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Three local artists join the ranks on the Sackville Arts Wall

A row of plaques on black stands on the edge of a sidewalk next to a green lawn. A man halfway down the row leans over to read a plaque.
The Sackville Arts Wall (it used to be a wall) on Main Street in Sackville. Photo by Erica Butler.
Erica Butler - CHMA - Sackville • NB | 17-10-2023
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Since 2008, Sackville’s Arts Wall has been honouring local artists who have made an impact at the regional, national or international level, and those who have helped to build the cultural and artistic life of the town. Last week, three more names were added to the distinguished assembly: Janet Crawford, Marilyn Lerch, and Dan Steeves.

CHMA spoke with all three new inductees, and brings you their voices as they talk about their work and their love for the cultural life of Sackville.

Literary Arts honoree: Marilyn Lerch

Poet Marilyn Lerch at home in her writing studio. Photo: Erica Butler

After a full career as an educator in the United States, Marilyn Lerch moved to Sackville in 1996 and took up her lifelong passion of writing poetry. Many acclaimed collections of poems later, Lerch is a respected cultural force and societal critic. She served as Poet Laureate of Sackville for four years from 2014 to 2018, and led the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick for four years from 2006 to 2010. Most recently, she published a collaborative work called Disharmonies, with fellow Sackville poet Geordie Miller, printed by letterpress artist Keagan Hawthorne.

In a conversation with CHMA, Lerch talked about the origins of her second career in the literary arts:

Visual Arts: Dan Steeves

Intaglio printmaker Dan Steeves dropped by the CHMA studios to talk about his new place on the Sackville Arts Wall. Photo: Erica Butler

Dan Steeves first came to Sackville as a student. Though he intended to move on, he ended up staying to raise a family and build his art practice, while also teaching printmaking and serving as printmaking technician at Mount Allison. Steeves’ work has been acquired by public and private collections throughout Canada and the world, and his shows have also taken him around the world. In 2009, he received the New Brunswick Strathbutler Award for Excellence in the Arts, and in 2011, he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

In this interview with CHMA, Steeves talks about how he came to choose intaglio printmaking as his artform:

Arts Builder: Janet Crawford

Janet Crawford in a sunny corner of the Fog Forest Gallery on Bridge Street. Photo: Erica Butler

Next year, Janet Crawford will celebrate 40 years presenting artworks as curator of Fog Forest Gallery, a pursuit that began in a variety of spaces before finding a home on Bridge Street in Sackville. Crawford is also a creator in her own right as a visual artist and musician, and last year released a record with Ray Legere featuring songs dedicated to Sackville’s manufacturing heyday, called Foundry Town. Crawford says she’s someone who likes to “get things started,” and as such is honoured to be named to the wall as an arts builder, a role where she finds much joy and satisfaction.

In this interview with CHMA, she talks about the importance of tending the cultural infrastructure that allows Sackville’s cultural scenes to thrive.