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Eastern Edge Artist-Run Centre · 72 Harbour Drive, St. John’s, NL, Canada · 709 739 1882

About the Festival


HOLD FAST

HOLD FAST respectfully acknowledges that the land we are occupying is the unceded and ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and that Ktaqmkuk, known as the island of Newfoundland, is home to the Mi’kmaq peoples. We would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut, and the Innu of Nitassinan as the original peoples of Labrador.

We strive to move beyond acknowledgment to active solidarity, by building meaningful relationships in our communities, dismantling structures of white supremacy, and opposing ongoing colonization. We invite our communities to consider their own responsibilities to Indigenous peoples and to the stolen lands where we make our homes.

HOLD FAST Festival is a celebration of contemporary performance, interdisciplinary art, and community engagement in St. John’s, NL.

Our core values are:
  • Facilitating community engagement and meaningful exchange
  • Increasing public arts literacy
  • Creating opportunities for artists
  • Critiquing and subverting structural oppressions & systems of power, with emphasis on:
    • queer, feminist, and anti-racist perspectives
    • Newfoundland & Labrador regional identity
    • and Indigenous resistance to colonialism

HOLD FAST culminates in a Saturday afternoon Art Crawl, a series of performances, installations, and interactive pop-ups staged outdoors and in non-gallery venues across downtown St. John’s. Past programming has included performances, interactive installations, artist talks, workshops, dance, drag, burlesque, film screenings, and free community events for people of all ages.

https://www.facebook.com/holdfastfestival/

Elijah Martel, HOLD FAST Festival and Communications Coordinator

Elijah Martel is a multidisciplinary artist, zinester, and storyteller. Originally from Seattle, they grew up performing at regional and international storytelling festivals. Their work, informed by by an interest in narrative and Jewish folklore, explores world-building, memory, queerness, and relationships to land through a lens of diaspora and cultural exchange.

Elijah holds a BA in Latin American Studies and Film from Bowdoin College. As a 2013 Fulbright grantee, they spent a year teaching in Argentina, and went on to work in Mexico, Turkey, and Mongolia. They attended North Seattle College as a nontraditional student, graduating with an AFA and League for Innovation award in printmaking. Elijah also serves on the board at St. Michael’s Printshop.
Contact: eeholdfast@gmail.com

Kelly Lewis, HOLD FAST 2024 Festival Assistant

Kelly Lewis is a stage manager and arts administrator who hails from North Bay, Ontario. She holds a diploma in Dance Performance from the Holland College School of Performing Arts, and recently graduated from Memorial University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a diploma in Stage and Screen Technique. She has worked with various arts organizations such as Business and Arts NL, Shakespeare by the Sea, and St. John’s Shorts. Kelly is a strong believer that art is a powerful tool for community building and she enjoys working with creatives from all walks of life. She is delighted to be working on this year’s Hold Fast Festival!
Contact: eeholdfast@gmail.com

Mal Parrott, HOLD FAST 2023 Festival Assistant

Mal Parrott is a performer, artist, choreographer, and arts administrator originally from Conception Bay South, now living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Since graduating from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2019 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, they seek out any and all ways to bring their administrative skills to arts and performance spaces. They moonlight as a drag performer/host and St. John’s beloved genderbending goblin, Madame Daddy – the resident father figure of the city’s most iconic drag collective, the Phlegm Fatales. They are a big fan of horror movies, cooking, being loudly and unapologetically queer, and the sea.

 

Contact: eeholdfast@gmail.com

 

 

 

HOLD FAST is funded by Canadian Heritage.