“It gives us a solid foundation”.
Those were the words spoken by Nadene Theriault-Copeland, the Executive Director of New Adventures in Sound Art, at the official opening of NAISA's new home in South River.
The sound art facility has been in South River for seven years continuously providing the public with exhibits that have different sounds associated with the various artworks.
However, during those seven years, the owners have also been on the constant lookout for a permanent home.
They finally found it at 313 Highway 124 in South River after buying and renovating a building owned by the municipality.
Thanks to securing a $160,000 mortgage from the Community Forward Fund, an organization that provides financing needs to non-profit groups and charities, NAISA was able to buy the town-owned building and convert it into a sound art gallery.
Prior to the municipality taking over the empty building, it earlier served as a real estate office.
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Theriault-Copeland and South River town councillor Teri Brandt cut the ribbon to officially open the gallery on January 17th which also includes an internet cafe.
The renovations cost $85,000.
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation covered $47,000 of that cost with the remainder to be paid from a surplus NAISA has been able to accumulate over the last several years plus donations from its supporters.
NAISA is expected to have a dozen sound-themed exhibits spread throughout 2023 in addition to hosting small concerts.
One of the current displays is the Sound of Tree Rings exhibit.
It was created by Simon Lysander Overstall from Vancouver.
Using part of a cedar tree that was downed during a windstorm in 2006, Lysander Overstall has been able to compose music from the cedar's tree rings.
NAISA is a non-profit media arts organization.
It displays sound art from a variety of artists who work with experimental sound art and electro-acoustics where an electric signal is converted into an acoustical signal or vice versa.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
