Year: 2019
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Juno-award winning folk singer and labour activist Maria Dunn is a gifted songwriter and performer, with “sharp and poignant lyrics,” who draws audiences into the heart of the stories she tells. Her 2022 Juno award was for Traditional Roots Album of the Year, Joyful Banner Blazing, following other accolades. Born in Scotland, Maria studied psychology, gathered research experience, and was a 13-year, volunteer weekly folk hour radio host. She brought together the inspiration of her family’s social justice commitment and influential folk artists to take up her own activism: “The Klein years definitely were an awakening for me with this very strong feeling that not everyone had the same girth with which to tighten their belts.” Maria’s formal dive into writing and performing labour history songs began as a fill-in at a Labour Cabaret and subsequently as Artist-in Residence for the Edmonton and District Labour Council in 2001. Her compelling storytelling is grounded in thoroughly researching the context of historical events and what it would have been like to live the experience. Entrusted with the stories people share, she emphasizes capturing the emotional kernel that will make listeners care, with a deep sense of responsibility to get it right.
Keywords: Activism; Arts; Edmonton and District Labour Council; Feminism; Music; Oral history; Ralph Klein cutbacks; Storytelling; Telephone girls
Transcript: Download PDF
See also: Great Labour Revolt, 1919; Meatpacking Workers in Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta