Haney Residency

Artist Kathryn Wahamaa at Haney Residency

Location: 11630 224 Street, Maple Ridge

Kat Wahamaa’s work has spanned over 40 years – artist, activist, singer, songwriter, community adventurer, actor, dancer, and poet. Her reverence for nature and water, life’s fundamental building block, are manifested in her photographs, multi-media collage and music. Happily ensconced in the historic Port Haney area artist residence overlooking the Fraser, her three year term began in April 2014.

Wahamaa seeks connection with people through sharing in art making and performance. She has discovered through her community conversations that water is also of great concern to citizens in Maple Ridge and through music, theatre and visual art is collaborating with them to map ways to address those concerns and daylight the stream.

Follow her progress and activities on her website or email Kat Wahamaa.

Residency Projects 2018:

Kat will be working on the following projects in 2018:

• Positive Resistance Community Quilt - Quilt square painting sessions (no sewing experience needed) will be held at the artist residence, and many other locations throughout the city in 2018.
• Maple Ridge Earth Day – Make It, Grow It, Fix It, Share It
• Coordinating Tinkerbell’s Corner - repurposing items to make art, jewelry, sculpture etc., as part of the Repair Café initiative
• River Songs & Stories - Kat will again be collaborating with fellow artist in residence Robi Smith and working with community to expand on this production and craft a narrative performance for the 2018 finale as part of the river of Light Lantern installation in September.
• Home is Where the HeArt Is - As with her community project Waterbody, explore issues of homelessness through dialogue, art workshops, and the creation of performance pieces to be shared during Homelessness Awareness Week in October 2018.
• Since 2016, every third Tuesday of the month Kat and her partner Tony Rees have hosted the Song Circle Cafe at CEED Centre Neighbourhood house from 7-9pm. These relaxed music sessions continue in 2018.

Residency Projects 2017:

In 2017, Kat could be found volunteering with the Coldest Night of the Year, Maple Ridge Earth Day, River Songs & Stories, as well as the Blue Monday arts sessions, which generated a series of paintings by local shelter residents. She contributed to the Canada 150 projects, including: working with students at local elementary schools to design new artwork for street banners and engaging community members.

Kat plans to continue to work with the CEED Center, promote positive action through her Positive Resistance Community Quilt, and expand the River Songs & Story series.

Residency Projects 2016:

In 2016 Kat continues to expand the discourse on water begun with WaterBody and work with community members through visualization and music to capture their fears, hopes, and dreams about water in words/text on a series of ephemeral banners and river stones that will make up elements of this growing art installation/musical production. She is also inviting community members to identify their favourite water soundscapes around the community in order to map those sacred spaces and add another layer of aural meaning to the project.

Kat will continue to host art and music making workshops at her Port Haney Studio, CEED Centre, libraries and other locations, and can also be found performing at local festivals and events.

Residency Projects 2015:

Kat teamed up with Lina Azeez of Watershed Watch Salmon Society to facilitate a series of community dialogues on water. She composed a piece of music, engaged a group of community members and worked with them to create the performance art piece WaterBody and coordinated the World Water Day event at which WaterBody debuted on March 22, 2015.

As a local BC Culture Days Ambassador Kat facilitated Where The Light Gets In, a series of free photo/collage art workshops leading up to an exhibition for Culture Days at The ACT Arts Centre on September 27. Kat also produced the Outdoor Community Artline, monthly Songwriter Circles at the CEED Centre and facilitated art projects for Earth Day and GETI Fest. With the WaterBody Collective, she coordinated River Songs & Stories at the Haney Wharf for Rivers Day and Culture Days which included fellow artists in residence Robi Smith and Rebecca Fisher.