NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE NAMES RECIPIENTS OF OHSOTO’KINO RECORDING BURSARY, ANNOUNCES NEW DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR INDIGENOUS MUSICIANS

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW FOR MUSIC INCUBATOR, CLOSES ON APRIL 28

(Calgary, AB — March 31, 2022) The National Music Centre (NMC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, 2022 JUNO Award-nominated traditional powwow and round dance artist Joel Wood, and multi-award-winning, chart-topping Indigenous indie-folk/pop duo Twin Flames. A new call for submissions is now open for the OHSOTO’KINO Music Incubator, which will run this summer at Studio Bell. Musicians of all genres from Indigenous communities across Canada are encouraged to apply.

The OHSOTO’KINO Music Incubator program is open to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists. Interested applicants can apply at studiobell.ca/ohsotokino by April 28, 2022 at 11:59 pm MT.

Indigenous musicians have become an undeniable force within the contemporary music world, having risen above the margins of popular music over the last 50 years. NMC Artist in Residence alums Jeremy Dutcher, The Halluci Nation (formerly A Tribe Called Red), nêhiyawak, and others have made tangible impacts, transcending the mainstream mindset of what Indigenous music is and who Indigenous people are.

Sponsored by TD, OHSOTO’KINO is a new Indigenous programming initiative that focuses on three elements: creation of new music in NMC’s recording studios, artist development through a music incubator program, and storytelling through NMC exhibitions via the annually updated Speak Up! gallery and through content on NMC’s Amplify platform. OHSOTO’KINO is a Blackfoot phrase, which means ‘to recognize a voice of.’ This title acknowledges both the Blackfoot people and the territory on which National Music Centre resides.

“We were thrilled by the calibre and spectrum of submissions we received for the OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary,” said David McLeod (member of the Pine Creek First Nation in Treaty 1), Chair of NMC's National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. “Indigenous artists from many regions of the country who have dedicated themselves within several genres showed great interest in the bursary program. Many artists utilize music to share their stories, culture, and languages. There is also a wealth of talent within remote communities as well. For the second part of the OHSOTO’KINO initiative, we’re looking for emerging artists that are on the cusp of receiving a larger spotlight for their particular sound and vision.”

“With support from TD, the OHSOTO’KINO music incubator will combine all the best aspects of NMC’s various artist development streams into a week-long intensive for Indigenous artists in Canada,” said Andrew Mosker, NMC President and CEO. “NMC has provided the space, mentors, and tools to a long list of groundbreakers, and we can’t wait to see how the next round of selected artists flourish creatively and professionally in the months and years that follow.”

Artists for the music incubator will be selected by NMC’s Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee and announced in the coming months.

Stay tuned to NMC Amplify at amplify.nmc.ca for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of recording bursary recipients Joel Wood and Twin Flames; and look for the updated Speak Up! exhibition honouring more Indigenous trailblazers in the lead up to National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, 2022.

About National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique
The National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music and is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in the heart of the East Village in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) on Treaty 7 territory. A registered charity with programs that include exhibitions, artist development, performance, and education, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information about NMC’s onsite activities, please visit studiobell.ca. To check out the NMC experience online, including video-on-demand performances, made-in-Canada stories, and highly entertaining educational content, visit amplify.nmc.ca.

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Media Contact:
Julijana Capone, Senior Publicist
National Music Centre
T. 403.543.5123 | C. 403.710.4758
julijana.capone@nmc.ca | @nmc_canada