Guelph’s Renaissance Man: Andrew Craig Deriving his inspiration from a multitude of sources, Andrew Craig strives to make positive change through his passion for art and music ELENI KOPSAFTIS
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ith an array of titles spanning from singer to instrumentalist, and theatre director to cultural leader, Andrew Craig is the Renaissance man of southern Ontario. Having created orchestral arrangements like “United We Play,” organized a multimedia concert of “Global Marley,” and even produced plays like Portraits, Patterns, Possibilities: A Black Canadian Trilogy, Craig consistently draws in stellar reviews through a collection of musical experience. Craig told The Ontarion that he has “extensive training in Western European Art Music, more commonly, yet mistakenly called ‘classical’ music, and deep experience in jazz, funk, R & B, soul, [and] West African music.” He has also spent years studying the Carnatic music of South India, but in terms of local music, he toured much of the world playing Cape Breton music with Ashley MacIsaac, a Canadian fiddler, singer, and songwriter from the island. “My artistic focus has been centred in the African diaspora, but I consider myself a world citizen, and while being careful not to culturally appropriate, I feel the influence and impact of anything that’s authentic, meaningful, and demonstrative of devotion to craft, superior skill, and an abundance of talent,” Craig said. Craig also founded the Toronto-based Culchahworks Arts Collective which develops social justice programs and produces commemorations like the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. The organization focuses on celebrating stories drawn from African and Caribbean-Canadian/American cultural legacies. On top of that, he was a resident at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, a member of the board of directors at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, a recipient of York University’s Bryden Award and the African-Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in The Arts, and a consultant to numerous arts institutions like the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils. In all of his leadership efforts, Craig is led by his passion for art and music.
Craig at a Culchahworks Arts Collective event in 2018. Culchahworks develops social justice programs and celebrates stories drawn from African and Caribbean-Canadian/American cultural legacies. CREDIT: ANDREW CRAIG
