We believe that Sappyfest is what all of its participants, artists, volunteers and audience, have made of it together, each year; that the best of this has been in the face-to-face encounters and discussions and shared presence of all who attend. We have prioritized artist and community interaction ahead of drawing attention to ourselves as an organization.
But the time for a clarifying statement of our intentions and beliefs is now.
We witness the ongoing reality and injustice of anti-Black racism and the ongoing criminality of genocidal colonialism in this country. We recognize the corrosive effect of misogyny and trans- and queer-phobia. We live with governments that promote and enable endless resource extraction and environmental destruction.
This is the context in which we exist and in which we work. Against this, we, as a grassroots arts organization, hold the idea that art can be a powerful tool in the fight for justice and a powerful way of imagining better worlds.
Sappyfest is a not-for-profit organization led by a volunteer board of directors. In a normal year the festival is organized by a seasonally contracted Creative Director, and 1- to 2- paid student summer internships. These contracts have been significantly reduced in response to the cancellation of our regular physical gathering, and we are organizing our Plan B "virtual" festival with an even greater reliance on volunteer effort. From here on, we will continuously seek opportunities to improve our models of operational transparency with the hope that this transparency will help in the dismantling of structures of gate-keeping and white supremacy within the arts.
We believe in art and music as a medium for knowledge sharing, protest, healing and celebration and remain committed to presenting and supporting art made from a diversity of traditions, discipline and experience.
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We wish to offer our support and solidarity to those on the front lines, protesting and fighting for justice within their communities. The following list includes links to anti-rascism organizations working here in New Brunswick. This is simultaneously a local, a national, and an international struggle and we encourage you to seek out organizations in your own communities for support.
New Brunswick Black History Society
Black Lives Matter - Fredericton/New Brunswick
Black Lives Matter - Saint John/New Brunswick
No One Is Illegal - Fredericton
New Brunswick African Association