Date: Sep 19
2:30 pm
- 3:30 pm
Where: Theatre
In Conversation: Marlene Creates and Anne Pickard
Works from Blast Hole Pond Road
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, she was the recipient of a 2019 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for “Lifetime Artistic Achievement”, and she received an Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from Memorial University in 2024.
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 event but a ticket is required. Please reserve your free ticket online or by calling (709)757-8090.
Join us for an unforgettable afternoon with Gemma Hickey, renowned author, humanitarian, and architect of change.
Gemma does not simply tell stories; they move systems. From quiet rooms to global stages, grassroots movements to halls of power, Gemma’s voice has challenged governments, confronted the Catholic Church, and amplified the rights and recognition of marginalized communities worldwide. Their art and advocacy rise from lived experience, razor-sharp insight, and a wit that disarms even as it demands attention.
In this candid conversation, Gemma reflects on childhood, gender fluidity, and a life lived beyond the boundaries others tried to impose. Anchored by the enduring love of their Nan, these stories trace a powerful arc; from vulnerability to resilience, silence to truth, survival to change, and show how one voice, spoken without fear or apology, can echo far beyond the room, changing lives, laws, and futures at home and beyond.
The event includes a live audience Q&A. Includes admission to the exhibition Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works.
Tickets: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.