traditions of North Preston,‘The Shout’ (a derivative of the ‘Ring Shout’ religious dance from the Georgia Sea Islands) and‘Seeking’ (a religious practice where Baptism candidates are sent into the woods to receive avision from God). There were also wonderful oral histories such as the story of Richard Preston(1791-1861) a ‘runaway slave’ from Virginia who was re-united with his mother in Preston andbecame one of the province’s great religious and social leaders. And there was gospel, blues,country and western music played in kitchens, and grand quilts and baskets made by the women.And Woods began dreaming of presenting Preston’s story to a larger audience.
Woods would get his first chance with the Black United Front (BUF)– a noted Black communitypolitical and social advocacy organization in the 1980’s. In 1981 Woods was offered a job asProgram Director for Youth Programs with BUF. One of his first tasks was to design a programexposing children of mixed backgrounds and Black children growing up in white foster homes toBlack culture and history. However, Woods argued to the BUF Director that it was not onlychildren of these targeted groups who were uneducated to Black history and culture, but also allBlack children growing up in the city. Woods converted the BUF program to a citywide initiative. Inorder to reach as many youth as possible, he established his program at local high schools wherehe would have access to Back youth from multiple backgrounds, especially those who livedoutside of Black communities. Within a year, Woods organized 7 cultural youth groups at highschools in Cole Harbour, Dartmouth, central Halifax, Fairview, Spryfield and Bedford and his firstpublic initiative flourished. Woods’ programming mantra was that youth would learn their history
Cast of Woods’ play Once: Africville StoriesBest Drama, Best Script Awards 2015 AtlanticFringe Festival
Woods’ The Young Mother- acrylic 2000
Africville Suite by Joe Sealy1996 Juno Best Contemporary Jazz RecordingWoods provided cover art, spoken word pieces
GALLERYPhoto by Russel Wyse
Woods’s acclaimed collection of poetry1990 (First edition), 2009 (Second edition)
Voices Black Theatre Ensembleorganized by Woods in 1990
In this Place Anna Leonowens Gallery 1998The first exhibition of African Nova Scotian art
and culture not in static lectures and presentations but ‘by doing’ and so he organized a rigorousand competitive program of inter-group activities and competitions for the groups to take part inincluding Black History quiz and debating tournaments, provincial and national youth conferences,and community exchange trips. Along the way, youth not only learned history and culture but alsolearned to be leaders. After BUF controversially dropped his popular program, Woods gatheredsupport from community professionals and the Halifax North Branch Library and organized theyouth groups into an independent society named the Cultural Awareness Youth Group of NovaScotia (CAYG). With Woods at its helm as director, CAYG became a cultural force for youth in thecity. The membership swelled to 200 with new chapters of the organization established as faraway as Guysborough County and St. John, New Brunswick. In addition to their previous slate ofcultural and leadership activities, the organization added public events including Black HistoryMonth Programs, an annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday and legacy, BlackYouth Today- a youth TV show on Dartmouth Cable TV and even annual Dartmouth Natal Dayparade floats. CAYG’s importance became obvious when in 1985 (International Year of Youth) thethen Minister for the Department of Secretary of State selected ten prominent Canadian youthleaders for national leadership awards and two of those named were CAYG members (KarenHudson, Cherry Brook and Doug Sparks, Dartmouth). Also in 1985, CAYG was awarded theCommonwealth Youth Service Award by the Commonwealth Secretariat in Edinburgh, Scotland,recognizing the organization as one of the most innovative youth service agencies in theCommonwealth.
