ABOUT HOLY CROW ARTS
ABOUT HOLY CROW
MANDATE
Holy Crow Arts Society is to support Justin Neal (Squamish) in the creation and production of theatrical plays, community-engaged projects, creative collaboration projects, and commissions.
MISSION
Named for the deep affinity that Justin Neal has for this clever, and at times haunting bird, Holy Crow Arts is committed to undertaking projects that support the research and creation of Neal’s artistic voice and support the development of production and touring of his original theatrical works and collaborative artistic projects. Holy Crow Arts supports the development of educational workshops and community-engaged projects offered and developed by Justin Neal, or other like-minded performance partners in and around the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).
ARTISTIC VISION
Holy Crow was created out of Justin Neal’s desire to address the dearth of contemporary & honest Indigenous characters on stage.
Holy Crow will present unique, artistically-challenging, and genre-defying work. Indigenous people are often stereotyped, characterized as spirits of the past, or placed in massively stylized, mythical contexts rather than portrayed as complicated, nuanced, and real people. Holy Crow’s work is committed to authentic voices of empowerment, to present dramatic storylines that place characters in opposition to a massive internal or externally systemic obstacle — be they addiction, poverty, racism, and/or oppression. And while artistic works that explore difficult themes are an integral part of Holy Crow’s DNA, the works presented will search for deft ways to infuse comedy, conveying serious themes in surprising, hilarious, disarming, truthful, and heartfelt ways.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrea Cownden
Jordan Waunch
Justin Neal
Robyn Gervais