A live presentation at North Battleford Comprehensive High School Thursday afternoon featured two aboriginal artists and activists, hip-hop artist and poet Brad Bellegarde and independent producer and filmmaker Marcel Petit.
Their presentation before Grade 9 students at NBCHS was entitled "Living History - Understanding Our Treaty Relationships" and was broadcast through the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education LIVE Network to other participating classrooms in the province.
Bellegarde, a student at the First Nations University of Canada, is a member of the Little Black Bear First Nation and grew up in Regina. As a hip hop artist, he was selected by the Saskatchewan Arts Board to perform for the 2009 Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver, B.C. He has a keen interest in television and radio journalism and his goal is to be an on-air personality.
Petit is an independent producer, filmmaker, photographer and community activist from Saskatoon, where he runs his independent production company m.pet productions.
LIVE Arts is a program supported by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskCulture and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education in partnership with host school divisions, including Living Sky School Division. It supports the Saskatchewan Arts Education curriculum in drama, dance, music and visual arts with broadcasts delivered by professional artists aimed at engaging students from across the province with an interactive and instructive learning experience.
LIVE Arts also uses web-conferencing software to allow students to connect with the guest artists during the program times through Adobe Connect.
The program has its roots in a 2005 Artist in the School distance education pilot program hosted by Regina Catholic Schools. It has evolved to respond to needs of Saskatchewan teachers and the new Saskatchewan Arts Curriculum.
During the 2011-2012 school year 78 Saskatchewan teachers participated in LIVE Arts programs and there were 4,666 student participants.
