February 2023 marks the beginning of SK Arts' 75th anniversary year. On February 3, 1948, the Saskatchewan Arts Board opened its doors, supporting artists across the province. As we celebrate this milestone, we look to honour the past, the present and the future of the province's vibrant arts community with the We Celebrate You campaign. SK Arts asked 75 established artists to nominate one strong, emerging artist, program or training opportunity that makes the future of Saskatchewan arts exciting.

Megan Nash - SK Arts 75th anniversary nominator - Photo by Gina Brass, shows a women in a field with red hair, She is wearing a blue dress with big sleeves and had one arm covered in tattoos going through her hair.

Photo credit: Gina Brass

Megan Nash

Megan Nash (she/they) is a songwriter that lives on Treaty 4 Territory. They’ve been nominated for and won numerous awards, including a 2022 Saskatchewan Music Award for Rock/Pop Artist of the Year, 2021 Saskatchewan Music Award for Alternative Artist of the Year, and a 2019 JUNO Award nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for the album Seeker. The recognition back home is in no small part due to her long and winding history of hitting the road, where she’s done international showcases in the United States, the UK, Germany, and Estonia on top of countless gigs in Canada’s small towns and sprawling metropolises.

Aurora Wolfe - 75th anniversary nominee, picture shows a woman on stage with long dark hair wearing a black tank top and playing a guitar and singing. One arm has a half sleeve tattoo.

Photo credit: Kristen Boye

Aurora Wolfe

Aurora Wolfe is a multimedia artist, researcher, and musician of Cree and Scottish descent. Her work centres on the relationship between Indigeneity and institutions. It teases out stories that have been overshadowed by a dominant, colonial narrative. Aurora is interested in exploring dynamic relationality and creating art that generates acts of kinship with the past, present, and future.

Grounded in lived experiences, Aurora's work dance between mediums, genres, and disciplines. Blending a folk lyrical sense with energetic compositions, she unravels what it means to be displaced and the simple yet complicated rituals of return. Alongside acts of truth-telling, humour serves as both an entry point for viewers and a weapon against the fetishization of Indigenous pain. Through this lens, she firmly locates us in the here and now and within our complexities as living, feeling, and interactive beings.

“…engaging and electric. Aurora is a force.”

I would love to nominate Aurora Wolfe from Dump Babes. Aurora Wolfe is a great songwriter and musician. She is a talented artist within multiple mediums and is an excellent performer. As a friend said the other day, "Aurora is the best frontwoman to come out of this province.". I can't help but agree. A Dump Babes live show is engaging and electric. Aurora is a force.