Woods left CAYG in 1989 to focus on his art and writing. In 1990 he published Native Song- acollection of poetry and paintings (Pottersfield Press). The book was an instant bestseller andDartmouth Book award nominee. It also became a curriculum text for several high schools anduniversity English courses in the province in the years following its publication. Native Song alsointroduced Woods artistry to national audiences as well as to other artists and performers acrossthe country. Soon Woods was collaborating and creating work for several noted performers andarts groups including actress, vocalist Jackie Richardson; jazz composer, bandleader Joe Sealy;classical chorale Nathaniel Dett Chorale; and Black Theatre West- a contemporary theatrecompany in Vancouver. His paintings were exhibited in galleries in Halifax, Montreal and Toronto.He became a popular presenter in literary and storytelling festivals across Canada including theVancouver Storytelling Festival and Labrador Arts Festival. And his poetry and stories werepublished in literary anthologies and school textbooks in both Canada and Europe. In 1990, CBCRadio broadcast Woods’ play on Africville Part of The Deal nationally, and this first radio dramaproduction was followed by several more over the next decade including The Aunt Jemima Story(1993), Once: Africvile Stories (1996) and Home (2000).
In 1998, Woods was asked to organize an exhibition of Black Nova Scotian artists by AnnaLeonowens Gallery, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD). The Gallery expected a smallexhibition of works by 5-6 Black NSCAD graduates, however Woods used the opportunity toresearch and document art from Black communities across the province eventually collecting 150pieces of artwork from 44 living and deceased artists for his exhibition. The resulting exhibition, InThis Place: Black Art in Nova Scotia (curated by Woods and Dr. Harold Pearse of NSCAD), brokethe then attendance record at Anna Leonowens Gallery and later toured several galleries aroundthe province. Woods promoted the careers of several young artists discovered in thisgroundbreaking exhibition including painters Justin Augustine (Hfx), Chrystal Clements (GibsonWoods) and quiltmaker Myla Borden (New Glasgow). He also brought attention to older anddeceased Black art pioneers who were largely unknown prior to In This Place including AudreyDear-Hesson (1928-) the first Black graduate of the Arts College of Nova Scotia (1953); EdwardMitchell Bannister (1828-1901)- a New Brunswick born American painter, photographer who in1876 became the first artist of African descent to win a major art prize in North America (FirstPlace Bronze medallion, Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia); and Edith MacDonald Brown(c.1880-1955) an Africville painter. In 2006 Woods was appointed Associate Curator of AfricanNova Scotian art at the Art Gallery of Nova where he spearheaded two important projects: thepurchase a painting by Edward Mitchell Bannister for the gallery’s permanent collection (RiverScene oil on canvas 1988) and bringing an exhibition by Mary Bendolph of the famed Gees Bendquiltmakers of Alabama to the gallery (Mary Bendolph: Gee’s Bend Quilts and Beyond 2007).
Other achievements by Woods include organizing the first African Heritage Month public programin the province (1984); founding the Preston Cultural Festival (2001); establishing B Space- the firstAfrican Nova Scotian visual art gallery (2002), directing and acting in several award-winning playsincluding Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead (Dunn Theatre 1981), Nova Scotia Suite (RebeccaCohn Auditorium 1995); and helping organize a number of arts and cultural associations acrossthe province including the Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia, Black History Month Association,North Preston Cultural Association, Preston Cultural Festival Society, Vale Quilters Association ofNew Glasgow and Voices Black Theatre Ensemble.
Vale Quiltmakers, New GlasgowMuseum of Industry, Stellarton NS 2007One of several arts groups organized by Woods
Woods performing Nova Scotia Hymns a spoken word performance piece with vocalistJeremiah Sparks, Halifax Central Library 1996
Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King JrCultural Awareness Youth Group Parade Floatdesigned by Woods. Dartmouth Natal Day 1984
Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, Dunn Theatre, Hfx 1981Woods’ first professional acting performance
“Woods by both passion and ingenuity is able to create powerful artwork and performance thataffects people of all backgrounds and yet stays connected to everyday people and life of NovaScotia’s Black communities.” Dr. Harold Pearse, former Associate Dean of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, co-curator In This Place exhibition
“David Woods is driven by his love and dedication to the Black communities. His work bringingaspects of African Nova Scotian art and culture to the forefront has been astonishing. Through hisinvolvement of youth in organizations such as the Cultural Awareness Youth Group, Voices BlackTheatre, Preston Cultural Festival many leaders have taken shape and later became lawyers,educators, politicians, actors, artists etc. David is still inspiring and developing youth including myson Kyrel and niece Letitia who are currently studying at the Nova Scotia Arts and Design Collegein Halifax in large part because of Woods’ influence.” Viola Fraser, North Preston Recreation Centre, Co-founder North Preston Cultural Association
Woods is essentially a self-educated artist, but never doubted his ability to create work in differentdisciplines at a very high level. He has been studying and creating art, literature and drama sincechildhood and explains his early art education process and learning regimen:“I had an Uncle who understood my strong creative sensibilities and at a very early age he broughtme books on literature, art and drama. He also took me to art galleries and to drama and musicalconcerts. I was so entranced by these windows to a greater life, I began learning and practicingthe various artforms he exposed me to every night while the rest of my family slept. I remember mysisters used to make fun of me because I would file my ‘nightly creations’ (hundreds of drawings,watercolours, poems and other writings) in empty cornflakes boxes. I continued this nightlyregimen into my early twenties and when I was called to use my creativity in service of thecommunity, expressing through multiple artforms seemed natural to me”.
Woods’ influences include Athol Fugard, Harold Pinter, August Wilson (theatre), Romaire Bearden,Picasso, Lorna Simpson (visual art), James Joyce, Thomas Mann, VS Naipaul (novel, short fiction)Bertolt Brecht, Ezra Pound, Ntzake Shange, Derek Walcott (poetry).
And Woods’ many awards attest to his versatility. He has won awards for poetry (Nova ScotiaPoetry Award 1989, National Black Poetry Competition 1998), drama (George Elliot Clarke LiteraryAward 1997), visual arts (Canada Millennium Arts Award 2000) and organization leadership (BahaiCommunity Spirit Award, Black Cultural Centre Recognition Award, George Dixon CentreRecognition Award). He has also contributed writings, drama and artwork to projects that havebeen awarded the Gemini Award (Speak It –a documentary by Sylvia Hamilton 1993) and the JunoAward (Africville Suite by Joe Sealy Best Contemporary Jazz Recording 1996).
Woods continues his exceptional ‘multi-arts work’. He just completed the first draft of The Price ofThe Ticket– a collection stories on northend Halifax in the 1930’s-40’s. He is currently researchingExtraordinary Acts- a new play exploring the Black community’s experiences during the 1917Halifax Explosion that he hopes to produce for the Halifax Explosion Centenary in 2017. Later thissummer he will present The Canaan Storytellers- a new storytelling troupe consisting of fivestorytellers including Woods and featuring 90 year-old Dr. Wanda Robson- Viola Desmond’syoungest surviving sister. Finally in early May, Voices Theatre will be taking a revival of hismultiple-award winning play Once: Africville Stories on provincial tour.
The Harry Jerome Award is the premier award recognizing African Canadian achievement. TheAward was founded in 1989 and is administered by the BBPA. The award is named for HarryJerome (1940-82, b. Prince Albert, Sask) an outstanding Black Canadian track athlete whocompeted in the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics and during his career set a total sevenworld records in the 100 yard and 100 metres sprint and 4 x 100 m relay.
Woods was nominated for the Harry Jerome Award by Dr. Afua Cooper, Department of Sociologyand Endowed Professor, James R. Johnston Chair of African Studies, Dalhousie University withwhom he has done several recent research and performance projects. He will be presented withhis award at The 34th Annual BBPA Harry Jerome Awards Gala on Saturday, April 23rd, at theMetro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario.
CONTACT INFORMATION:- David Woods 902 430-3560- Photos [email protected] Award sponsors [email protected] Nominator Dr. Afua Cooper, Dalhousie University [email protected] Harry Jerome Award Ceremony [email protected]
