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.
- 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.
Donate to HOLD FAST
Shireen Merchant, HOLD FAST Festival Coordinator
Shireen Merchant is an emerging photographer and arts administrator based in Newfoundland and Labrador. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and has over three years of experience in arts programming, exhibition support, and community engagement. Her professional practice includes roles at Eastern Edge Artist-Run Centre and Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios, where she has contributed to program development, artist support, and strategic communications, including leading initiatives that significantly expanded digital audience reach. Merchant has also worked extensively as a photographer, documenting major arts events such as the HOLD FAST Festival, Sustainable Fibre Arts Conference and has served on programming committees and juries for exhibitions, residencies, and festivals. Her work is grounded in a commitment to collaborative, community-focused arts practice.
HOLD FAST is funded by Canadian Heritage.
